Donald Trump Campaign Manager Says Ted Cruz Uses ‘Gestapo Tactics’ in Delegate Fight
Donald Trump’s controversial campaign manager reportedly accused Republican rival Ted Cruz of using “Gestapo tactics” in his push to win over delegates to the GOP convention.
Paul Manafort told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Cruz was acting improperly to win support at state and county conventions, Politico reported
“It’s not my style; it’s not Donald Trump’s style,” he responded. “But it is Ted Cruz’s style. And that’s going to wear thin very fast.”
Manafort accused Cruz’s campaign of foul play, although he refused to discuss the tactics that he was outraged about.
“We’re going to be filing several protests because the reality is, they are not playing by the rules,” he said.
The Anti-Defamation League and other watchdog groups have repeatedly urged politicians and other public figures to refrain from invoking terms from the Nazi era or the Holocaust era to deride rivals.
Manafort was hired by Trump’s campaign to shore up its flagging effort to win delegates in the opaque state-by-state world of GOP gatherings. He was later promoted to run the entire campaign, amid increasing infighting in the camp of the Republican frontrunner.
Even though Trump has won the most votes and leads among pledged delegates, he is being routed in state after state by Cruz at conventions, where the Texas senator’s deep conservativism and appeal to evangelical voters plays well.
In several states where Trump won the popular vote, delegates are bound to vote for him on the first round at the convention. But after that, they can vote for whomever they please, making the fight a high-stakes battle.
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