NYT: Trump Says Sen. Ted Cruz “Shouldn’t Even Exist”

The New York Times reports:

Mr. Trump works his endorsements through both fear and favor, happily cajoling fellow politicians by phone while firing off ominous social media posts about those who don’t fall in line quickly enough. In October, he felled a top candidate for House speaker, Representative Tom Emmer, by posting that voting for him “would be a tragic mistake!” On Wednesday, Mr. Emmer capitulated and endorsed him.

“They always bend the knee,” Mr. Trump said privately of Mr. Emmer’s endorsement, according to a person who spoke to him. And Mr. Trump is privately ranting about and workshopping nicknames for other holdouts, like Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.

“Ted — he shouldn’t even exist,” Mr. Trump said recently of Mr. Cruz, a 2016 rival, according to a person who heard the remarks and recounted them soon after. “I could’ve destroyed him. I kind of did destroy him in 2016, if you think about it. But then I let him live.”

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In the Senate — the body of elected Republicans most resistant to Trump — he has 19 endorsements. DeSantis and Haley have 0. Senators John Barrasso & Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming are expected to endorse Mr. Trump before the Iowa caucuses, per two sources. https://t.co/19vGuDgtH4

— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) January 4, 2024