Chuck Todd told Ted Cruz an unfortunate truth
Chuck Todd interviewed Ted Cruz on Meet the Press today. He surprisingly challenged Cruz with several inconvenient truths. At times Ted Cruz temporarily seemed like a deer in the headlights. Cruz may have been shocked as Chuck Todd has admitted in the past reasons for not challenging guests.
Todd read statements from fellow Republicans who excoriated Ted Cruz. He read Senator Lamar Alexander’s admonishment about Cruz’s disrespectful behavior. He read Senator Orrin Hatch’s admonishment of Cruz’s squabbling and sanctimony, Senator McCain’s admonishment for his behavior impugning the character of colleagues, and Speaker Boehner calling him out as a false prophet and a jackass.
Todd then asked Ted Cruz how can he unite the Party when well respected Republicans think so lowly of him. Cruz’s answer was typical. “If you are looking for a candidate who the career politicians in Washington will embrace,” Cruz replied. “I am not your guy. Washington is broken. People are frustrated out of their minds. Everyone in the Republican primary is standing up saying vote for me cause I will stand up and fight Washington. Two weeks ago we had an epic knock down drag out fight on exactly this. Millions of Conservatives rose up and said, ‘Defund Planned Parenthood.’. Again I was proud to lead that fight. And where were the other candidates? It’s as if they were in the witness protection plan. Can you imagine how different that fight would have played out if all eleven Republican presidential candidates had descended on Washington instead and said in one voice ‘Mitch McConnell and John Boehner don’t send $500 million of taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood.’.”
Chuck Todd’s response was epic. It likely caught Ted Cruz off guard.
“There is another way to look at this Senator Cruz which is,” Chuck Todd said. “You stood up on Obamacare. You stood up on Planned Parenthood. You stood up on immigration. And nobody follows you. I mean I am just saying, nobody in Washington follows you. If you get elected president you got to get somebody to follow your lead in Washington whether you like it or not.”
A frazzled Ted Cruz then claimed that half of the Republicans were with him. By then Chuck Todd’s point was made.