Trump accuses Cruz and Kasich of ‘collusion’

Dylan Stableford
·Senior Writer

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump blasted Ted Cruz and John Kasich after his GOP rivals announced they are joining forces in a last-ditch effort to stop the blustery billionaire from securing the party’s presidential nomination — accusing the Texas senator and Ohio governor of “collusion” against him.

“Collusion is often illegal in many other industries and yet these two Washington insiders have had to revert to collusion in order to stay alive,” Trump said in a lengthy statement posted to his campaign website. “They are mathematically dead and this act only shows, as puppets of donors and special interests, how truly weak they and their campaigns are.”

Trump called the alliance “sad”:

It is sad that two grown politicians have to collude against one person who has only been a politician for ten months in order to try and stop that person from getting the Republican nomination.

Senator Cruz has done very poorly and after his New York performance, which was a total disaster, he is in free fall and as everyone has seen, he does not react well under pressure. Also, approximately 80% of the Republican Party is against him. Governor Kasich, who has only won 1 state out of 41, in other words, he is 1 for 41 and he is not even doing as well as other candidates who could have stubbornly stayed in the race like him but chose not to do so. Marco Rubio, as an example, has more delegates than Kasich and yet suspended his campaign one month ago. Others, likewise, have done much better than Kasich, who would get slaughtered by Hillary Clinton once the negative ads against him begin. 85% of Republican voters are against Kasich.


Trump argued that he would have won the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination had there not been for such a crowded field of candidates in the GOP race:

I have brought millions of voters into the Republican primary system and have received many millions of votes more than Cruz or Kasich. Additionally, I am far ahead of both candidates with delegates and would be receiving in excess of 60% of the vote except for the fact that there were so many candidates running against me.

Because of me, everyone now sees that the Republican primary system is totally rigged. When two candidates who have no path to victory get together to stop a candidate who is expanding the party by millions of voters, (all of whom will drop out if I am not in the race) it is yet another example of everything that is wrong in Washington and our political system. This horrible act of desperation, from two campaigns who have totally failed, makes me even more determined, for the good of the Republican Party and our country, to prevail!


Late Sunday, the Cruz and Kasich campaigns released statements within minutes of each other announcing their plan to divide the upcoming Republican contests, with the Texas senator focusing on Indiana and the Ohio governor setting his sights on Oregon and New Mexico.

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Ted Cruz and John Kasich shake hands as Donald Trump looks on following a debate in Miami in March. (Photo: Rhona Wise/AFP)

“To ensure that we nominate a Republican who can unify the Republican Party and win in November, our campaign will focus its time and resources in Indiana,” Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe said in a statement, “and in turn clear the path for Gov. Kasich to compete in Oregon and New Mexico.”

Trump took to Twitter to trash his rivals.

“Wow, just announced that Lyin’ Ted and Kasich are going to collude in order to keep me from getting the Republican nomination,” he tweeted. “DESPERATION!”



Trump continued: “Lyin’ Ted and Kasich are mathematically dead and totally desperate. Their donors & special interest groups are not happy with them. Sad! Ted Cruz and 1 for 38 Kasich are unable to beat me on their own so they have to team up (collusion) in a two on one. Shows weakness! Shows how weak and desperate Lyin’ Ted is when he has to team up with a guy who openly can’t stand him and is only 1 win and 38 losses.”



Speaking to reporters at a diner in Philadelphia Monday, Kasich said that despite the pact with Cruz, he isn’t going to dissuade his supporters in Indiana from voting for him.

“I’ve never told them not to vote for me,” Kasich said at a diner in Philadelphia. “They ought to vote for me.”