Sen. Ted Cruz fired back at Donald Trump’s Wednesday Twitter proclamation that Monday’s Iowa caucuses should be null and void, with Cruz disqualified, for fraud.
Cruz dismissed the real estate mogul’s latest “Trumpertantrum” Wednesday afternoon, tweeting that Trump is “very angry” with Iowans after Cruz beat out Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio.
Yet another #Trumpertantrum… @realDonaldTrump very angry w/the people of Iowa. They actually looked at his record. https://t.co/S85mxlhLK1
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 3, 2016
Speaking to reporters following a campaign stop in Goffstown, N.H., Cruz said Trump was “losing it” and attempting to create a distraction because he didn’t want to talk about his record on health care, eminent domain, or other issues on which he is at odds with conservatives.
“It is no surprise that donald is throwing yet another temper tantrum, or if you like, yet another Trumper tantrum,” he said. “It seems that his reaction to everything is to throw a fit, to engage in insults. I understand that Donald finds it very hard to lose, that he finds that very difficult for him, but at the end of the day the Iowa people spoke. Donald Trump guaranteed a victory in Iowa and then he lost and he doesn’t like that and his reaction is that he breaks down. He really has problems, you know, he accused the people of Iowa of being stupid. In fact, he skipped the Iowa debate. It makes you wonder if his next step is to accuse the people of New Hampshire of being stupid. If he plans to skip the N.H. debate and after that if he plans to accuse the people of South Carolina of being stupid and skip the S.C. debate.”
He continued, “there’s a reason Donald engages in insult after insult, because he can’t debate the substance. He doesn’t actually wanna talk about the issues. Donald does not want to defend his lifelong support for socialized medicine…”
Cruz went on to say, “Donald’s insults get more and more hysterical, the more and more upset he gets. That’s fine he can do that. I’m not going to respond… I think they’re very funny. I wake up every day and laugh at the latest thing Donald has tweeted because he’s losing it. Look, we need a Commander in Chief, not a Twitterer in Chief. We need someone with judgment and the tempermant to keep this country safe. I don’t know anyone who would be comfortable with someone who behaves this way having his finger on the button. I mean we’re liable to wake up one morning with Donald as president would have nuked Denmark.”
Throughout the day, Trump ranted on the social media site, firing off eight tweets against Cruz and his Hawkeye State victory. Trump alleged that his campaign committed “fraud” and “stole” the election by telling precincts that Ben Carson was taking a “break” from the race after reports circulated that he was going back to his home in Florida — not to New Hampshire or South Carolina — after the caucuses.
Trump also called for a “new election” to take place in Iowa or for Cruz’s victory to be “nullified.”
Anna Giaritelli contributed to this report.
