It would have been difficult to predict this outcome in April 2016. Not only did Trump call Cruz “Lying Ted” (a nickname from Trump’s efforts to soften his loss in the Iowa election), but the fight between the two was particularly nasty. The field narrowed and Cruz was stranded.
In mid-April 2016, the National Enquirer published an article alleging that Cruz’s father, Rafael, was working with Lee Harvey Oswald days before Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy. . It was a ridiculous claim, but one on Cruise dismissed it. (“Yes,” he said at an event in Indiana. “My father killed JFK, he’s secretly Elvis, and Jimmy Hoffa is buried in the backyard.”) But Rafael Cruz Trump took control of it the following month.
“My father was with Lee Harvey Oswald before Oswald was shot and killed,” Cruz said in an interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” but the details are a bit muddled. “What was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald just before his death?” he added. “Before shooting? That’s terrible.”
It turns out the article came to fruition with the blessing of Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer and slasher fixer. The details were revealed when former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified at Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan. Mr. Pecker met with Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump in August 2015 and helped Mr. Trump by publishing helpful articles and killing problematic articles (such as those at the center of the criminal charges against Mr. Trump). He testified that he agreed to help with the election campaign. The story of Cruise and JFK was one product of that agreement.
Cohen would sometimes do that. pitch storyPecker testifies, the magazine will be like this share your story Before they hear Cohen’s thoughts. Mr. Pecker claimed he did not collaborate with Mr. Trump on this article. Whether Mr. Trump was informed of Mr. Cohen’s story could be assessed based on other evidence.
The story that targeted Cruise left the biggest impression on me. But another article, published in March 2016, was much dirtier.
“Ted Cruz’s Sex Scandal – 5 Secret Lovers” was advertised on the Enquirer’s front page. Among them was an article alleging that Mr. Cruz had been unfaithful to his wife, and outlining the alleged affair. During a CNN panel discussion, a Trump ally accused another participant of being one of the five. She flatly denied it – it was invented from whole cloth.
That was Cruz’s answer.
“The CEO of the National Enquirer is a man named David Pecker,” Mr. Cruz said at a campaign event. “Well, David is good friends with Donald Trump. In fact, the National Enquirer supports Donald Trump and says he should be president.” She lamented that her daughters would one day “read the lies and attacks about their father spread by Donald, his henchmen, and his National Bureau of Investigation colleagues.”
Mr. Cruz was slightly off the mark, identifying the source of the story as Mr. Trump’s aide Roger Stone, not Mr. Cohen. Stone “foresaw this attack coming for months,” he said. Perhaps that’s because the story was publicly known among Trump’s inner circle.
But otherwise, Cruise was right. Trump’s denials weren’t that old back then.
President Trump claimed, “I didn’t know about it and I haven’t read it yet.” “Likewise, I have no affiliation with the National Enquirer, and unlike Lyn’ Ted Cruz, I don’t surround myself with political hacks and henchmen and pretend to be completely innocent.” He pointed out that Ra’s newspaper had occasionally broken the true story over the years, subtly hinting that this might be a similar event.
From the witness stand, Pecker identified other articles that targeted President Trump’s main opponents that cycle. One is about neurosurgeon Ben Carson, which the doctor essentially admitted, and the other is about a similar allegation about an extramarital affair by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida). There are. ).
It is clear that the article identified by Mr. Pecker was coordinated with Mr. Cohen to undermine President Trump’s opponents, centering on the issue of extramarital affairs. Trump’s defenders have argued that the central topic of the Manhattan indictment — involving Trump’s alleged interactions with adult film actress Stormy Daniels — was clearly brought up by Cohen (following Pecker’s tip-off). He insists that he was buried as a matter of fact, and not because of any crime. campaign. But Mr. Pecker testified that Mr. Cohen’s agreement with Mr. Trump in August 2015 was specifically focused on the campaign. The fact that the story about the extramarital affair was seen as a way to politically damage President Trump’s opponents indicates an understanding that Daniels’ story was equally damaging.
Pecker’s testimony theoretically gave Ted Cruz a chance to regain victory eight years late. His assessment of Trump’s involvement in the ally’s “mistress” narrative was spot on.
Unfortunately for the senator, he is currently too close to President Trump to actually take a victory lap. Politics, like love, is complicated.
