Ted Cruz: Donald Trump ‘Rattled’ and ‘Very, Very Dismayed’

GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is continuing to throw punches at GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, telling reporters in New Hampshire on Monday that Trump is different than President Ronald Reagan, but also adding that he won’t engage in attacks on the campaign trail.

“Donald did an interview where he described that he thinks that he’s bigger than Ronald Reagan — I think the American people will make that determination,” Cruz reportedly told reporters while campaigning in New Hampshire on Monday. Cruz challenged:

I would note that Ronald Reagan spent decades as a principled conservative, spent decades traveling the country sharing his conservative, free-market views [and] defending the Constitution. Ronald Reagan did not spend the first 60 years of his life supporting Democratic politicians, advocating for big government politics, supporting things like the big bank bailouts, supporting things like expanding Obamacare to turn it into socialized medicine.

“That’s not what Ronald Reagan did,” Cruz stated. “Ronald Reagan was a voice of consistency, and I’m pretty sure that Ronald Reagan didn’t write checks and support Democratic politicians like Andrew Cuomo, like Anthony Weiner, like Hillary Clinton. I’m pretty sure Ronald Reagan didn’t write a huge check to Rahm Emanuel in December of 2010 after the big Tea Party wave.”

Cruz hinted that Trump was “rattled” because Cruz was neck and neck with him in Iowa, according to several polls.

“There’s a reason he is very, very dismayed,” Cruz added. “Conservatives are here to unite as his poll numbers continue to go down and he’s a little testy about it.”

Cruz’s criticism that Trump is nothing like Ronald Reagan comes one day after Cruz suggested on Twitter that Trump could be a Democrat.

According to the Washington Examiner, Cruz also said he wouldn’t bash Trump on the campaign trail.

“From my end, I have no intention of engaging,” Cruz reportedly stated. “If he wants to engage in insults, that’s his prerogative. I like Donald Trump, I respect Donald Trump. I’m going to keep the focus of this campaign on substance of issues.”