What Cruz’s campaign said was not really about the trip back to Florida. It was about the fact that Carson was not going to campaign in NH and SC, which is what CNN’s report said. Here’s the transcript of the CNN clip:
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
Male: Ben Carson, what have we learned?
Female: That’s right, our - we should say, our Chris Moody is breaking this, this news, that Ben Carson is gonna go back to Florida to his home, regardless of how he does tonight here in Iowa. He’s gonna go there for several days, and then afterwards he’s not gonna go to South Carolina, he’s not gonna go to New Hampshire. He’s gonna come to Washington, DC, and he’s gonna do that because the National Prayer Breakfast is on Thursday. And people who have been following Ben Carson’s career know that that’s really where he got himself on the political map, attending that prayer breakfast and really giving it to B, President Barack Obama at the time. And he became kind of a hero among uh, conservatives as well as evangelicals especially. But
M: And it’s very unusual
F: VERY unusual
M: to be announcing that you’re going home to rest for a few days, not going on to the next site. Plus, he’s already announced that he’s gonna be coming out and speaking at 9:15 local
F: Mm-hm
M: 10:15 Eastern, no matter whether or not uh, we know the results, uh, because he wants to get home and get ahead of the storm.
F: Look. If you want to be President of the United States, you don’t go to Florida. I mean, that’s just bottom line. That’s the end of the story. If you want to signal to your supporters that you want it, that you’re hungry for it, that you want them to get out and campaign, you gotta be out there doing it too, and he’s not doing it. It’s very unusual.
M: Very unusual news, that CNN has just learned, CNN’s Chris Moody breaking the story. Wolf, back to you in Washington.
Wolf Blitzer: VERY significant news indeed, guys. Thanks very much.
END OF RECORDING
[It was about the fact that Carson was not going to campaign in NH and SC]
CARSON’S not campaigning in NH because his 5 paid staff quit and joined the CRUZ campaign.