Trump says Cruz dad knew Lee Harvey Oswald. Trouble for GOP?
Donald Trump on Tuesday implied that Ted Cruz鈥檚 father was an associate of Lee Harvey Oswald, John F. Kennedy鈥檚 assassin.
鈥淗is father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald鈥檚 being 鈥� you know, shot,鈥� said Trump during a .听
Though he did not say so, Mr. Trump was probably drawing on a recent story in the tabloid National Enquirer, which made the same charge. While the Enquirer has been correct on explosive political stories in the past 鈥� they were right about John Edwards and his extramarital affair 鈥� the sourcing on the Cruz/Oswald story is incredibly thin. It consists largely of alleged photo experts saying that a man in an old, blurry photo of Oswald looks like Rafael Cruz, Ted Cruz鈥檚 Cuban-born dad.
Come on, really? 鈥淭his is another garbage story in a tabloid full of garbage,鈥� .听
Perhaps the Enquirer has its Cruzes mixed up. The photo in question is of Oswald passing out pro-Castro leaflets in New Orleans in 1963. According to author Gerald Posner鈥檚 definitive JFK conspiracy debunking book, a man named Miguel Cruz was among a group of anti-Castro Cubans who confronted Oswald while he was distributing this literature. They got into a brawl and some were arrested.
That Cruz was not related to Ted Cruz鈥檚 family.
The problem for the Republican Party is that other GOP candidates are going to get asked about Trump鈥檚 loose charges, such as this one, going forward. It鈥檚 easy to imagine reporters asking Republican Senate candidates whether they agree with the latest thing Trump said today, no matter how outrageous. Particularly if it鈥檚 outrageous, actually.
Democratic opponents will do their best to make Republicans appear supportive of whatever the heck it is Trump says. To see how that might work, look at for Connor Eldridge, a Democrat who鈥檚 running against incumbent GOP Sen. John Boozman in Arkansas. It鈥檚 brutal.
Trump鈥檚 risen as far as he has in part because of his ability to thrill supporters on the stump. His short, punchy language and penchant to say anything makes them feel like he鈥檚 fighting back against a 鈥減olitically correct鈥� and corrupt political culture. He shows no signs of dialing it back if, as likely, he鈥檚 the GOP nominee. It鈥檒l be pretty interesting to see how that style plays in a general election.
