‘I have far better judgment’ than Cruz

Mr Trump also turned fire on Republican competitor Ted Cruz, calling him a “maniac” after a new poll showed the Texas senator leading by 10 points in the early voting state of Iowa.

‘When you look at the way he’s dealt with the Senate, where he goes in there like, frankly, a little bit like a maniac – you’re never going to get things done that way, ‘ Trump said.

Trump touted his ability to get along with liberals and conservatives and said that was the hallmark of the “world-class businessman” he is.

Senator Ted Cruz, of Texas, is emerging as the candidate to beat Donald Trump in the Republican presidential nomination contest.

Cruz, for his part, has been reluctant to criticize the brash billionaire publicly.

His rise came at the expense of retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who dropped to third with 13 percent in the poll, while U.S. Senator Marco Rubio hovered at 10 percent.

When pressed by host Chris Wallace, Trump explained that Cruz – known for his bullish behavior in Washington – didn’t have the right “temperament” to be commander in chief.

“You know, it’s a very different kind of experience”, he said.

Cruz, who sees himself as a fellow anti-establishment Republican, has avoided directly attacking Trump for months, reluctant to alienate Trump voters who might view him as an alternative should Trump lose out. “Who am I comfortable having their finger on the button”, Cruz said.

It is the first time that Trump has gone full-bore after Cruz.

Trump also praised his “strong temperament”. “I wasn’t supposed to be here”, Trump said.

Cruz’s jump comes mostly as a result of Carson’s loss of support from evangelical voters, the report says.

Trump fared better in the Fox News poll than he did in the Bloomberg/Des Moines Register poll released Saturday.

Cruz described his strategy by saying: “So my approach, much to the frustration of the media, has been to bear hug both of them, and smother them with love”.

But Trump defended the ban in his appearances on the Sunday talks shows, insisting Muslims should be kept from entering the United States “until we get our hands around this problem”.

On Tuesday, Republican presidential candidates will gather in Las Vegas for their fifth debate leading up to the 2016 presidential election. “I think the time will come to an end pretty soon, it sounds like”. “That’s true, and certainly 21% is very good with such a large field, but he’s been much higher in other polls since October, so it’s possible he was higher and is now on the way down”.

“You look at Paris, you look at San Bernardino, it’s given a seriousness to this race”, Cruz said.