How Donald Trump Has Out-Cruzed Ted Cruz
A few weeks ago, Ted Cruz’s calculus for declining to attack Donald Trump seemed obvious: Trump was rallying exactly the core anti-immigration base Cruz had long cultivated, so by sticking out Trump’s inevitable fall, the Texas senator would be the obvious alternative for those followers.
But now that it looks like nothing will knock Teflon Trump out of the race anytime soon, Cruz is running the risk that Trump will ultimately usurp Cruz's brand, his base of support, and the rationale for his entire candidacy.
“Donald Trump has out-Ted Cruz-ed Ted Cruz,” Luis Alvarado, a GOP consultant, told TPM. “He’s probably kicking furniture in his living room.”
Since Trump jumped into the race, Cruz has resisted opportunities to criticize him, telling reporters he would avoid “Republican-on-Republican violence.”
Never mind that the mantra did not apply to his 2016 rivals Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) or Jeb Bush, who Cruz has slammed for supporting "amnesty," nor to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), for that matter, who has become Cruz’s punching bag on the campaign trail.
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