Ted Cruz is ramping up his attacks against the media, after a series of primaries and polls show that he’s falling further behind front-runner Donald Trump.
In the last three days, Cruz has accused the national press, from network TV to even Fox News, of pushing Trump’s candidacy onto unsuspecting voters.
“There is a broader dynamic at work, which is network executives have made a decision to get behind Donald Trump,” Cruz said Tuesday during a press conference in Indiana, where primary voters were voting. “Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes at Fox News have turned Fox News into the Donald Trump network, 24-7. … Media executives are trying to convince Hoosiers, trying to convince Americans the race is decided you have no choice you are stuck between Donald trump or Hillary Clinton, either one of which is a horrific choice for this country.”
The day before, Cruz got into a much-talked about confrontation with a Trump supporter in Indiana, where he said the “mainstream media” are “desperately” trying to secure the GOP nomination for Trump.
And during an interview with NBC that same day, he lectured a reporter not to ask him Trump-related questions and instead focus on the tepid endorsement he received from Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
“Every candidate running for president tried very hard to earn his support,” said Cruz. “He endorsed me. He’s campaigning with me, barnstorming the state. … And yet the first question you ask him is, ‘So, tell me about Donald Trump.’ … How about, ‘Why did you endorse Ted Cruz?'”
Cruz has described the pending outcome of the Indiana primary as a “crossroads” in the GOP race, though he has maintained that he plans to continue campaigning whether he wins or not.
Still, his frustration at his standing in the race became evident in his quarreling with reporters who have taken countless opportunities to ask him if he would support a Trump nomination.
“I recognize that many in the media would love for me to surrender to Donald Trump,” Cruz said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He then attempted to change the subject to why the news media have not called for more GOP debates.
“Even though the media stands to make millions of dollars off of a debate, you hear radio silence from the media about no debates,” he said to host Chuck Todd. “Giving up millions of dollars and the reason is your network’s executives are partisan Democrats.”
Trump is currently leading Cruz by nearly 500 delegates, a number that will increase if the billionaire developer gets another victory in Indiana. Polls show a potentially close race but Trump is ahead in most.
Cruz is mathematically unable to win the nomination by the time of the party convention in July, but he is attempting to get enough delegates to keep Trump from getting the required number by then as well, resulting in an open contest.
