Why Isn’t Donald Trump Going After Ted Cruz’s Eligibility Anymore?

Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Holds South Carolina Campaign Events
Donald Trump, president and chief executive of Trump Organization Inc. and 2016 Republican Presidential candidate, frowns while speaking during a campaign rally at the Turtle Point Clubhouse in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, U.S., on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. Trump remains the front-runner in South Carolina, where Republican voters head to the polls on Saturday. According to a survey released Monday by Democratic pollster Public Policy Polling, Trump holds a 17-point lead over Senators Rubio and Ted Cruz, who are tied for second place. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photograph by Luke Sharrett—Bloomberg via Getty Images

In the past week, the personal fight between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz has reached what looks to be a fever pitch, though with Trump you never know just how far things will go. But there is one thing that Trump and his acolytes haven’t been talking about — a potential court challenge regarding Cruz’s eligibility to run for President.

Even amid squabbling about the candidates’ wives, Trump hasn’t reached into his bag of tricks to grab his favorite plaything from earlier in the campaign: saying that because Cruz was born in Canada he isn’t eligible to be President, and that he’d consider filing a lawsuit to prove this fact.

In January, the media featured plenty of commentators discussing Cruz’s eligibility. Constitutional lawyers wrote briefs. Trump referenced it on Twitter, on stage, and on news outlets. He couldn’t stop talking about it, forcing Cruz to constantly respond to it.

So, why isn’t Trump talking about it now, when the Republican primary race is essentially down to just the two of them? Probably because it’s old news and he knows it.

 

 

Say what you will about Trump, but he knows how news cycles work. He knows that if he doesn’t keep things fresh, people will lose interest and he’ll lose coverage.

Right now, talking about wives is the hot topic. Trump will exploit that for all it’s worth.