Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is jumping on Donald Trump’s decision to skip Thursday’s debate as a fundraising opportunity, and has already started selling merchandise related to Trump’s controversial decision.
The Cruz campaign made “MAKE TRUMP DEBATE AGAIN” hats, which resemble Trump’s “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” trucker hats. Cruz’s hats cost $25 and are available on his website.
Don’t let #DuckingDonald skip the debate. Get your #MakeTrumpDebateAgain hat today —–> https://t.co/U4RQzKkXTw pic.twitter.com/HzzQ3PSLoo
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 27, 2016
Since Trump decided to skip the debate, Cruz has mocked Trump on the stump and in radio and television interviews. Cruz has also challenged the reality television star to a one-on-one debate.
Trump did not immediately respond to Cruz’s barbs, but later replied to Cruz’s debate challenge on Twitter and said, “Can we do it in Canada?”
Cruz and Trump are neck-and-neck in recent polling of the Hawkeye State. Thursday night’s primetime debate stage in Iowa may give Cruz an advantage to connect with voters, unless Trump successfully leverages his absence to drum up new support.
Trump ranks first in the Washington Examiner‘s GOP presidential power rankings. Cruz ranks second.
