Ted Cruz And John Kasich Cut A Surprise Deal To Try To Stop Donald Trump

These are desperate times for establishment Republicans, who may have talked Ted Cruz and John Kasich into doing something drastic. Both candidates’ teams announced on Sunday evening that they will cooperate for the remaining primaries. Their hope is to stall Donald Trump’s march toward 1,237 delegates, and they cut this deal before two crucial election Tuesdays. This week, five states will make their selections, and next week, Indiana will vote. However, this move may have come far too late.

Granted, Trump’s campaign strategy has been awfully disorganized. He has practically disregarded states that hold caucuses, and even minor states with primaries haven’t been a focus for him. Because everything about Trump (except his hands) is yuuuuge, the guy has zeroed in on the bigger, more exciting states like New York and Florida. So, there’s some wiggle room left for the frontrunner’s remaining rivals to try out a strategy. Both Cruz and Kasich’s campaigns will cede states to each other and made coordinated statements:

In a statement late Sunday night, Mr. Cruz’s campaign manager, Jeff Roe, said that the campaign would “focus its time and resources in Indiana and in turn clear the path for Governor Kasich to compete in Oregon and New Mexico.”

Minutes after Mr. Roe’s statement, the Kasich campaign put out a similar message. The Ohio governor’s chief strategist, John Weaver, said that his campaign would shift its resources to states in the West and “give the Cruz campaign a clear path in Indiana.”

A deal like this surely comes with promises; that is, both men may have wagered a cabinet or even a vice-presidential spot. Of course, Cruz has more to offer than Kasich, who has still only won his home state of Ohio. The New York Times notes that Kasich wanted to make a deal like this much sooner, but the Zodiac Killer relented only after turning his gaze towards Indiana. In other words, these two don’t really like each other, but they both truly can’t stomach Trump. There’s about a week of campaigning left before Indiana votes, so we’ll soon see if this partnership has any effect.

Predictably, Trump reacted to this news with utter glee on Twitter. He’s describing both of his rivals as full of “desperation,” and he’s brought back the “Lyin’ Ted” nickname. Trump thinks so little of Kasich that he won’t dream up a nickname for him.

(Via New York Times)