Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Trump’s Third Swing at Cruz

trump_cruzAfter two swings and two misses, Donald Trump is taking a third swing at Ted Cruz, trying to make hay out of the fact that Cruz was born in Canada to a mother who is an American citizen.

I have defended Trump and in particular his supporters from being dismissed as xenophobic, racist, crazy or dumb. But I must say, this latest attack by Trump makes me think that he thinks the voters like that.

Trump said the fact that Cruz was born in Canada was a “very precarious one for Republicans because he’d be running and the courts may take a long time to make a decision. You don’t want to be running and have that kind of thing over your head.”

His attacks on Cruz are increasingly premised on the idea he’s not “one of us”: He’s Latino, he’s not really an evangelical, and he’s a Canadian!

I don’t think this swing is going to help Trump in Iowa either, although this latest attack, unlike suggesting Cruz is not an evangelical or that his temperament is a problem, doesn’t remind voters of what they don’t like about Trump.

Still, Cruz beat back the attack with a light-hearted pop culture reference to Fonzi “jumping the shark.”

Three swings and three misses? Where does that leave Trump?

Maggie Gallagher is a senior fellow at the American Principles Project.

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