Ted Cruz Claims Trump Nomination Would Hand Clinton The White House

During a recent speech to the Republican party in North Dakota, presidential hopeful Ted Cruz has claimed that if the party elects Donald Trump to take them into the general election, it would essentially hand the White House to Hillary Clinton. The speech appears to be a bid by Ted Cruz to raise fear around a Donald Trump nomination and help him to garner further support as the anti-Trump candidate in the Republican primary race.

As reported by NBC News, speaking to the North Dakota Republican Party, Ted Cruz has claimed that should Donald Trump win the nomination, the party would lose to Hillary Clinton, going as far as to claim that “he loses by double digits.”

“It hands the general election to Hillary Clinton with a big silver bow.”

Ted Cruz claimed that the Republican nomination process was now incredibly simple; nominating Donald would elect Hillary Clinton. According to Cruz, this is a simple fact that many within the Republican party are waking up to, and according to him, explains Trump’s recent dip in numbers. That being said, it’s worth remembering that Donald Trump still leads Ted Cruz by a good deal and is still seen as the favorite to pick up the Republican nomination this July.

According to Politico, Cruz also used his speech as an opportunity to assure voters that he would be able to beat Hillary Clinton if she was selected as the Democratic nominee. That being said, the speech to Republican delegates appeared to be wholly targeted at front-runner Trump. During his speech, Ted Cruz made no reference to his other rival for the Republican nomination, John Kasich. However, that’s likely to be something to do with the lack of a threat Cruz feels that Kasich has been throughout the primary process.

Ted Cruz, a senator from Texas took the decision to travel out to Fargo in North Dakota for a very specific reason this weekend. That reason was 25 delegates at stake at this weekend’s convention who are currently unbound to any particular candidate, meaning that Ted Cruz will definitely be looking to pick up their votes.

Cruz ended his speech with a simple statement, telling attendees that there were “only two candidates who have any plausible path, me and Donald Trump.” To which a woman in the crowd exclaimed “No way, not Donald” and Cruz replied, “Well said.” It’s pretty clear that anti-Trump sentiment is growing within the grassroots of the Republican party, and that’s definitely something Ted Cruz will be looking to capitalize on if he wants to win his party’s nomination.

Great to be in Fargo with @TedCruz for the North Dakota GOP Convention! pic.twitter.com/c8LEPzKHZH

— Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) April 2, 2016

Interestingly, it was Carly Fiorina that introduced Ted Cruz at the convention on Saturday, with the previous candidate using the opportunity to take aim at Donald Trump. Carly Fiorina suspended her bid to become the Republican nominee back on February 10, most likely because of low polling. Whilst remaining largely quiet since her withdrawal from the race, she did endorse Ted Cruz earlier last month, whilst continuing to be vocal against Donald Trump.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, isn’t set to be making an appearance at the convention in North Dakota, sending Ben Carson to represent his campaign. It’s pretty clear that Trump doesn’t need the support of North Dakota’s delegates as much as Ted Cruz does, which could very well explain his decision not to attend the convention. That being said, it could be a decision that backfires if Ted Cruz continues to close the gap between himself and Trump.

With that in mind, all eyes are now on Wisconsin and whilst Donald Trump may still hold a key lead, Ted Cruz is managing to grab back some ground from the front-runner.

[Photo by Darren Hauck/Getty Images]