Donald Trump, always up for a good conspiracy theory, tweeted this morning that Ted Cruz “illegally stole” the Iowa caucus. The tweet was posted at 8:40AM and generated a number of retweets.
But within a few minutes, he deleted the tweet. He then replaced it with the same tweet, without the word “illegally.”
Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
Trump has also been pushing the discredited theory that Cruz is not eligible to run for President because he was born in Canada. The attacks have also gotten personal.
.@realDonaldTrump on @tedcruz: "He's a nasty guy. Nobody likes him." https://t.co/vtBLy59a5W #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/lRVfUs9RJu
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 17, 2016
Trump was leading the polls released in the days before the Iowa caucus by a few points. He ended up finishing in second place with 24 percent of the vote, 3 points behind Cruz. The disappointing finish threatens Trump’s brand as a “winner” who is dominating his competition.
Trump has been able to dominate the political conversation by advancing outrageous claims that attract the attention of the media and the public.
Update:
In a series of tweets, Trump details how Cruz “stole” the caucus:
During primetime of the Iowa Caucus, Cruz put out a release that @RealBenCarson was quitting the race, and to caucus (or vote) for Cruz.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
Cruz did circulate a news story suggesting Carson would drop out and apologized for it.
Many people voted for Cruz over Carson because of this Cruz fraud. Also, Cruz sent out a VOTER VIOLATION certificate to thousands of voters.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
The Voter Violation certificate gave poor marks to the unsuspecting voter(grade of F) and told them to clear it up by voting for Cruz. Fraud
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
Trump is referring to this mailer.
And finally, Cruz strongly told thousands of caucusgoers (voters) that Trump was strongly in favor of ObamaCare and "choice" – a total lie!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
Trump previously complained about Cruz claiming he supports universal health care, similar to Obamacare.
Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016