The Republican party is genuinely freaking out about Donald Trump right about now. We’re right on the cusp of Super Tuesday, which could spawn enough Trump momentum to make his GOP nomination impossible. All too late, the other candidates launched a debate assault, but Trump seems invulnerable to defeat. He knows he can say anything — and even casually mention shooting someone — yet his crowds will still cheer.
The other GOP candidates are still putting in a last-minute crusade. Marco Rubio is fighting hard while using Trump’s game to topple the frontrunner. Ted Cruz isn’t too far behind and may capture his home state of Texas. On Meet the Press (where Trump later answered to Benito Mussolini comparisons), Cruz told Chuck Todd all about Trump’s alleged mob connections. Cruz believes this could be the true reason Trump refuses to release his tax returns before Super Tuesday:
“Chuck, maybe it is the case — there have been multiple media reports about Donald’s business dealings with the Mob, with the Mafia. Maybe his taxes show those business dealings are a lot more extensive than has been reported.”
Todd then stopped Cruz to say he was being “openly speculative” and asked for facts. Naturally, Cruz was pleased to oblige:
“Oh sure. ABC, CNN, NBC, multiple reports have reported about his business dealings with, for example, S&A Construction, which was owned by Fat Tony Solarno (SP), who was a mobster who is in jail. It is owned by two of the major crime families, and that has been reported by multiple media outlets.”
Cruz added that perhaps Trump contributed to Planned Parenthood and doesn’t want anyone to know. Trump claims an audit won’t allow him to release his tax returns, but he could be hiding anything. (He’s gonna drag his feet through Super Tuesday, and then it may be too late.) Later on Sunday morning, Cruz provided a quick reaction after Trump’s refusal to disavow David Duke and the KKK. Cruz tweeted how he felt “really sad” because even Trump is “better than this.”
Really sad. @realDonaldTrump you're better than this. We should all agree, racism is wrong, KKK is abhorrent. https://t.co/dn2D74c5dl
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 28, 2016
Something else, which was both sad and hilarious, happened this weekend. On Saturday, Chris Christie traveled to Arkansas to further endorse and introduce Trump, but then Trump dispensed with him. The two men embraced, and the cameras captured a Lost in Translation-esque goodbye. Sadly (for Christie), there was no mystery about what Trump said: “Get in the plane and go home. It’s over there. You go home.”