Donald Trump Says Ted Cruz Stole Victory in Iowa Caucuses
2:41 pm ET
Maggie Haberman and Matt Flegenheimer
nytimes.com
Donald J. Trump in Milford, N.H., on Tuesday.Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times
Updated, 4:21 p.m. | After hinting at it for a day, Donald J. Trump on Wednesday bluntly accused Senator Ted Cruz of “stealing” victory in the Iowa caucuses and demanded a do-over.
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Mr. Trump finished in second in Iowa, after leading public opinion polls there for months. Initially, after losing the state, Mr. Trump was gracious, thanking Iowans in his concession speech and offering Mr. Cruz a kind word on his victory. On Tuesday, though, Mr. Trump vacillated between thanking Iowans and saying he was honored by his showing to saying it wasn’t worth spending his own money on the race because voters didn’t appreciate it. In typical fashion, Mr. Trump first tested lines about Mr. Cruz committing voter fraud in a speech at a rally in New Hampshire, sprinkling it in with a larger address.
Mr. Trump is basing his claim on reports that Mr. Cruz’s aides and allies, including Representative Steve King of Iowa, had posted a false report on Twitter that Ben Carson had suspended his campaign while the voting was still going on. The implication is that some of the Carson votes ended up going to Mr. Cruz.
The Five Stages of Donald Trump’s Grief Over His Loss in
Iowa By ALAN RAPPEPORT
The billionaire businessman initially struck a magnanimous tone after losing the Iowa caucuses on Monday night. It didn’t last long.
Mr. Cruz was brutal in his response to Mr. Trump.
Asked about Mr. Trump’s remarks at a news conference in Goffstown, N.H., on Wednesday, Mr. Cruz assailed Mr. Trump as never before, taunting him as someone who “finds it very hard to lose” and saying a man with his temperament belonged nowhere near “the button.”
“We’re liable to wake up one morning and Donald, if he were president, would have nuked Denmark,” Mr. Cruz said. “That’s not the temperament of a leader to keep this country safe.”
He did not stop there.
“We need a commander in chief, not a twitterer in chief,” one dig began.
He’s losing it,” went another.
“My girls are five and seven,” Mr. Cruz said at one point. “And I’ve got to tell you, Caroline and Catherine are better behaved than a presidential candidate who responds by insulting everyone every day.”
Mr. Cruz also said he did not know anyone “who would be comfortable with someone who behaves this way having his finger on the button” and questioned whether Mr. Trump might skip this week’s New Hampshire debate, as well.
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