Trumping The Shark: Ted Cruz Lamely Hits Back At Trump Birther Attack

Republican Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is at it again, bombarding another minority presidential candidate with questions about his citizenship, only this time it’s Ted Cruz.

Trump resurrected the attack (which he’s previously repudiated) in an interview with The Washington Post Monday night, then again in his big Morning Joe interview, and in New Hampshire Tuesday, he hit Cruz on citizenship and his absence from the first primary state:

“I just know that it’s being questioned all over in a lot of people are asking me that question. The problem is that if the Democrats bring a lawsuit, a lawsuit could take years to resolve

“…I know he’s got, I think he’s got all his onions in the old basket of Iowa, and you know, that’s fine, but he hasn’t been here very much. I don’t think he intends to be.”

Cruz initially responded to the attack with a tweet that would have been clever in 2005, responding with a clip of Arthur Fonzarelli’s legendary aquatic exploit:

My response to @realDonaldTrump calling into question my natural-born citizenship? https://t.co/gWfAHznlCY

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 5, 2016

Unlike Fonzie, though, Cruz didn’t quite stick the landing when he was asked about it later. Instead of hitting back at Trump, even in his “Haha, Biff!” fake-friendly way, Cruz lamely tried to blame the media for forcing Cruz’s face into Trump’s fist:

“Listen, with all respect, our good friends here in the media are playing into the Democrat’s play book. How about we talk about the real challenges facing this country?”

“I tweeted out a response to Donald Trump’s raising questions about my natural-born citizenship. It was a link to Fonzie jumping the shark and I think I’m going to let my response stick with that tweet. One of the things that media loves to do is gaze at their navels for hours on end by a tweet from Donald Trump or me or anyone else, let’s focus on the issues that matter.”

This sort of “high road” response isn’t that unusual, but usually, you’re taking the high road against the person who attacked you, not some random third party. “The media” has nothing to do with this, it is Donald Trump who’s attacking Cruz, and people can see that. By tying himself in knots to avoid making a strong response to Trump, Cruz is only underscoring the degree to which he’s scared out of his pants by him. Part of the reason Trump is succeeding is that…READ MORE

By: Tommy Christopher

Tommy Christopher is The Daily Banter's White House Correspondent and Political Analyst. He's been a political reporter and liberal commentator since 2007, and has covered the White House since the beginning of the Obama administration, first for PoliticsDaily, and then for Mediaite. Christopher is a frequent guest on a variety of television, radio, and online programs, and was the villain in the documentaries The Audacity of Democracy and Hating Breitbart. He's also That Guy Who Live-Tweeted His Own Heart Attack, and the only person to have ever received public apologies from both Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.