Posted on 01/15/2016 7:07:02 PM PST by Red Steel
In the stakes to see who can make the most political hay out of the new action movie "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi," it didn't take long for Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump to best Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the man who's chasing him for the GOP nomination.
After Cruz plugged the movie's Friday release in Thursday night's GOP debate, calling it a story of brave Americans "and the politicians that abandoned them," The Des Moines Register reports that Trump has rented space at a movie theater in that city and will screen the flick for free, just weeks ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
"Mr. Trump would like all Americans to know the truth about what happened at Benghazi," the GOP presidential candidate's Iowa co-chair, Tana Goertz, said Thursday night, according to the Register. "The theater is paid for. The tickets are paid for. You just have to RSVP."
The move seems designed in part to help hold off Cruz, who's been locked in a tight battle with the real estate mogul in the critical early primary state. Escalating the competition, Cruz and Trump junked their monthslong goodwill gambit and turned Thursday's debate into a two-man mosh pit, trading blows on Trump's stealth campaign to question the Canadian-born Cruz's citizenship and Cruz's suggestion that Trump represents uber-liberal "New York values."
The film by Michael Bay – the director behind the highly successful "Transformers" action franchise – tells the story of a small unit of American contract commandos battling heavily armed militants who launched assaults on a U.S. diplomatic compound and a nearby CIA facility in Benghazi, Libya. Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, died in the attacks, which began on Sept. 11, 2012, and quickly became shorthand for the Obama administration's foreign policy and national security failures.
The movie, based on a nonfiction book by former Boston Globe investigative reporter Mitchell Zuckoff, purportedly is apolitical: Bay himself insists the story avoids politics and focuses primarily on the military contractors and their against-all-odds fight for survival. But conservatives have eagerly awaited its big-screen release.
Though early reviews suggest the film studiously avoids mentioning Hillary Clinton, the Democrats' presidential front-runner who was President Barack Obama's secretary of state at the time, "13 Hours" is expected to be a blockbuster hit that will almost certainly reinsert the tragedy – and her role in it - into the national political conversation.
Yes, and from what I understand, the theater was rented prior to the debate
I think it’s funny he took this line away from them.
He has spent far far less than the others have.
Must drive them crazy. Heck, it isn’t their money so what do they care.
These campaigns burn off more money...
Cruz should put out a commercial with Trump talking about Iowa vs. New York values (the Russert interview).
After he wins the nomination, maybe Trump should land a DVD of this in every mailbox in the country.
Get your facts straight.
Trump rented this before Ted brought it up in the debate!
Becha didn’t know that Cruz did this as well. Who did it first? I have no idea.
I’m passing this around today. Please watch and share. It’s supports exactly what you say
Oh I definitely am going to watch for sure. I will share on Facebook. Many will be going to see it. I would LOVE for this movie to make the same money that American Sniper made.
I hope Trump runs a political bit before the film. Heck...why not run ads in Movie theaters across the country?
So he budgets $2 million for advertising only spends 800,000 or so That leaves over a million for theater tickets. Might even throw in a little popcorn!
Here’s another one note trumps tone
You have got to be kidding!! Trump never, ever spent on dime of his own money without expecting something in return.
Trump just now on Hanitty said again that Tribe is a great constitutional lawyer. Went on to say that he agrees with him on Cruz eligibility.
For starters Tribe has admitted now that he does not really believe that, he was just wanting people to be aware of the kind of Judges Cruz would appoint
So I guess he might appoint him to the Supreme Court along with his Sister
As I said, it was a brilliant move... Trump is already thinking ahead to Hitlery. He should give away tickets to the show in the theatre nearest Chappaqua, NY and let Hitlery know that he wants to make sure that she has the opportunity to take it in.
The lead dog has the view...those behind see only behinds.
Okay. So?
C’mon Cruz: you successfully begged for some monetary New York values from your Manhattan donors. Let’s see you invest it as wisely as Trump has here.
The two places in the US with the highest Trump support are northern NY state and West Vieginia Go figure !
Mark Levin played a Interview with Trump from the 1990s where Trump said he was for partial birth abortion, gay marriage and other things that goes more in line with the demicrats than the GOP. Trump is nothing more than a big mouth and flash. Havent we had enough of that from Obama?
I agree.
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