Trying to catch businessman Donald Trump before Saturday’s South Carolina primary, two U.S. senators running for the Republican presidential nomination--Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida--are increasingly attacking each other.
The latest clash between the two senators started on the debate stage on Saturday night as Cruz went after Rubio’s record on immigration.
“The lines are very, very clear,” Cruz said. “Marco right now supports citizenship for 12 million people here illegally. I oppose citizenship. Marco stood on the debate stage and said that. But I would note not only that, Marco has a long record when it comes to amnesty. In the state of Florida, as speaker of the house, he supported in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. In addition to that, Marco went on Univision in Spanish and said he would not rescind President Obama's illegal executive amnesty on his first day in office. I have promised to rescind every single illegal executive action, including that one.”
Rubio agreed with Trump’s assessment that Cruz was a liar and fired back.
“This is a disturbing pattern now, because for a number of weeks now, Ted Cruz has just been telling lies," Rubio said. “He lies about Planned Parenthood. He lies about marriage. He's lying about all sorts of things. And now he makes things up. The bottom line is this is a campaign and people are watching it. And they see the truth behind all these issues.”
Cruz’s team doubled down on their candidate’s line of attack on Monday, pointing to statements Rubio made in the media and insisting the senator from Florida backed amnesty for illegals.
“Apparently, Marco Rubio can’t handle the truth,” said Rick Tyler, a spokesman for Cruz. “But the record is crystal clear and every word Ted Cruz said at the debate about Rubio’s record is absolutely true.”
Rubio’s team fired back on Tuesday night. Alex Conant, a spokesman for Rubio, noted that a Super PAC backing Cruz had been called on its ads and trashed the Texas senator’s “slimy smear tactics.”
“This weekend, TV stations in South Carolina pulled down ads from a Ted Cruz Super PAC after legal review because their accusations about Marco were so false," Conant noted. “First it was lying about Marco on fundamental issues like life and marriage; now Cruz and his supporters attempts to slander and distort Marco’s record have reached a new low.
Conant also agreed with Trump’s take on Cruz.
“Over the weekend Donald Trump said, ‘I have never ever seen someone who lies as much as Ted Cruz,’ and I have to say...Trump may be right on that,” Conant noted. “Ted Cruz and his campaign are hoping that they will win by distorting their opponents’ records and avoiding anyone looking at Ted’s. We are going to fight around the clock to expose Ted’s fraudulent efforts and promote Marco’s positive and forward-thinking conservative campaign.”
The polls show Cruz and Rubio battling for second behind Trump. A poll from American Research Group released on Tuesday had Trump out front with 33 percent, Rubio in second with 16 percent, Cruz tied with Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, with 14 percent, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush pulling 9 percent and Dr. Ben Carson with 3 percent. A CNN/ORC poll released on Tuesday had Trump ahead with 38 percent, Cruz in second with 22 percent followed by Rubio at 14 percent, Bush at 10 percent, Carson with 6 percent and Kasich behind with 4 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
