Yes, Cruz Did Criticize Trump

Per CNN, Ted Cruz said the following about Donald Trump and Ben Carson:

“My approach, much to the frustration of media, is to bear hug both of them and smother them with love,” Cruz said. “I believe that gravity will bring both of those candidates down. I think the lion share of their supporters will come to us.”

Though Cruz also said he “like(s) and respect(s)” Trump and Carson, he questioned their fitness to lead the country. 

“You look at Paris, you look at San Bernardino, it’s given a seriousness to this race,” Cruz said. “People are looking for who is prepared to be a commander in chief. Who understands the threats we face. ‘Who am I comfortable having their finger on the button?’ Now that’s a question of strength, but it’s also a question of judgment. And I think that is a question that is a challenging question for both of them.”

Today, though, Cruz is pretty much denying that this was a criticism of Trump:

Moreover, last night on the Kelly File, Cruz suggested that the whole contretemps was the invention of a ”New York Times report with anonymous sources.”

But here’s the thing: It was a criticism, and it did happen (the meeting was recorded). There’s no two ways around it. Tactically, I understand entirely why Cruz doesn’t want to get himself embroiled in a fight with Donald Trump. Indeed, he’d be smart to avoid one. But once these comments had come out, it was a bit rich for Cruz to pretend that the media or the “establishment” were at fault. They weren’t. He was.

I find this reticence particularly irritating given that Cruz is supposed to be the great truth teller who will stand up to anybody for America. If Cruz genuinely believes that there is now a “seriousness to this race” and that “gravity will bring” down those candidates who are not as accomplished as he is, he should concede as much when asked. There’s a time for bear hugging, sure. But it’s not now.