Cruz drops presidential bid after rout by Trump in Indiana
Party is left divided as front-runner clears the path toward nomination
WASHINGTON — Since Donald Trump’s improbable surge in the polls last summer, nothing has been able to keep the brash billionaire down.
In Tuesday’s Indiana primary, Ted Cruz’s lastditch push wasn’t able to stop the businessman either.
In a decisive and at times bizarre Midwestern showdown that Cruz had called “favorable” ground, Trump won a delegate haul that eased his path toward the Republican presidential nomination, raising questions about the future of the Texas senator’s campaign.
Cruz quickly answered those questions in a concession speech in Indianapolis invoking America’s greatness and the need for Republican unity — though without mentioning Trump.
“From the beginning, I have said that I would continue as long as there was a viable path to victory,” Cruz told stunned supporters. “Tonight I’m sorry to say it appears that path has been foreclosed. Together, we left it all on the field in Indiana. We gave it everything we’ve got. But the voters chose another path. And so, with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign.”
Though he made no promises to back Trump, now the GOP’s presumptive nominee, Cruz made clear he is not leaving the political scene.
“Hear me now,” Cruz said after conceding defeat. “I am not suspending
our fight for liberty. I am not suspending our fight to defend the Constitution, to defend the Judeo-Christian values that built America. Our movement will continue.”
Trump gave a victory speech from New York, where he read from written remarks and claimed all of Indiana’s 57 delegates. He vowed to “go after” likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton but also acknowledged Cruz, who outlasted 16 GOP competitors. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who trailed in Indiana’s voting, remains in the race.
“I have to tell you, I’ve competed all my life,” Trump said. “Just so you understand, Ted Cruz, I don’t know if he likes me or if he doesn’t like me, but he’s one hell of a competitor. ... He is a tough, smart guy, and he has an amazing future.”
‘Staring at the abyss’
The surprising end of Cruz’s campaign capped a rollicking day of political theater that hit some of the emotional lows of the entire 2016 campaign.
Midmorning, as voting progressed, Cruz had implored Indiana Republicans to rally to his side, questioning Trump’s character in starkly personal terms. “We are staring at the abyss,” he said.
In the face of widespread speculation that Cruz might end his campaign with a loss in Indiana, his campaign gamely scheduled rallies Wednesday in Nebraska and Washington state, which hold primaries later this month. Both were expected to be competitive, though recent polls showed Trump opening a wide lead in the June 7 contest in California, the last and biggest primary state.
Then came Cruz’s last- gasp jeremiad, calling the likely GOP nominee a “pathological liar,” a “narcissist” and a “serial philanderer.” He also reminded voters of Trump’s public acknowledgement of battling venereal disease in the past.
Trump, in a statement, called Cruz’s invective a “ridiculous outburst.” In contrast to his gracious victory speech just hours later, Trump also questioned Cruz’s temperament.
“Ted Cruz is a desperate candidate trying to save his failing campaign,” Trump said. “I have been watching Lyin’ Ted become more and more unhinged as he is unable to react under the pres- sure and stress of losing.”
The Texas senator’s onslaught came during a news conference after Trump, in a national television appearance in the morning, speculated about a widely ignored National Enquirer story linking Rafael Cruz, Cruz’s Cuban immigrant father, to Lee Harvey Oswald and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
“Let’s be clear, this is nuts,” Cruz said. “This is just kooky. And while I’m at it, I guess I should go ahead and admit, yes, my dad killed JFK, he is secretly Elvis, and Jimmy Hoffa is buried in his backyard.”
The National Enquirer also recently published an anonymously sourced story suggesting that Cruz had affairs with five women, including at least two of his aides. Cruz has accused Trump of being behind that story, which he called “tabloid trash.”
Speaking to reporters at a barbecue stop in Evansville, Ind., Cruz unloaded on the former reality TV star, who has made outlandish claims and namecalling signature features of his campaign.
In the most dramatic break yet from their past political alliance, Cruz engaged in a 10-minute soliloquy on Trump, dissecting his rival in blunt terms rarely heard in modern campaigns.
“I’m going to do something I haven’t done for the entire campaign,” Cruz said. “I’m going to tell you what I really think of Donald Trump. This man is a pathological liar. ... The man cannot tell the truth, but he combines it with being a narcissist. A narcissist at a level I don’t think this country has ever seen. Donald Trump is such a narcissist that Barack Obama looks at him and goes, ‘Dude, what’s your problem?’ Everything in Donald’s world is about Donald.”
‘Utterly amoral’
Recalling an unflattering photo Trump tweeted of Cruz’s wife Heidi before the Wisconsin primary — Cruz’s last victory — Cruz also called Trump an insecure “bully.”
“The man is utterly amoral,” said Cruz, flanked by his wife and his running mate Carly Fiorina. “Morality does not exist for him. It’s why he went after Heidi directly and smeared my wife, attacked her.”
Getting ever more personal, Cruz recounted Trump’s past boasts of his sexual exploits. “This is not a secret. He is proud of being a serial philanderer. ... He describes his battles with venereal disease as his own ‘personal Vietnam.’ ”
The extraordinary personal attack on the day of a critical primary contest reminded some analysts of the insults hurled at Trump by former contender Marco Rubio after the February GOP debate in Houston.
Other ex-rivals, including Jeb Bush, had tried to take on Trump, but never in such strong language. But for the fading #NeverTrump movement, Cruz’s broadside came too late.
Still, the harsh exchange between the two top GOP rivals suggested that the bitter divisions within the Republican Party are unlikely to heal before July’s national convention, where party leaders will undoubtedly call for unity against Clinton.
It also called into question whether Cruz would still honor his promise to support Trump if he is the GOP nominee — something he did not address in his concession speech or in the earlier anti-Trump harangue.
Shortly after Cruz’s withdrawal, two of his biggest supporters, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, said they would support Trump as the GOP nominee.
Abbott, who as attorney general mentored Cruz, wrote in a Facebook post, “Conservatives must unite to support the presumptive nominee and present the Constitution from being destroyed by Hillary.”
Patrick, who had campaigned for Cruz, suggested that Trump appoint Cruz to fill the U.S. Supreme Court seat left vacant due to the death of Antonin Scalia in February. He also suggested Trump fill his Cabinet with the other former GOP presidential contenders.
Though it became mathematically impossible for Cruz to reach the 1,237-delegate majority needed to lock down the GOP nomination, he could have stayed in the race and possibly led a convention-floor fight to block Trump.
With Cruz out of the race, the delegate math is now academic. Needing to pick up the pieces, Trump praised Cruz’s decision to end his campaign.
“We must bring unity to the Republican Party,” Trump said. “It’s so much easier if we have it.”