Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign manager is blaming Ohio Gov. John Kasich for the rise of Donald Trump.
Jeff Roe, Cruz’s campaign manager, tweeted on Friday that the governor’s decision to stay in the race played a major role in Trump’s success in becoming the GOP’s presumptive nominee.
Post mortem’s on POTUS race must include a healthy dose of Kasich. Defeating Trump required a head to head. Kasich kept that from happening.
— Jeff Roe (@jeffroe) May 6, 2016
Cruz spent months cozying up to Trump on the trail before changing course and calling for one-on-one debates and seeking one-on-one contests in the primaries.
Kasich, who had said he wasn’t sure it was his “purpose” was to be president, quit the 2016 race mere hours after Cruz suspended his campaign.
In the first few days after Cruz’s campaign ended, the senator and his team have been largely silent. Cruz thanked supporters in Houston and sent out a recorded phone call of him thanking supporters as well.
While it wasn’t clear if he was responding to Roe, Kasich senior adviser John Weaver tweeted, “Nothing worse than entitled losers.”
Trump, meanwhile, has said there is “probably a 40 percent chance” someone who competed against him in the primary will end up as his running mate.
