Hallie Jackson Renders Ted Cruz Speechless
Few things in this election cycle have been more enjoyable than watching Ted Cruz reduced to a sputtering mess by a reporter’s question. It doesn’t happen often, but whenever it does it’s as special, precious, and unique as a single snowflake.
MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson caught the Senator flat-footed on Thursday after he played tough guy to the media over an unfolding battle with Donald Trump. The moment was caught on camera and has been one of the most point blank challenges to Cruz’s dissembling public persona yet. He didn’t come out of it looking well at all.
[T]he Texas Senator’s reptilian rise through the primaries has been Machiavellian. He has watched others fall and made cold and calculated decisions as their lifeless campaigns tumble past him, his eyes always on the prize. This naked ambition is paired with an unfortunate propensity for smug facial tics and an unimaginably condescending tone of voice.
Yes, Ted Cruz is an unlikable man.
He’s also the only realistic competition for Donald Trump at this point in the primary cycle.
Because of this (not because of his charisma or connections in the party machinery), Cruz is garnering endorsements and support from the party elite. Some of that support is coming from Super PACs, like Make America Awesome, the brainchild of former Scott Walker campaign aide Liz Mair. MAA put out the following online ad leading up to the voting on Tuesday, March 22:
Trump accused Cruz of being involved with the ad’s production. While Cruz and MAA deny any collusion, Cruz did not condemn the ad before voting took place on the 22.
The ad was targeted at Utah voters (who already loathe Trump anyway), but the resulting shitstorm of rage that came out of Trump ensured that the ad was national news. Trump took to his preferred medium of angry communication, twitter, to slam Cruz’s wife Heidi.
Trump intimated that he would “spill the beans” about Mrs. Cruz, possibly alluding to rumored personal issues from a decade ago. Trump followed this threat up with a retweet of a supporter’s juxtaposition of photos of Mrs. Trump and Mrs. Cruz designed to make the latter look bad:
https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/712850174838771712
Unfortunately for Cruz, delaying a conflict with Trump didn’t make the front runner any less vicious. With the nomination in sniffing distance, the nominal billionaire is more dangerous than ever. MAA’s move to help Cruz out with social conservatives only served to give Trump the excuse to go full barreled at Cruz and his family.
Hey- they started it, right?
Cruz had had enough. Speaking with reporters, Cruz looked directly into the camera and gave us his best Principal Vernon impression. He let Trump know that he’d overstepped his bounds.
The Senator ended by pointing forcefully into the camera and saying, “Donald, you’re a sniveling coward. Leave Heidi the hell alone!”
That prideful moment of bravery and tough guy posturing was immediately shattered by my new favorite reporter, MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson:
https://twitter.com/HallieJackson/status/713146636562640896
Nope.
Jackson instantly asked him the only question worth asking: Will you still support Trump if he’s the nominee?
Now- usually the Senator has some practiced line to get out of jail free on these types of queries. Some kind of deflection that blames the media for divisiveness and gotcha questions or liberalism or lying or something but man he just can’t squirm out of this one.
The best Cruz could do in the face of Jackson’s questioning was swear that Trump wouldn’t get the nomination, because “I’ll beat him.” It’s not a no, but it’s not “yes, because I gave my word that I would” either. It’s denial predicated on the hope of victory in the Republican primary.
Jackson called bullshit. “That’s not answering the question, Senator- respectfully.”
Cruz spluttered that Trump would not be the nominee, but Jackson came back quickly with the simple fact that Trump is leading in the polls. She asked again: “You just looked in that camera and said he is a coward. Will you support him as the nominee?”
Cruz’s reply was delivered in the slow voice he uses when speaking to lesser Ivies.
“Donald Trump,” he sneered, “will not be the nominee.”
It looks like Trump will, though. And the receding possibility of a Cruz nomination hopefully signals more of the Texas Senator losing his cool going forward. More snowflakes.
Thanks Hallie!