The media has already done due diligence on Cruz and they have already shot their stuff. There is nothing left to get him on. Plus he had bonafide great grades in college and his senior thesis is not in hiding.
Trump on the other hand has got a lot of stuff that media has been seemingly ignoring. Trump thinks that the media will play nice. The media never plays nice when there is the distinct possibility that they might score yuge during sweeps.
You think he will have enough time to pay them all off?
I understand the dynamic you’re trying to present. The problem is it’s all wrong.
You’re trying to interpret a series of intangibles in such a way as to convince yourself the favorite to take the world heavyweight boxing title is the white guy.
You do NOT get the FACT that what the media “has” on somebody is utterly irrelevant! They can, have, and will, contrive whatever is even somewhat plausible to produce the narrative they’re looking for.
Trump is the only candidate that has proven his ability to defeat such efforts.
As far as media exposure goes, Cruz was little more than a baby bird that had fallen out of the nest before it became a suspicion that he was the only other candidate that could make a serious dent in Trump’s support base.
I’m on record here as a Cruz supporter until it became obvious to me that he could not break out of the media blockade raised against him by his own efforts. Hell, I can remember Fox reciting the list of candidates WITHOUT EVEN MENTIONING Cruz!
The whole notion the media has “taken it easy” on Trump, or that he considers them his “friends” is laughable. There has NEVER been a candidate so openly antagonistic toward the press. That is simply an irrefutable fact.
The media HAS to cover Trump, as much as they’d rather not, because what he says and does is NEWS: no payoffs needed. And his ability to manipulate that dynamic has made him not only the front runner, but the only Republican who could possibly stay effective in office without being mired down with the contrived controversies the media has used to cripple Republicans throughout modern history.