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.
