During two Sunday morning TV appearances Donald Trump continued his attacks on Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is challenging him in the polls in Iowa, saying Cruz is indirectly responsible for Obamacare.
Cruz praised current Chief Justice John Roberts when he as appointed by then President George W. Bush as "brilliant" and a "lawyer's lawer,"
The Texas Tribune reported in 2012.
But it was Roberts' vote — twice —that helped cement the Affordable Care Act as legal, a point that Trump was quick to bring up on ABC's
"This Week"
Cruz "was pushing him hard," Trump said of Roberts. "Justice Roberts gave us Obamacare. Obamacare would have been terminated twice if it weren't for Justice Roberts. First time 100 percent. Second time, 90 percent it would have died of its own weight."
Roberts, Trump said, "gave us Obamacare. Almost as much as Obama himself."
Trump told host George Stephanopoulos he will ensure that he doesn't appoint judges who turn out to make rulings opposite of conservative expectations by consulting with the best people.
"I'm asking you, why did [Cruz] push so hard to have a judge who has absolutely set the conservative movement back?" Trump asked.
Cruz may be doing well against him in Iowa, but Trump said he still doesn't think Cruz has a chance to beat him for the nomination because "he's a nasty guy."
Cruz was "nice" to him early in the race, Trump said, but "I was watching. I kept saying, 'Come on Ted. Let's go, OK.' But he's a nasty guy. Nobody likes him. Nobody in Congress likes him. Nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him."
Trump also continued hitting on Cruz's eligibility to be president over questions of his "natural born" American status. Trump has said he isn't questioning Cruz, but warned that Democrats will file lawsuits if Trump is the nominee, and one, if fact, already has.
When Stephanopoulos noted that the person in question doesn't have legal standing to file the case, but that Trump, as his political rival might, Trump said he might just consider filing a suit himself "and do the public a big favor."
"It's a good idea," Trump said. "I'd like to talk to Ted about that. See how he feels about that, because when I file suits I file real suits."
Trump told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" that Cruz "probably" was making a dog-whistle remark about ethnic groups in New York when he disparaged "New York values" recently, but added, "You'd have to ask him."
Though some people gave Cruz good marks for Thursday's debate performance, Trump said, "I think he came across very strident and not a nice person."
On other subjects, Trump said:
• He'd love to see former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg enter the race as an independent because he would take votes away from Democrat Hillary Clinton because of his anti-gun stance.
• He doesn't regret saying he's never asked God for forgiveness. "I have great relationship with God. I have great relationship with the evangelicals," he said. "I like to be good. I don't like to have to ask for forgiveness. And I am good. I don't do a lot of things that are bad. I try and do nothing that's bad. I live a very different life than probably a lot of people would think."
• He doesn't yet know if he would use public funding for a general election campaign or fund it himself as he is doing in the primary race.
• He would like to see campaign finance reform that gets big money out of politics "because I think PACs are a horrible thing."