Kathleen Parker, a conservative columnist for the Washington Post, pinpointed the exact moment that Ted Cruz lost his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. And it has to do with his running mate tripping off a stage.
Parker wrote on Tuesday that the fall, which was captured on video during a campaign rally in Indiana on Sunday, showed “the man Ted Cruz isn’t.”
“Even if Cruz missed the fall initially, and this isn’t clear, the video plainly shows his lack of action,” she said. “Indeed, his decision not to act. This minuscule moment, though fleeting, is nevertheless novelesque in scope, a story about the greed of ambition and the ambivalence of narcissism.”
In the video, which was widely shared around the Web, Fiorina is seen introducing Cruz. As he and his wife step out from behind the stage curtain, Fiorina suddenly drops out of view, apparently having taken a misstep at the front edge.
Cruz’s wife Heidi appears to notice and comes over to help Fiorina back up while Cruz shakes hands with supporters. There is only a brief moment where Cruz appears to glance in Fiorina’s direction.
“When a lady falls, a gentleman helps her up. Period,” wrote Parker of the incident. “It was a rare opportunity for Cruz to shed his image as a reptilian barfly and trade his mom-jeans for Lycra tights and a cape. But, no. In a titanic fail, he paddled away as his female crewmate foundered.”
Cruz, having lost the Indiana GOP primary Tuesday night to front-runner Donald Trump, has withdrawn from the race.
