Just half a day into an
agreement to team up to fight Donald Trump's nomination, the deal between Ted Cruz and John Kasich appeared to be fraying, with Kasich declining to tell his supporters to vote for Cruz in Indiana.
"I've never told them not to vote for me; they should vote for me," Kasich told reporters at a diner in Philadelphia.
"I'm not over there campaigning and spending resources. We have limited resources," a clearly annoyed Kasich said. "Mine is like the people's campaign. I have a campaign where, you know, we've been outspent basically 50-to-1. You folks have been counting me out before I even got to New Hampshire. And now we can't jam all of you into this diner. I mean, everybody chill out."
Kasich's chief strategist John Weaver took to Twitter to note that the campaign isn't giving up on votes, but allocating resources where they can most help.
Trump didn't let Kasich's words go unnoticed, tweeting that Kasich isn't as good at making – and keeping – deals as he is:
The Kasich and Cruz pact was announced separately by the two campaigns on Sunday night, with Cruz announcing he is going all in on Indiana on May 3 while Kasich is stopping his efforts there. Meanwhile Cruz is abandoning efforts in Oregon (May 17) and New Mexico (June 7), while Kasich boosts his efforts there.
With both Cruz and Kasich mathematically eliminated from winning enough delegates before the party's convention this summer, they hope instead to prevent Trump from reaching the number as well, thereby forcing a second vote of delegates that each hopes to win.