Madison, Ind.
There is a direct correlation between Donald Trump’s electoral strength and how much he trolls his opponents. Exhibit A: Trump’s comments this weekend about the governor of Indiana’s endorsement in the Republican primary.
“If you really take a look at Mike Pence, I think he gave me more of an endorsement than Ted Cruz,” Trump said on Fox News Sunday.
In jest, there is truth. Pence’s backing of Cruz last Friday on Indiana talk radio only followed a deliberate tip of the cap to the GOP frontrunner.
“I like and respect all three of the Republican candidates in the field. I particularly want to commend Donald Trump, who I think has given voice to the frustration of millions of working Americans with a lack of progress in Washington, D.C.,” Pence said. You could make out the sound of high-pitched beeps as he backed into his endorsement.
“I’m also particularly grateful that Donald Trump has taken a strong stand for Hoosier jobs, when we saw jobs in the Carrier company abruptly announce (they’re) leaving Indiana, not for another state, but for Mexico. I’m grateful,” Pence continued. “I’m grateful for his voice in the national debate.”
He eventually got around to the “I will be voting for Ted Cruz” part. And he published an op-ed in the Indianapolis Star explaining his choice, praising Cruz’s comprehensively conservative platform. So Pence thusly “encouraged” Hoosiers to get out there on Tuesday—”and exercise your right to vote.”
He was scheduled to make an appearance Wednesday on the campaign trail with Cruz—in a restaurant in a town of 30,000 people.
Come on in. The water’s lukewarm.
Pence’s tepid support of Cruz reflects the difficulty the Texas senator has had consolidating non-Trump votes in Indiana. Cruz’s agreement with John Kasich, whereby the Ohio governor wouldn’t actively contest the state, has been a flop. Cruz initially described the deal as “big news”. Then he clarified it was “no alliance”. Then Hoosier Republicans decided it was a load of hooey: 58 percent of likely GOP primary voters said they disapprove of the two candidates “teaming up”, and 63 percent said the entente wouldn’t factor into their vote, this according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
A lingering externality that could affect the race is Trump’s embrace of Mike Tyson, who was convicted of rape in Indianapolis and lauded as a “tough guy” by the candidate. Cruz and Carly Fiorina quickly went on the attack, with Cruz appearing on CBS’s and Fox’s Sunday morning shows partly to attack Trump over the development.
True to Trump, he didn’t budge. He told a radio host “we’ll take the endorsement” from Tyson. He told Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace that Cruz “is a real liar” directly after uttering, “So, Cruz is now saying, oh, [Tyson] was a rapist.” Trump used the word “rape” on the campaign trail amid all this uproar—to describe how China was taking it to the United States.
Once again, Trump just flaunts his defiance, knowing he can take a ball bat to all manner of propriety and political conventions that presumably should aid his opponent and still rise in the polls. His lead in Indiana is trending toward double digits, based on the latest surveys.
In an alternate reality, that trend may have been prevented by an unqualified endorsement from Pence akin to that of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, a fuller-hearted withdrawal from Indiana on the part of Kasich, and a national furor over Trump and Tyson. This is not that alternate reality. It is Trump’s.
