Cruz doesn’t need to follow anyone’s lead. It’s much more advantageous for him to put his verbal skills on display than to ignore her.
I watched the interview last night and didn’t think she was hard on Cruz at all. Cruz didn’t act even vaguely uncomfortable by any of her questions. He did want to say one more thing when the time ran out and they went to a break, but he seemed to just accept it as TV reality.
The only hard question she asked him was the middle question about the deal. He said there was no deal. Then brought up his high regard for Trump. She asked a fair question: “Why not get out and let him run?”
He said because he’s led on those issues Trump’s been getting publicity for.
I didn’t think there was anything tricky about it at all. I thought it was a question that caught the edge of a sharp mind. And a sharp mind answered back.