Presidential hopeful Ted Cruz is no longer hoping, apparently, as on Tuesday night he dropped out of the race, following a series of losses that culminated in a 54%-37% loss in Indiana to Donald Trump—who also went over the 1,000 delegate hump.
And just to show he could be on the side of the angels, in an interview with The Daily Mail Tuesday, Trump rejected the idea that a Jewish settlement freeze in Judea and Samaria would bring peace between Israelis and Arabs any sooner. Positioning himself squarely opposite Hillary Clinton and the Obama Administration on this subject, he insisted that Israel should continue its construction projects in Judea and Samaria. Trump also declared: “Thousands of missiles being launched into Israel. Who would put up with that? Who would stand for it? I’d love to negotiate peace. But I mean a lasting peace, not a peace that lasts for two weeks and they start launching missiles again.”
Until Indiana, Senator Cruz (R-TX) seemed determined to go all the way to a contested convention in Cleveland this summer, but the losses in five out of five eastern seaboard states and the Indiana defeat apparently had a cumulative effect on the candidate, who no longer saw a path to the nomination for himself.
“From the beginning I’ve said that I would continue on as long as there was a viable path to victory,” Cruz told his campaign workers and fans Tuesday night. “Tonight I’m sorry to say it appears that path has been foreclosed. With a heavy heart but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign.”
Trump won at least 51 of Indiana’s delegates, giving him 1,047 out of the 1,237 Delegates needed for the Republican nomination. With his chief rival out of the way, Trump is likely to win the 190 delegates he needs to lock the nomination.
It does not mean that Trump is anywhere near easy street come the general elections, with Hillary Clinton leading him by 7 points on average nationally. But Trump has also been the most unpredictable winning candidate in presidential elections history, and 2016 has been the most unpredictable presidential election year in anyone’s memory, so sit back comfortably, order pizza and watch the race with the rest of us.