GOP 2016 presidential candidate and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has kept pretty quiet whenever he’s had the opportunity to criticize billionaire GOP front-runner Donald Trump. We should check that, because there is new leaked audio that captures Cruz talking to supporters in a closed-door fundraiser and he made some comments that Donald Trump especially will likely not take too kindly to.
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The comments leaked out Friday afternoon and seemed to cast Cruz — who is currently placing third in the GOP field for the 2016 presidential primary — in a different light. Instead of being someone who some have thought of as an actual ally to the New York businessman, it appears Cruz has simply been biding his time and waiting for the right moment to stab him in the back.
Trump has responded and he’s not happy:
.@tedcruz should not make statements behind closed doors to his bosses, he should bring them out into the open – more fun that way!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2015
This could pose a number of problems for the presidential hopeful. Ted Cruz is hoping that if and when Donald Trump’s support does start to wane, the ones who were such ardent backers will jump to Cruz’ ship.
In the recording, Cruz does give both Trump and Ben Carson some faint praise before rolling out his plan.
“People run as who they are. I believe gravity will bring both of those campaigns down,” Mr. Cruz said. “The lion’s share of their supporters come to us.”
Having this particular recording leak isn’t good news for Cruz if for no other reason that Donald Trump holds a rather big grudge. While he hasn’t come out and blasted the Texas senator too badly so far, he did make it clear he heard the audio and wasn’t exactly thrilled by it.
Looks like @tedcruz is getting ready to attack. I am leading by so much he must. I hope so, he will fall like all others. Will be easy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2015
The love affair appears to be over. Now the Democrats can sit back for a bit and see if the GOP Civil War is about to begin in earnest. With Ben Carson already looking like he’ll run as a third party candidate, and Donald Trump having threatened to do so as well, one has to wonder if things could get any worse for the Grand Old Party.
Featured image by Gage Skidmore, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
