Fewer than twelve hours after Republicans rallied in support of his nomination for the presidency, Trump once again implied that Rafael Cruz, Ted Cruz’s father, was involved in the JFK assassination. At a press availability during an event to thank campaign volunteers Friday morning, Trump revived suggestions that the elder Cruz was an associate of Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy's assassin, and that they two were together months before the assassination
"I don't know his father. I met him once. I think he's a lovely guy. I think he's a lovely guy. All I did was point out the fact that on the cover of the National Enquirer there was a picture of him and crazy Lee Harvey Oswald having breakfast. Now, Ted never denied that it was his father. Instead, he said Donald Trump—I had nothing to do with it. This was a magazine that, frankly, in many respects should be very respected."
He continued: "Did anybody ever deny that it was the father? They're not saying: 'Oh, that wasn't really my father.' It was a little hard to do. It looked like him."
Trump believes it is a picture of Cruz and Oswald. "I know nothing about his father. I know nothing about Lee Harvey Oswald. But there was a picture, on the front page of the National Enquirer, which does have credibility—and they're not going to do pictures like that because they get sued for a lot of money if things are wrong, okay?"
Stephen Hayes is exactly right:
There are two explanations. Either Trump believes Rafael Cruz was involved or he's making the implied accusation in a continued attempt to discredit Cruz's son. In either case, this isn't the behavior of a rational, stable individual. It should embarrass those who have endorsed him and disgrace those who have attempted to normalize him.
And there was Pence standing behind him, grinning nervously, no doubt thinking, isn't it time to focus on Hillionaire? Mike's going to be on cleanup duty a lot this year. Will it get to the point where he says, "I can't engage in this charade anymore. I have to answer to my Creator"?
Hey, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, Wayne Allen Root, Jeff Sessions, Sean Hannity, Charles Hurt, isn't it getting just a wee little bit hard to excuse this stuff?Donald Trump’s first post-nomination interview is to air tonight on Showtime’s The Circus which seems to me to be so apropos. Apparently he still thinks he is campaigning against Cruz instead of Hillary Clinton so he had to discuss Cruz’s refusal to kiss his ring.Bloomberg reports:Donald Trump said he prevented Ted Cruz from being ripped off the stage by entering Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena as hundreds of angry delegates lashed out at the Texas senator.“You know what, he’s lucky I did it,” Trump told Bloomberg Politics’ Co-Managing Editor Mark Halperin in an interview to air Sunday night on Showtime’s “The Circus.” The interview was conducted midday Friday on a flight from Cleveland to New York on one of Trump’s private planes.“I walked in and the arena went crazy. Because there’s great unity in the Republican Party and people don’t know it,” Trump said. “Had I not walked in, I think that audience would have ripped him off the stage. I think I did him a big favor.”When asked point blank if he entered the arena at the conclusion of Cruz’s speech on Wednesday to “tweak” his former primary rival, Trump responded: “Tweak him? I would never do a thing like that. But yes.”Apparently Trump believed Republican delegates are a mob. Then again, I had my doubts considering how some Trump delegates treated Heidi Cruz. The delegate behavior was unbecoming, but considering who they nominated it is unsurprising.
Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, Wayne Allen Root, Jeff Sessions, Sean Hannity, Charles Hurt, on Palin, on Prager, on Rush and Hewitt too. Savage, he'll tell ya. And the Dr. Bennett he'll tell ya too. Cryin' for Cruz ain't gonna cut it dude, you're on board with a possible plus vote and then proclaiming you just pulled for evil. All for principles. Inwardly you are all nuts, if not ravenous.
ReplyDeleteLee Hamilton has a spot-on commentary in today's Republic, but likely a far too reasonable a gentleman for your tastes, but it might cheer you up to take a trip down memory lane when the Republicans Were Great : Fortunately for the GOP, the months from August to November are an eternity in politics.
ReplyDeleteYet the Democrats should take no comfort from this state of affairs. For starters, below the presidential level the party is struggling. Since 2008, Democrats have lost 69 seats in the U.S. House, 13 Senate seats, 12 governorships and over 900 seats in state legislatures. Nor do they have much of a bench. The two most prominent Democrats this year, Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, are both senior citizens: Clinton is 68, Sanders 74. Despite President Obama’s relative youth, his years in office did not usher in a new generation of national Democratic leadership.
http://www.therepublic.com/2016/07/24/reason_to_feel_uneasy/
Thoughtful column by Hamilton. Nothing really groundbreaking in it, but a pretty mature take. Reminds me of the way Michael Barone writes about electoral twists and turns.
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