CRUZ TAKES THE HIGH ROAD: Trump Booed in South Carolina After Caustic Insults of Texas Senator

By Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

Donald Trump had a literal meltdown on Twitter issuing a bizarre series of personal insults, screeds, and disjointed attacks on Ted Cruz. I guess the honeymoon is over. Too bad, they would have gone well together. Ted Cruz mocked him for it. His retort was epic:

So, the gloves have come off and now Trump is slinging mud as fast as he can. He’s claiming Cruz is not a U.S. citizen which is patently ludicrous. He’s claiming that Cruz took loans he has not declared, which is also not true. Trump says that Cruz is bought and paid for by Goldman Sachs. Why? Because his wife used to work there? Also bull crap. I used to work for Lionel, Sawyer and Collins and Harry Reid doesn’t own me. Ted is living rent-free in Trump’s head and it is driving him nuts. Everyone knows what Cruz meant on New York values… he was referring to radical Marxists like de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg. Get a grip, man, before you implode.

Mark Levin has staunchly defended Ted Cruz, pointing out the obvious, that he is indeed a U.S. citizen. Now, he’s coming to his defense again on this New York nonsense. Levin said that you have to be out of your mind to believe that Ted Cruz was trashing the police, firefighters or any emergency personnel in New York. There is no one out there that respects New Yorkers and what happened on 9/11 more than Ted Cruz does. As I just said, he’s referring to the values of New York progressives that run the state.

When Trump brought up 9/11 in response to Cruz’s explanation on this, Levin said he actually started to cringe. Levin asked what the World Trade Center has to do with anything? It’s something he’d expect a liberal to say because it has nothing to do with Ted Cruz’s point.

Evidently, Trump thinks the birther angle got him some traction and he is doubling and tripling down against Cruz because the poll numbers in Iowa favor Ted. He was roundly booed in South Carolina when he started taking cheap shots at Cruz. I’ve never seen a crowd turn on Trump for attacking another candidate, but they sure as heck did in South Carolina. The rally was held in Myrtle Beach, SC. Donald Trump attempted to attack Ted Cruz using a New York Times hit piece and was booed by the crowd. Watch and see for yourself:

Here's some more detail:

NBC News: Donald Trump Booed By Conservative Crowd After Attacks on Ted Cruz

Among conservatives, Donald Trump can typically do no wrong — until he attacks Ted Cruz.

On Saturday, Trump drew boos from a grassroots conservative crowd during remarks at the South Carolina Tea Party Coalition Convention for his attack on Cruz’s previously undisclosed loans.

“You give a campaign contribution to Ted Cruz, you get whatever the hell you want,” he said, before boos erupted from the crowd.

Trump went on as the boos grew louder: “Say whatever you want, it’s okay, he didn’t report his bank loans. He’s got bank loans from Goldman Sachs, he’s got bank loans from Citibank, folks, and then he acts like Robin Hood?”

Trump was less than popular at that gathering. It looks like he hit a brick wall there. The strategy to go after Cruz this way was badly considered. He calls Cruz a nice guy over and over as he campaigns, but that just changed as well. On ABC this morning, Trump said Cruz is a ‘nasty’ guy that nobody likes. That’s stepping over the line even for me. You won’t find a nicer or more Godly man than Ted Cruz. By all accounts, he is a kind and genuinely good man. He’s not liked because he won’t compromise his principles and he believes in the Constitution. Going on ABC that way is hitting below the belt and is not the mark of a leader with character.

From Donald Trump:

‘Look, the truth is, he’s a nasty guy. He was so nice to me. I mean, I knew it. I was watching. I kept saying, “Come on Ted. Let’s go, okay.” But he’s a nasty guy. Nobody likes him. Nobody in Congress likes him.

‘Nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him. He’s a very – he’s got an edge that’s not good. You can’t make deals with people like that and it’s not a good thing. It’s not a good thing for the country. Very nasty guy.’

He added: ‘He’s a total hypocrite.

I’m trying very hard here not to get really ticked off. Funny how Trump thought Ted was a friend and a great guy until he rose in the polls and looked like he would take Iowa. Even after his ‘New York’ comment, he won the New York Straw Poll.

Here’s how CNN reported Cruz’s response to Trump’s venomous attacks:

Cruz declined to comment on the Times report when asked by a CNN reporter during an appearance in Columbia, South Carolina on Friday. But speaking to reporters at a church not far from Charlotte on Saturday, Cruz, who once declined to attack Trump, shed any caution he may have had about laying into his top rival.

“I would note that Donald’s record does not match what he says as a candidate,” Cruz said, gamely tackling questions he routinely swatted away for seven months.

Cruz also aggressively ridiculed Trump’s obsession with the latest opinion surveys, saying that Trump’s attacks on Twitter come because he is “dismayed” about a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showing a competitive race.

“I imagine it pulled him out of bed this morning and send him tweeting and tweeting and tweeting,” he said. “I think in terms of a commander in chief, we ought to have someone who isn’t springing out of bed to tweet in a frantic response to the latest poll.

Cruz referred repeatedly to an interview Trump did with NBC News’ Tim Russert 17 years ago, in which he defines his “New York values” as distinct from “Iowa values.” Cruz said those values — pro-abortion rights, including supporting partial birth abortion and pro-gay marriage — explained Trump’s world view. And he dredged up the former Democrat’s donation history to some of the state’s leading politicians, including Hillary Clinton.

“Given the fact that for much of his life, Donald was financially supporting those politicians — writing checks to Hillary Clinton, writing checks to Andrew Cuomo — it is a fair inference that he supports their policies,” Cruz said.

The Texas senator, then asked for some differences on national security between him and Trump, offered that was unaware of what Trump’s foreign policy is.

“To be honest, I don’t know what Donald’s position is,” Cruz said.

Everyone needs to take a breath here. This is exactly what the leftists and the RINOs want. For anti-establishment Republicans to be at each other’s throats. Trump is floating Scott Brown as a VP now. Seriously? Brown is a Progressive and a stone cold stupid pick for VP. We are getting close to the Iowa caucus and I still expect Ted Cruz to win it. Trump needs to consider his attacks, words and choices out there very carefully now. Run on the issues, not each other and lay off the Twitter attacks. I’ll leave you with what Mark Levin had to say – he nailed it:

Either cut the crap – your accusations this morning that Cruz is Canadian, a criminal, owned by big banks etc. – or you will lose lots and lots of conservatives. Save the liberal New York City bully tactics for the New York City liberals. Put down your computer keyboard for a few hours, think before you tweet, and collect yourself. You’re not politically invincible, regardless of the polls and media. I am already hearing more and more people getting fed up with the low road you’re taking against Cruz, which has obviously intensified this morning. You don’t need to attack his honor or attempt to smear his reputation. You can leave that to Mitch McConnell and the New York Times. Engage on real and substantive issues that matter to the country. Like I said, my friendly advice.

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