Charles Krauthammer, George Will disagree over who won Cruz-Trump 'cage match'


The latest Fox News poll of Iowa voters shows Donald Trump opening up a commanding lead over Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), 34 percent to 23 percent, with both candidates essentially tied among white evangelical Christians. On Fox News Special Report Monday night, Bret Baier asked his panel — Juan Williams, Charles Krauthammer, and George Will — what they thought about this 11-point swing in Trump's favor. Williams said he will believe it when Trump's first-time caucus-goers show up at the school gym on a cold Iowa night to caucus for Trump. Krauthammer all but declared the Iowa race for Trump.
"These numbers — assuming they're true, assuming they hold for another week — show that the big cage match that began with the last debate between Trump and Cruz has been won by Trump," Krauthammer said. The consensus after the debate was that Cruz won, he added, "but I thought it was obvious that there was one single exchange that was the important one, the one on 'New York values.' Trump played the 9/11 card and left Cruz speechless — which is a spectacle that's rarely seen." Trump's questioning of Cruz's Canadian birth also "seems to have worked and put Cruz on the defensive," Krauthammer said.
George Will had a counterintuitive take: "I suspect that Cruz's polling indicates that the 'New York values' exchange actually helped him outside New York, which is where it matters, because we just saw the ad where he doubles down on that by saying 'Donald Trump, New York values.'" Krauthammer stepped in: "But if it helped him, how come he lost 14 points?" "I don't know," Will said, suggesting maybe Cruz's opposition to ethanol was to blame. Watch the entire exchange below. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purge
Cartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?
In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Sudoku medium: August 23, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by Trump
Speed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank plan
Speed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutional
Speed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for rifles
Speed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBI
Speed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summit
Speed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'