Texas Sen. Ted Cruz mocked the Democratic National Committee’s limited debate schedule and voters’ growing dissatisfaction with Hillary Clinton’s lack of transparency in a speech to social conservatives Friday.
“Then it was September. Then it was October. They may just move it to 2017,” Cruz said of the DNC-sanctioned debates.
“You know, in a few months we may see the first presidential debate held at Leavenworth,” he added, referring to a medium-security prison located in Leavenworth, Kan.
Turning his focus to Clinton, Cruz suggested the former secretary of state is a “corrupt” Washington insider following a summer of scandals that have left her campaign struggling to gain traction.
“You know, if they can project a rainbow on the White House, maybe they could put bars on the windows?” he said as the crowd erupted in laughter. “I’ll tell you, they did actually plan — this is not widely known, but they had planned — to have an earlier Democratic debate. The problem was the debate invitation was emailed to Hillary.”
Cruz currently falls in the middle of the 14-person GOP field. At 6.5 percent support in the latest RealClearPolitics polling average, Cruz trails Republican front-runner Donald Trump by nearly 20 points among right-leaning voters. Cruz also ranks fifth in the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings.
The Texas senator saved his remarks on Boehner’s resignation for reporters following his speech to the crowded conference hall.
