An endorsement from Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who suspended his bid for the GOP nomination Tuesday night, would be "nice," presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump said Wednesday morning, but it's not necessary.
"I've been saying for a long time that there's some people I almost don't want their endorsement, Republicans, because it was too rough and they were too nasty," Trump told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program.
"I don't think it's going to matter frankly. It's going to be me. I am a Republican. I'll do a good job. I'll do a great job on trade and the economy and bringing jobs back. I'll do great on the military."
Trump, in his victory speech Tuesday night, said he didn't know if the Texas senator likes him, but praised him as "one hell of a competitor. He's one tough, smart guy, and he has got an amazing future."
But even with his supportive words on Cruz, Trump still was in attack mode against his critics, calling columnist George Will, who has continued to argue against a Trump presidency, a "loser" and a "dour guy" and said that Will doesn't like him because he would not go to one of the columnist's speeches at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
"I find him to be a dull person, dull," said Trump. "I never thought I would be in politics or run for office...he's a nasty guy, a very nasty guy. Nobody reads him. He has no influence. If he had influence, I wouldn't be talking to you."
He also railed against Fox News' Charles Krauthammer, saying "all he does is bash me."
Meanwhile, Trump pushed back on comments made by Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton's contention that Trump does not understand the "gravity of the decisions" that go along with being president.
"It's just words, just another politician talking," said Trump. "Bernie Sanders said about Hillary Clinton she's got poor judgment. He also said she's unqualified. I won't even go there. Bernie Sanders said she's got poor judgment, and she does."
Looking forward, Trump has stayed away from support from super PACS, and while he said he loves self funding, "we do need money for the party. The party will come together."
But at the same time, "do I want to sell a couple of buildings and self-fund?" he said. "I don't know that I want to do that necessarily but I really won't be asking for money for myself, I'll be asking money for the party.
"Really, it's something we're going to start on right away. I got a call last night from [Republican National Committee Chairman] Reince Priebus. It's something we're going to start on now."
Trump also said he has not yet chosen a running mate, but he will probably "go the political route" for "somebody that can help me with legislation, somebody that can get things passed.
"Somebody that's been friends with senators and congressman, so we don't have to go the executive order route as much as Obama did, where he can't get anything approved so he just keeps signing executive orders. But more than likely, I would go the political route."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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