Sen. Ted Cruz’s comments came in response to a question about Bob Dole, who said in a New York Times interview that Cruz would be more damaging to the GOP than would Donald Trump. | Getty Cruz: 'Washington establishment' backs Trump, has abandoned Rubio

HOLLIS, N.H. — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Wednesday charged that the GOP establishment is “abandoning” Sen. Marco Rubio and coalescing around Donald Trump, though he did not provide any names of who in the Washington establishment is doing so.

“Right now the Washington establishment is abandoning Marco Rubio, they made an assessment that Marco can’t win this race, and the Washington establishment is rushing over to support Donald Trump,” he told reporters here. “We’re seeing that happen every day and Mr. Trump is welcoming the support of the Washington establishment.”


Pressed on who in that category was actually backing Trump, Cruz would only say, “We are seeing more and more of the establishment calling out their support for Donald Trump,” before going on to note Trump’s past record of donating to Democrats and more moderate Republicans.

“If you believe what we need is more deal-making, more going along to get along, use his words, with Harry Reid and Barack Obama and the Democrats, then you can can understand why the establishment is unifying behind him,” he said, noting his own record of being willing to break with both parties, which he said is what Republican voters want to see.

Cruz’s initial comments came in response to a question about former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, who said in a New York Times interview that Cruz would be more damaging to the GOP than Trump, specifically that Cruz would generate “wholesale losses” and be unable to work with Congress. In the interview, Dole also said he questioned Cruz’s “allegiance” to the Republican Party.

“I’m a Christian first, American second, conservative third and Republican fourth,” said Cruz, who is currently a distant second place, behind Trump, for the GOP nomination in several national polls. “I’ll tell ya, there are a whole lot of people in this country that feel exactly the same way.”

A day earlier, Cruz was also criticized by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who said he wanted to see Cruz lose Iowa because of his opposition to the ethanol mandate.

“Yesterday, when Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad took a shot at all of the conservatives uniting behind me because he wants to continue Washington picking winners and losers, in the hours that followed that attack from Gov. Branstad, we raised $700,000,” he said.

Cruz, who spoke to reporters after returning to Washington to vote on a Syrian refugee bill, also tweaked Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for missing the vote.

Rubio’s campaign answered Cruz.

“This is more evidence that Ted Cruz is willing to say and do anything if he thinks it’ll help him politically,” Rubio communications director Alex Conant said. “If he turned on the TV in Iowa or New Hampshire, he’d see the real alliance in this race is the Bush and Cruz super PACs attacking Marco.”

