"I'm not going to do it."

Republican Presidential candidate Ted Cruz refuses to join the rest of the GOP field in condemning Donald Trump's recent remarks making light of Sen. McCain's time as a prisoner of war and now the Texas senator's weak-kneed approach to the GOP frontrunner is drawing scrutiny.

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"You know I recognize that folks in the press love to see Republican-on-Republican violence" Cruz lamented this weekend, blaming the media for manufacturing a controversy. "So you want me to say something bad about Donald Trump, or bad about John McCain or bad about anyone else," he said before adding, "I'm not going to do it."

Speaking with Iowa voters over the weekend, Trump said of John McCain's service during the Vietnam War, “He’s a war hero because he was captured ... I like people that weren’t captured.”

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Lindsey Graham joined with the Republican National Committee in rebuking Trump, some calling from his exit from the presidential race and declaring no room for such comments in the GOP. But instead of denouncing Trump's attack, Cruz simply tweeted his belief that McCain is "an American hero":

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Well, Missouri Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill found Cruz's refusal to lay an easy jab against a rival peculiar, tweeting that Cruz's behavior towards Trump was "unseemly" and comparing their relationship to that of a "lost puppy" following a man "hoping to get his leftovers when he finally flames out":

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McCaskill's observation may be on point. Last week, Trump confirmed a meeting between the two rivals, a move clearly orchestrated by the Cruz campaign:

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TRUMP: Ted Cruz called me, and – I don’t know why I’m meeting him, to be honest. But I do have respect for him. I respect the fact that, along with a couple of others, he came out and he came out very strongly and agreed with what I said on illegal immigration. And he came out very strongly and he came out early. And I respect that. I like him. He called me, he wanted to meet, and we are going to meet. What it’s about, I have absolutely no idea.

It is apparent that Trump is a fan of Trump fans and for now, Cruz looks to be a Trump fan but Cruz's willingness to embrace Trump is even more curious given that earlier this year, Trump said Cruz faced a particular "hurdle that nobody else seems to have at this moment":