Sen. Ted Cruz says he expects Donald Trump to "scream and yell and curse and insult" following his decision to team up with Ohio Gov. John Kasich in a bid to oust the billionaire developer from the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
On Sunday, Trump, the GOP presidential front-runner, tore into his second- and third-place rivals for
forming an alliance to defeat him in three states, calling it "desperation" and accusing the duo of "collusion."
But at a Monday press conference in Borden, Ind., Cruz said he is in no way surprised by Trump's attack because he's in "real trouble."
"I don't doubt that Donald Trump is going to scream and yell and curse and insult and probably cry and whine as well. That has been Donald's pattern," Cruz said.
"Everyone got all excited because last week Donald won his home state [of New York], which I'm amazed that's news anywhere. Of course Donald won his home state.
"I can tell you in the five elections that preceded New York, over the course of three weeks, we won landslide elections in all five starting with Utah, then North Dakota, then Wisconsin, then Colorado, then Wyoming … There is desperation on the Trump side."
Cruz said it is now "abundantly clear" that neither he nor Trump or Kasich can get to the magic 1,237 delegates to avoid a contested GOP convention this summer.
"At a contested convention, Donald Trump is in real trouble. Why? He cannot earn the support of a majority of the delegates elected by the people," Cruz said.
"Donald has been a minority candidate, a fringe candidate. He benefited early in the race by having a multitude of opponents … but what we had seen happening over the last month is the Republican party uniting behind our campaign."
Cruz, whose press conference was aired on Fox News and other media outlets, said of his campaign blitz through Indiana:
"This is about winning the votes of the Hoosier state. Giving Indiana the opportunity to choose and we're at a fork in the road. We are at a fundamental fork in the road.
"If Donald Trump is the Hillary nominee, Hillary wins. Hillary beats Donald Trump by double digits and if Hillary wins, and wins in a landslide, it not only costs us the presidency, we lose the Senate. We may lose the House. We lose the Supreme Court for a generation. We lose the Bill of Rights.
"Donald Trump at the top of the ticket losing in a landslide would cost Republican seats all throughout the state of Indiana … Indiana's coal industry will be bankrupted. Tens of thousands of jobs will be lost in the state of Indiana if Donald Trump is the nominee because guarantees Hillary Clinton a win."
Cruz said he has the ability to defeat beat Clinton in swing states, winning the support of independents and young people.
On Sunday, the campaigns of Cruz and Kasich issued statements outlining their plans, with Cruz to focus on winning delegates in Indiana, where Kasich will back off, while Cruz will "clear the path" for Kasich in Oregon and New Mexico.
Both plan to resume their competition as usual after the primaries in those three states.
"This is a decision, and allocation of resources that makes sense and is devoted to the principle of beating Hillary Clinton in November and turning this country around," Cruz said Monday.
He noted that many GOP candidates who've dropped out have since endorsed him, including Rick Perry, Lindsey Graham, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and Carly Fiorina.
Asked whether teaming with Kasich negates his claim of being a political "outsider," Cruz said:
"I have been from day one an outsider and the proof is in the pudding … I am the only candidate in this race that has taken on not just Democrats but leaders in my own party over and over and over again ...
"I understand that Donald will whine. That's what he does. Donald is a sore loser. When he lost five states in a row and landslide elections, Donald threw a tantrum. And his response is to attack the voters. His responses to attack the people.
"Yes, I get that the Trump campaign is scared. They are scared of Indiana … He would much rather hide in Trump Tower."
Trump, in a statement, said it was "sad" that "two grown politicians" are colluding against "one person who has only been a politician for ten months in order to try and stop that person from getting the Republican nomination."
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