"Ted Cruz gave us Obamacare," says Donald Trump
Little Rock, Arkansas Donald Trump, in a tit-for-tat with his chief rival coming out of Iowa, accused Texas Sen. Ted Cruz of bearing direct responsibility for the Affordable Care Act.
"Ted Cruz gave us Obamacare," Trump said at a Wednesday rally in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The line of attack invoked the landmark health care law that is anathema to many conservatives. Cruz, for his part, has accused Trump of supporting Obamacare, too, accusing Trump as holding the same position on healthcare as Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.
Trump's rationale for his claim is a little roundabout. It's based on the fact that Cruz supported John Roberts' nomination to be chief justice of the Supreme Court, which in turn led to the law being upheld twice before the court.
"[Cruz] pushed him. He approved him," Trump said. "And Justice Roberts approved Obamacare twice when it should have been rejected. His vote got it over the top. Ted Cruz did that."
Trump arrived nearly two hours late to the rally due to mechanical issues with his plane that forced his team to land what is colloquially coined "Trump Force One" in Nashville, Tennessee. He took a different plane to the rally.
"There was a minor mechanical issue and Mr. Trump traveled the rest of the trip in a small charter aircraft," said Hope Hicks, Trump's spokesperson.
The late arrival didn't dampen Trump's energy as he launched more attacks at Cruz, calling him "dishonest" in reference to allegations from another candidate, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
Carson has accused Cruz's campaign of trying to poach his voters by sending an email to Iowa voters claiming Carson was leaving the race, based on a CNN report that Carson would be absent from the trail and returning home for awhile. Cruz has since said that his staff should have sent a follow-up note to correct the first email. Trump wasted no time in trying to capitalize.
"I said how can they do that?" Trump said. "And everybody said, 'How can they do that?' And then he doesn't get the votes, Ben, but Ted gets the votes."
Wednesday marked a change in demeanor for Trump since Tuesday - from humble to angry. Trump posted a series of angry tweets, calling for a re-do of the Iowa caucuses, just two days after delivering a gracious concession speech in which he congratulated Cruz.
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"He should just give it up and move on to New Hampshire," said 26-year-old Scott Tierney, after rolling his eyes. Tierney, a software salesman, from Conway, Arkansas, said he will vote for either Trump, Cruz or Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
Others disagreed.
"I don't think he's a sore loser," said 42-year-old Kris Clayborn, a Trump supporter from Harrison - nearly a three hour drive away. "I know there was a lot of Democrat problems as far as the caucus. To see it on the Republican side doesn't surprise me."
In Arkansas, Trump spoke in front of the an arena that was slightly more than half full, even as Trump claimed it was a record crowd of more than 12,000. Trump may also have committed a college football faux pas - complimenting the University of Alabama's football team - an SEC rival - of Arkansas. The crowd booed.
The crowd was rowdy. One man roamed the floor at the Barton Coliseum wearing a black t-shirt that said "Obama Is A Terrorist" on the back.
While Trump shook hands on the rope line, a topless man with "T R" painted on his chest continuously tried to get Trump's attention. Another man wore a Denver Broncos bathrobe to the rally, to commemorate the Super Bowl. His name was Harrell Boyles and he also wore a pink tie with pigs on it under the bathrobe with a badge pinned to it that said "OMG GOP! WTF?" To complete the outfit, he wore American flag shorts.
Trump heads back to New Hampshire Thursday for four public events -- his first day on the campaign trail with four stops.