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Trump told Cruz sorry for attacks on wife, dad in 2016 primary

Trump told Cruz sorry for attacks on wife, dad in 2016 primary

Former President Donald Trump apologized to Sen. Ted Cruz for insulting his wife’s looks of him, suggesting his father was involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and questioning whether the Texas Republican could legally run for president if he was born in Canada, according to a forthcoming book by Paul Manafort.

“On his own initiative, Trump did apologize for saying some of the things he said about Cruz, which was unusual for Trump,” the 45th president’s onetime campaign chairman writes, according to the Guardian.

During the bruising 2016 Republican primary race, Trump called Heidi Cruz “ugly,” suggested Ted’s father, Rafael, had ties to Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, publicly cast ​doubt on Cruz’s eligibility to run for president and bestowed the nickname “Lyin’ Ted ”upon the senator.

Former President Trump apologized to Sen. Ted Cruz for comments he made during the 2016 election regarding his wife and father-in-law.
Former President Donald Trump apologized to Sen. Ted Cruz for comments he made during the 2016 election regarding his wife and father of him.
AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File
and suggesting his father was involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Donald Trump apologized to Ted Cruz for insulting his wife’s looks and suggesting his father was involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Angela Major/The Janesville Gazette via AP

According to Manafort, the real estate tycoon approached Cruz prior to the Republican National Convention that July to secure the Texan’s endorsement.

​Cruz, who had finished runner-up to Trump in the nominating contest, responded to the overture by saying he would work with Trump but not endorse him “because his supporters didn’t want him to.”

​“It was a forced justification for someone who is normally very logical. Trump didn’t buy it,” Manafort reportedly writes.

Manafort resigned as Trump campaign chair that August after news reports detailed under-the-table payments he received.
Manafort resigned as Trump campaign chair that August after news reports detailed under-the-table payments he received.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File

Despite Cruz’s cool reception, the author goes on, Trump apologized and told his rival that he “considered him an ally, not an enemy, and that he believed they could work together when Trump was president.”

Cruz notably did not endorse Trump in his convention remarks, outraging the delegates and leading his wife being escorted out of the hall over fears for her safety.​​

During Cruz’s remarks, Manafort recalls, Trump groused, “This is bulls–t” and walked to the back of the arena, “effectively pulling the attention away from Cruz and undercutting his speech.”

Cruz notably did not endorse Trump in his convention remarks, outraging the delegates and leading his wife being escorted out of the hall over fears for her safety.​​
Cruz notably did not endorse Trump in his convention remarks, outraging the delegates and leading his wife being escorted out of the hall over fears for her safety.​​
AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, Fil
During the bruising 2016 Republican primary race, Trump called Heidi Cruz "ugly," suggested Ted's father Rafael had ties to Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
During the bruising 2016 Republican primary race, Trump called Heidi Cruz “ugly” and suggested Ted’s father, Rafael, had ties to Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Cruz was initially upset by Trump’s display of petulance.

“It took months to bring that relationship back,” Manafort writes. “But eventually Cruz came around to support Trump, and Trump harbored no ill will.”

Manafort, now 73, resigned as Trump campaign chair that August after news reports detailed under-the-table payments he received for lobbying work on behalf of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow president, Viktor Yanukovych.

Ultimately, Manafort was sentenced to seven years in prison for tax fraud and other crimes related to his work in Ukraine — charges that emerged from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Trump pardoned Manafort in December 2020.

Manafort’s book, “Political Prisoner: Persecuted, Prosecuted, but Not Silenced,” is due out Aug. 16.

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What to watch in primaries in Arizona, Michigan, elsewhere

What to watch in primaries in Arizona, Michigan, elsewhere

In Missouri, scandal-ridden former Gov. Eric Greitens is attempting a political comeback. In Michigan, a crowded field of Republican gubernatorial candidates includes a man charged in the Jan. 6 US Capitol attack. In Arizona, a prominent figure in the QAnon conspiracy movement is running for the US House.

Those are among some of the most notable contests in Tuesday’s primary elections being held in six states.

Arizona, which Democrat Joe Biden narrowly won in 2020, is a top target for former President Donald Trump, who tried in vain to get his defeat overturned. He has endorsed a slate of candidates up and down the ballot who have promoted his false claims of a stolen election.

Trump has also been zeroed in on the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him over the Jan. 6 insurrection. Three of them are on the ballot Tuesday in Washington state and Michigan, as are two members of “the Squad,” Democratic Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.

Meanwhile, Kansas voters could clear the way for the Republican-controlled Legislature to further restrict or ban abortion if they approve a proposed state constitutional change. It’s the first referendum vote on abortion policy by a state since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.

Ohio is also holding a primary for state legislative races on Tuesday, three months after its statewide and congressional contests — a split system that resulted from legal wrangling over redistricting.

What to watch:

ARIZONA

Trump’s endorsed in Arizona all have one thing in common: They have loudly candidates disseminated misinformation about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, despite election officials and Trump’s own attorney general saying there is no credible evidence the race was tainted.

In the governor’s race, Trump has backed former television news anchor Kari Lakewho has said that she would not have certified Arizona’s election results in 2020. Lake faces businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson, who is endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence and outgoing Gov. Doug Duey.

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a staunch defender of the 2020 election, is strongly favored to win the Democratic nomination for governor.

In the Republican primary for US Senate, Trump has backed tech investor Blake Masters as the candidate to go up against Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly in the fall. Masters, whose campaign has been bankrolled by billionaire Peter Thiel, has called for reducing legal immigration and espoused the baseless “great replacement” conspiracy theory, claiming Democrats are trying to “replace Americans who were born here.”

Attorney General Mark Brnovich, another Senate candidate, has been weighed down by lackluster fundraising and fierce criticism from Trump, who says Brnovich did little to advance his election fraud claims. Another top candidate, Jim Lamonthe founder of a solar energy firm, has touted his experience as a military veteran and entrepreneur.

The Republican primary for secretary of state includes Trump-backed legislator Mark Finchem, a state representative who worked to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss; state Rep. Shawnna Bolick, who introduced a bill to let legislators ignore election results and choose their own presidential electors; and state Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, who has long pushed to overhaul election laws. The GOP establishment has rallied around advertising executive Beau Lane in the race.

Ron Watkins, who has ties to the QAnon conspiracy theory, is considered a long shot in his House run. Watkins, a Republican, served as the longtime administrator of the online message boards that became the home of the anonymous “Q.” The conspiracy theory is centered around the baseless belief that Trump waged a secret campaign against enemies in the “deep state” and that a group of satanic, cannibalistic child molesters secretly runs the globe.

In the state Legislature, Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowerswho testified at a Jan. 6 hearing about Trump’s pressure to overturn the 2020 election, faces a Trump-backed candidate in his bid to run for the state Senate.

MICHIGAN

The Republican primary for governor was wild from the start, with five candidates getting kicked off the ballot for failing to file enough valid nominating signatures.

Several of the remaining candidates have baggage that could hurt in a general election against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Real estate broker Ryan Kelley has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges after authorities said he rallied Trump’s supporters to storm the US Capitol. Businessman Kevin Rinke was sued in the 1990s for sex harassment and racial discrimination — allegations he says were lies. Chiropractor Garrett Soldano hawked supplements he falsely claimed treated COVID-19. Businesswoman Tudor Dixonwho has been endorsed by Trump, has previously acted in low-budget horror pictures, one of which included a zombie biting off a man’s genitals.

All of the candidates falsely say there was fraud in the 2020 election, with Dixon, Kelley and Soldano saying the election was stolen from Trump.

Republican Rep. Peter Meijer is hoping to hold on to his seat after voting to impeach Trump. The former president has endorsed businessman and missionary John Gibbswho worked in the Trump administration under Housing Secretary Ben Carson.

MISSOURI

Greitens’ political career appeared over when he resigned as governor in 2018, following his admission to an extramarital affair and accusations of blackmail and campaign finance violations. On Tuesday, the former Navy SEAL officer has a chance at redemption in his Republican primary for the seat held by retiring GOP US Sen. Roy Blunt.

Greitens, Attorney General Eric Schmitt and US Rep. Vicky Hartzler are the front-runners in a crowded 21-person GOP field that includes US Rep. Billy Long and Mark McCloskey, the St. Louis lawyer who along with his wife pointed guns at racial injustice protesters who ventured onto their private street.

Trump has not made an endorsement in the race, though he’s ruled out Hartzler.

The GOP winner in Missouri, a solidly Republican state, will be favored in November. But Republican leaders have long worried that Greitens — his ex-wife has also accused him of abuseallegations Greitens has called “baseless” — could win the primary but lose the general election.

On the Democratic side, the nomination appears to be up for grabs between Lucas Kuncea Marine veteran and self-proclaimed populist, and Trudy Busch Valentinean heiress of the Busch beer fortune who has largely self-funded her campaign.

WASHINGTON

Two Republican House members from Washington state who voted to impeach Trump face primary challengers endorsed by him.

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who has been in Congress since 2011, has said she voted for impeachment because she had “an obligation to the Constitution.” Trump has endorsed Joe Kenta former Green Beret and a conservative cable show regular who echoes the former president’s grievances about the 2020 election outcome.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, a congressman since 2015, said he cast the vote to impeach Trump for inciting and refusing to immediately stop the Jan. 6 insurrection. Among his challengers he is Loren Culpa Trump-backed former small-town police chief who refused to concede the 2020 governor’s race to Democrat Jay Inslee.

In Washington, the top two vote-getters in each race, regardless of party, move forward to November.

KANSAS

Voters will decide whether to approve a change to the state constitution that could allow the Legislature to restrict or ban abortion despite a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling that abortion access is a fundamental right. It’s the first referendum on abortion by a state since Roe v. Wade’s reverse.

In statewide races, Republican Kris Kobach is running for attorney general as he attempts a political comeback following losses in races for governor and US Senate in previous years. Kobach, the state’s former secretary of state, served as vice chair of a short-lived Trump commission on election fraud after the 2016 election.

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Associated Press writers Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix; Sara Burnett in Chicago; Jim Salter in O’Fallon, Missouri; Chris Grygiel in Seattle; and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; contributed to this report.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.

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Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ap_politics.

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Arizona House Speaker doubles back, says he’ll ‘never’ vote for Trump again

Arizona House Speaker doubles back, says he'll 'never' vote for Trump again

Arizona state House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R) on Sunday said he’ll never vote for former President Trump again, a reversal of earlier claims that he’d back Trump in a match-up against President Biden.

“I’ll never vote for him, but I won’t have to. Because I think America’s tired and there’s some absolutely forceful, qualified, morally defensible and upright people, and that’s what I want. That’s what I want in my party and that’s what I want to see,” Bowers told moderator Jonathan Karl during an interview on ABC’s “This Week.”

The Arizona lawmaker called Trump a “demagogue” who maintains hold on his base through “thuggery and intimidation.”

“I have thought, at times, someone born how he was, raised how he was — he has no idea what a hard life is. And what people have to go through in real—in the real world. He has no idea what courage is,” Bowers said.

Bowers’s comments were a reversal of his remarks in June, when he said he’d support the former president in a rematch of the 2020 election.

“If he is the nominee, if he was up against Biden, I’d vote for him again. Simply because what he did the first time, before COVID, was so good for the county. In my view it was,” Bowers told The Associated Press before testifying in June to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the US Capitol.

Testifying before the House panel, Bowers rejected the former president’s claims that the two men had discussed a rigged 2020 presidential election in Arizona.

Bowers said members of his party called him a “traitor” after his appearance before the committee. Trump lambasted the lawmaker as a “coward.”

Bowers on Sunday said he hoped Trump would never return to a position of power.

“I would certainly hope not. I certainly don’t trust that authority that he would exercise.”

Bowers is running for Arizona’s state Senate in this year’s midterms, and Trump has endorsed his challenger, David Farnsworth.

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Arizona House Speaker doubles back, says he’ll ‘never’ vote for Trump again

Arizona House Speaker doubles back, says he'll 'never' vote for Trump again

Arizona state House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R) on Sunday said he’ll never vote for former President Trump again, a reversal of earlier claims that he’d back Trump in a match-up against President Biden.

“I’ll never vote for him, but I won’t have to. Because I think America’s tired and there’s some absolutely forceful, qualified, morally defensible and upright people, and that’s what I want. That’s what I want in my party and that’s what I want to see,” Bowers told moderator Jonathan Karl during an interview on ABC’s “This Week.”

The Arizona lawmaker called Trump a “demagogue” who maintains hold on his base through “thuggery and intimidation.”

“I have thought, at times, someone born how he was, raised how he was — he has no idea what a hard life is. And what people have to go through in real—in the real world. He has no idea what courage is,” Bowers said.

Bowers’s comments were a reversal of his remarks in June, when he said he’d support the former president in a rematch of the 2020 election.

“If he is the nominee, if he was up against Biden, I’d vote for him again. Simply because what he did the first time, before COVID, was so good for the county. In my view it was,” Bowers told The Associated Press before testifying in June to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the US Capitol.

Testifying before the House panel, Bowers rejected the former president’s claims that the two men had discussed a rigged 2020 presidential election in Arizona.

Bowers said members of his party called him a “traitor” after his appearance before the committee. Trump lambasted the lawmaker as a “coward.”

Bowers on Sunday said he hoped Trump would never return to a position of power.

“I would certainly hope not. I certainly don’t trust that authority that he would exercise.”

Bowers is running for Arizona’s state Senate in this year’s midterms, and Trump has endorsed his challenger, David Farnsworth.

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Manchin declines to say if he wants Dems to retain control

Manchin declines to say if he wants Dems to retain control

WASHINGTON (AP) — West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, one of the Democrats’ most conservative and contrarian members, declined on Sunday to say whether he wants Democrats to retain control of Congress after the November elections.

The senator told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that will be determined by the choices of voters in individual states, rather than his own preferences. He added that people “are sick and tired of politics” and want their representatives in Washington to put country over party.

“I’ve always taken the approach, whoever you send me, that’s your representative and I respect them and I respect the state for the people they send and I give it my best to work with them and do the best for my country,” Manchin said.

Manchin faces reelection in 2024 in a state where Donald Trump prevailed in every county in the past two presidential races, winning more than two-thirds of West Virginia’s voters. But in distancing himself from fellow Democrats, Manchin also tried to decry the rise of partisanship.

“We’re not working for any party. We’re not working for any political idealism,” he said, bemoaning “bickering over political outcomes and who’s going to be in charge of what” at a time of global tensions, war and economic uncertainty fueled by rising inflation.

Manchin was booked to appear on five news shows, the culmination of a high-profile week in which his commitment to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., revived a package of White House priorities on climate, health care, taxes and deficit reduction. The West Virginia senator torpedoed a larger plan last December and previously lowered expectations about a substantial agreement being reached.

The surprise deal, while more modest than earlier versions, seems to have helped transform Manchin from pariah to partner.

On “Fox News Sunday,” he defended the 15% minimum tax on corporations with $1 billion or more of earnings as closing “loopholes,” rather than an outright tax increase.

Manchin said the plan, the “Inflation Reduction Act,” would help with manufacturing jobs, reduce deficits by $300 billion, lower prescription drug prices and accelerate the permitting process for energy production. These are the kinds of priorities that Republicans have supported in the past, Manchin said.

“We’re doing everything you’ve asked,” Manchin said. “I would hope, and in normal times, this would be a bipartisan bill, but I understand the toxic atmosphere we’re in.”

The Senate is divided 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris the tiebreaking vote, giving the Democrats control of the chamber. In the House, Democrats have a 220-211 edge, with four vacancies. But in midterm elections, voters often reject the party that holds the White House, and this year, President Joe Biden’s unpopularity and rising inflation are creating strong headwinds for Democrats.

Manchin demurred when asked on NBC whether he hoped Democrats would keep their majorities in Congress.

“I think people are sick and tired of politics, I really do. I think they’re sick and tired of Democrats and Republicans fighting and feuding and holding pieces of hostage legislation because they didn’t get what they wanted,” he said, adding, “I’m not going to predict what’s going to happen. ”

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Trump says Brittney Griner prisoner swap for Viktor Bout doesn’t seem like a ‘good trade’

Trump says Brittney Griner prisoner swap for Viktor Bout doesn't seem like a 'good trade'

Former President Donald Trump suggested that the proposed prisoner swap between Russia and the United States that would return jailed WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for a Russian arms dealer “doesn’t seem like a very good trade.”

“She knew you don’t go in there loaded up with drugs, and she admitted it,” Trump told the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show. “I assume she admitted it without too much force because it is what it is, and it certainly doesn’t seem like a very good trade, does it? He’s absolutely one of the worst in the world, and he’s gonna be given his freedom from him because a potentially spoiled person goes into Russia loaded up with drugs.

Trump was referring to reports that the United States is attempting to secure the release of Griner, and former US Marine Paul Whelan, in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout who is known as the “Merchant of Death” due to his weapons sales that fueled deadly conflicts around the world.

“She went in there loaded up with drugs into a hostile territory where they’re very vigilant about drugs,” Trump added. “They don’t like drugs. And she got caught. And now we’re supposed to get her out of her — and she makes, you know, a lot of money, I guess. We’re supposed to get her out for an absolute killer and one of the biggest arms dealers in the world. She killed many Americans. She killed many people.”

Former President Donald Trump said the proposed trade involving Brittney Griner for Russia arms dealer Viktor Bout wouldn't be a "good fit."
Former President Donald Trump said the proposed trade involving Brittney Griner for Russia arms dealer Viktor Bout wouldn’t be a “good fit.”
Getty Images

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier this week that while the Kremlin and US officials have engaged in talks, “there has been no concrete result yet.”

“We proceed from the assumption that the interests of both parties should be taken into account during the negotiations,” she said.

Griner, a WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist was arrested in Russia in February after customs officers found “vapes” containing hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow.

Griner, who faces a potential 10-year prison sentence, pleaded guilty earlier this month in a move her legal team says was made to “take full responsibility for her actions.”

Brittney Griner is escorted before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia on July 27, 2022.
Brittney Griner is escorted before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia on July 27, 2022.
REUTERS

Former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also suggested earlier this week that the proposed prisoner swap is not a good idea.

“He’s a bad guy. He is a guy who wanted to kill Americans. It presents a real risk to the United States. There’s a real reason the Russians want to get him home. To offer a trade like this is a dangerous precedent,” Pompeo told “America’s Newsroom.”

“This is not a good trade, not the right path forward, and it’ll likely lead to more,” Pompeo added.

Russian officials have long pushed for the release of Bout, who is currently serving a 25-year sentence in US prison after being convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans, conspiracy to deliver anti-aircraft missiles, and aiding a terrorist organization.

Viktor Bout was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans, but Russian officials have pushed for his release.
Viktor Bout was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans, but Russian officials have pushed for his release.
ZUMAPRESS.com

He was nabbed in 2008 in a sting operation at a luxury hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, where he met with Drug Enforcement Administration informants who were posing as officials with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which has been classified by US officials as a narco- terrorist group.

Prosecutors said that Bout was prepared to provide the group with $20 million worth of “a breathtaking arsenal of weapons — including hundreds of surface-to-air missiles, machine guns and sniper rifles — 10 million rounds of ammunition and five tons of plastic explosives.”

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