During an appearance on WABC-AM Radio, host Rita Cosby asked Mr. Cruz whether he would eventually move past Mr. Trump based on his conservative principles, and the Texas Republcian said “I think that’s right.”
“In time, I don’t believe Donald is going to be the nominee, and I think in time the lion’s share of his supporters end up with us,” Mr. Cruz said.
I don't see this as Ted putting Trump down. He makes an observation that is his to make. I think he is wrong, but it's not an insult to Trump. I don't see this as the start of a big blow-out.
My thought's on this are not favorable to Ted. I think he makes some blunders in judgment. I'll explain why.
Trump's campaign is different than Ted's. Sadly, Ted Doesn't realize this. Ted looks at Trump's stances on the issues and thinks he's the natural recipient of Trumps voters. Not so fast Ted.
Yes you and Trump do stand fairly close on the issues Ted, but the public does not see you and Donald Trump to be the same Candidate. They see Trump as a genuine street fighting Joe Everyman. Now that's a pretty neat trick, because Trump is not a Joe Everyman. He's not the average Joe in the traditional sense. He never was, and never will be. But in the untraditional sense, Trump is a scrapper, does tell it like it is, and does speak the language of the person on the street. And people on the street, your average Joe really appreciates the street level candor.
Trump gets upset. He reacts just like a normal person would. People love that about him.
Whatever Cruz's tactics are, and I'm not here to trash them, he is not seen as Joe Everyman. He is not seen as a Trump-like scrapper. He is not now, hasn't been, and won't be seen as a Joe Everyman. The public just doesn't not see him in those terms.
How do we know this? We know this because people are not wildly supportive of him. Nobody is almost fainting on his platform because Cruz called them up. They aren't beaming from ear to ear. They aren't flocking in massive numbers to his events.
Cruz will not pull in many of Trump's supporters. Here's another reason why.
Trump is pulling in support cross demographics. He is a populist and a nationalist, and he is pulling Democrat, Blacks, and Female support across party, racial, and gender divides.
Cruz simply doesn't have the appeal to pull people in like that. I'm not saying this to put Cruz down, because it is very seldom that a candidate can deliver on the Reagan/Trump broad massive appeal. We generally get these types of players around thirty years apart. If we think in terms of once a generation, we're probably thinking about right. Cruz simply isn't one of these types of individuals. It's not in him.
Some people have brought up Alinsky in relationship to Trump. They say he is using Alinsky's tactics. I object to that reference. I do not object to Trump having naturally adopted some sort of natural abilities to attract support perhaps even along some of Alinsky's methods, but I believe Trump is one of those guys who naturally developed tactics in their lives, not by study and focused implementation.
Cruz does not have this ability.
Thirdly, and this may be repetitive in that I am now focusing on the primaries and not just general principles, there is the issue of the Democrats and Independents voting in the Republican nomination process. They seem to be open to voting for Trump. Somehow he has connected with them.
Can Cruz expect to get these voters if Trump bails? Not a chance... these votes will remain uncast or return to their base party.
I have said this pretty much since Trump jumped in, and it is even more evident today than it was back then. There is a Trump dynamic that Cruz simply does not have.
Cruz, his people, and his supporters can't see this or acknowledge it, but Cruz will not get Trump's voters across the board. Some die-hards like us, yes. The broad cross demographic voters, no! And I will say there will be many Republicans who will not see Cruz as they do Trump. He won't even get all of them.
Folks can disagree with me if they like. It won't make much difference. Trump isn't getting out. If he does, I have nothing to gain by Cruz not getting these votes. He just won't be getting them. Sad but true... Trump, upon hearing this should simply state that he understands why Cruz would say this, and it would be only natural for him to say this. He's not a quitter, and Trump can identify with that. And Trump will probably state that he understands it, and disagrees. There's no need for this to be blown out. I think this was pointless of Cruz. I think it was misguided. To me it evidences a lack of grasp of campaign dynamics, that Cruz really should be able to understand.
It is hard to do an accurate evaluation of yourself and another candidate. It's a human factor. It's more or less normal. Still wish Cruz hadn't gone there. Doesn't make him look like the sage he may have been shooting for.
This is the kind of thing you hope for, but you don't say it in public, because you can only look bad if it doesn't materialize. If it does, you don't get extra brownie points for having been right.
Don't mention it, and hope for the best. Sorry Ted.
Just by continuing to be there, the ones behind Trump are saying it anyhow... even !Jeb! who isn’t tooting like this.
Maybe Trump WILL step on his je ne sais quoi, but his history of bad deals is something like in the single digit percentages of all his deals. He is a great negotiator. It so happens that greater America IS more conservative than its government, and so aiming right for the heart of that is a winning move.
WOW!
Excellent
BTTT!
Folks can disagree with me if they like. It won't make much difference.
I would say you have pretty much nailed it Doughty.
I wish you had krauthammer’s seat on Fox.
Very well stated. Trump has the ability. I have seen it in a few people and they are able to connect with all.
Outstanding!