Donald Trump: Boycotting FNC Debate May Have Cost Him Iowa Win

Donald Trump has accused Ted Cruz, his main rival in the Republican nomination contest, of “illegally” stealing the Iowa caucus.

“During primetime of the Iowa Caucus, Cruz put out a release that @RealBenCarson was quitting the race, and to caucus (or vote) for Cruz”, Trump added, referencing reports that surrogates for the Texas senator had, in fact, spread rumors during the caucuses that Carson had dropped out.

Trump’s claims of fraud center on the actions of Cruz allies caucus night.

Trump had sounded a much softer, even humbler note after Cruz – who built a more advanced Iowa ground game and made a heavy play for evangelical conservative voters – nosed past him by about 3 percentage points in the Iowa race. On CNN Newsroom Wednesday, Baldwin said “when Senator Cruz, with all due respect, tries to throw my network and CNN under the bus, let me stand up for my colleagues and journalists here…we reported it accurately”, she said on air.

“She interrupted everyone and at first, I thought it was a hoax”.

“Since Iowa, no one is talking about Donald Trump”. “If I had to do it again, I would have done the exact same thing”, he insisted. On the other hand, Ted Cruz is not malleable.

Vermont borders New Hampshire, and that proximity may give Sanders an advantage in next Tuesday’s primary.

“I don’t think it ever helps after you lose an election to ask for a do over”, Christie said on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends”.

Trump also said Cruz told voters that Trump supported Obamacare – the ultimate sin among Republican voters – which Trump called “a total lie!” The former secretary of state and first lady defeated Sanders by less than three-tenths of 1 per cent, the closest result in Iowa Democratic caucus history, the state party said.

He was referencing a mailer that informed Iowans that their voting record was public and that they could fix poor attendance by voting.

Mr Trump placed second in Monday’s contest, which he called “a long-shot great finish” in an earlier tweet.

In the weeks before the Iowa caucuses, he held leads in nearly every statewide and national poll though his dominance in Iowa wobbled after Mr Cruz won a key endorsement from a local evangelical Christian leader.