Ted Cruz says nominating Donald Trump would be a 'trainwreck'

(Image credit: Darren Hauck/Getty Images)

last updated 30 March 2016

At the CNN Republican Town Hall on Tuesday, Ted Cruz said if Donald Trump becomes the Republican nominee, it would "hand the general election to Hillary Clinton."

Cruz said a Trump nomination would be an "absolute trainwreck," and "poll after poll after poll" shows Trump losing to Clinton. On the topic of Trump's campaign manager facing battery charges following an alleged altercation with a reporter, Cruz said it "shouldn't be complicated that members of the campaign staff should not be physically assaulting the press." The culture of Trump's campaign has been "built on attacks and insults," Cruz added, and he believes "there is no place in politics for insults and personal attacks and going to the gutter, and there should be no place for physical violence either."

When asked about his greatest personal failure, Cruz sidestepped the question, saying he was a "pretty driven guy, that has pros and cons." He also said while his faith is an important part of his life, he is not asking people to vote for him because of his "personal faith in Jesus Christ. I'm asking you to vote for me because I've spent a lifetime fighting to defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights, fighting to defend the American free enterprise system, and we need a leader who will stand up every day and protect the rights of everybody, whether they're Christians or Jews or Muslims or anyone else." Catherine Garcia

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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.

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