He may have been one of the first to issue a powerful statement, but it wasn’t Ted Cruz celebrating right next to Kim Davis following her release from jail. Davis is a Kentucky clerk who has been citing “God’s authority” as her reason for not issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
When Kim Davis was released from jail on Tuesday, the media captured her standing side-by-side celebrating with Mike Huckabee. The GOP contender also spoke out in support of Davis, and had planned a rally for her.
The sentiment was clear from Huckabee once Davis was released. The Washington Examiner reported on Huckabee’s presence before the crowd:
Where then, was Cruz? In reporting on the rally, the New York Times mentioned that he “stood off to the side, keeping an unusually low profile during the event.”
Such a “low profile” though was likely not by choice. As the New York Times also reported:
Buzzfeed reporter Chris Geidner tweeted an image of Cruz at the rally, though notably not on stage. Coverage from MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow showed the interaction with Cruz and the Huckabee staffer.
A very sad Ted Cruz, not on stage. pic.twitter.com/MaAM6lvA4A
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) September 8, 2015
The Huckabee campaign defended the move though. “It was our event,” spokeswoman Alice Stewart told the Texas Tribune. “And Ted Cruz shows up, and you need to be asking him why he showed up at our event,” she added.
Huckabee himself also addressed the issue Wednesday morning on Fox News:
Where Huckabee may not see much of an issue, others do. Conservative commentator called the move “disgraceful” in a tweet early Wednesday morning.
Who does Huckabee think he is? This is disgraceful. http://t.co/2xkkfmQc78
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) September 9, 2015
Perhaps Trump and his fellow GOP contender targets won’t be the only ones feuding with each other during this presidential race.
