Cruz supporters vow to donate $1.5 million to veteran groups if Trump will debate him one-on-one

Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

Is this the offer that Donald Trump won't be able to refuse?

In a joint statement, the families of hedge fund executive Robert Mercer and energy investor Toby Neugebauer said if Trump agrees to debate Ted Cruz in Iowa before Sunday, they'll donate $1.5 million to veteran charities. The families have already given millions of dollars to pro-Cruz super PACs, The Washington Post reports. By promising to donate to organizations that help veterans, they're lining up with a cause Trump supports — earlier Wednesday, he said instead of attending the Fox News Republican debate on Thursday, he'll hold his own special event in Des Moines that will benefit vets.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.