Ted Cruz said his national campaign chairman’s comments to the Washington Examiner after Tuesday night’s presidential debate were “wrong.”
Chad Sweet, the campaign chairman, told the Examiner‘s David Drucker that Cruz “unequivocally” opposes legalization for illegal immigrants, but added that the Texas senator is trying to “save and expand our legal immigration system.”
When radio host Laura Ingraham pressed Cruz on Sweet’s comments, Cruz attempted to avoid the question.
“What did Chad Sweet mean, he said you wanted to ‘expand’ our legal immigration?” Ingraham asked.
“Look, I don’t know what was reported from that conversation and reporters have been getting things wrong quite a bit —” Cruz answered before Ingraham interrupted.
“So that’s wrong?” she said.
“It’s wrong,” Cruz replied. “And anyone that wants to know the details of my immigration plan, it’s spelled out chapter and verse, 11 pages single-spaced, at TedCruz.org.”
Cruz’s position on the campaign trail stands in stark contrast to his previous words and actions. In a 2013 interview with radio host Rush Limbaugh, Cruz said, “there is no more an enthusiastic advocate of legal immigration in the U.S. Senate than I am.”
And on May 14, 2013, Cruz issued a press release promoting his desire to expand America’s legal immigration system via an amendment to the Senate’s Gang of Eight immigration bill, which is something he says he no longer wants to do.
“I was pleased today to offer legislation that would have improved and expanded legal immigration by dramatically increasing the cap for high-tech temporary worker visas,” Cruz said in a statement from 2013. “This amendment would not only improve the current system, but would also encourage economic growth and create new jobs in America.”
Cruz’s decision to distance himself from his previous statements and those of his campaign chairman appear motivated by his desire to draw a contrast with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, an author of the Senate’s Gang of Eight immigration legislation. Rubio put Cruz on the defensive during Tuesday’s debate about whether the Texan ever supported legalization for illegal immigrants, but Cruz has mounted a vigorous offensive against Rubio ever since.
“The Rubio campaign is trying to run as fast as they can away from his record of supporting amnesty and the Gang of Eight,” Cruz told Ingraham on Friday. “What is abundantly clear is that I oppose amnesty, Marco Rubio supports amnesty. I oppose citizenship, Marco Rubio supports citizenship. I oppose legalization, Marco Rubio supports legalization. I opposed the Gang of Eight, Marco Rubio authored the Gang of Eight.”
In response to Cruz’s comments on Friday, Rubio senior adviser Joe Pounder sent an email to reporters noting that Cruz “threw [Sweet] under the bus.”
“If you are confused keeping track of Sen. Cruz’s say-or-do anything immigration positions, don’t feel bad because the Cruz campaign is too,” Pounder wrote.
Cruz ranks first in the Washington Examiner‘s newest GOP presidential power rankings. Rubio ranks third.
