Sen. Ted Cruz says Donald Trump needs to stop acting like a "mobster" by menacing the GOP over its presidential primary rules.
In an interview Tuesday on
"The Glenn Beck Program," the Texas lawmaker said Trump is a "sore loser" over the
fight for delegates ahead of the Republican National Convention in July.
The day before, Trump called the GOP primary process "rigged" in light of Cruz's recent
sweep of delegates in Colorado.
The GOP front-runner currently as 755 delegates, while Cruz has 545 and Ohio Gov. John Kasich 143,
according to Real Clear Politics.
A total of 1,237 delegates are needed to win the GOP nomination.
"Donald needs to stop threatening the voters," Cruz said. "He needs to stop threatening the delegates."
"Donald needs to understand that he's not Michael Corleone," he added, referring to the "The Godfather" character. "The presidency should not be La Cosa Nostra. Donald Trump keeps hiring people with records of dirty tricks, lies and threats of violence. He is not a mobster."
Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, has drawn controversy over
roughly grabbing a reporter at a campaign event last month, and Cruz maintains the campaign mismanagement is what's costing Trump contests.
"Donald's ground game is nonexistent," he tells Beck, who is a Cruz supporter. "Apparently, when anyone votes against him, it's an act of theft."
"Donald's whole pitch is that he's a great businessman . . . Yet his campaign right now, it looks like he can't run a lemonade stand," Cruz said. "If Donald were an apprentice on his show, Donald would say to himself, 'You're fired.'"
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.