In Little Rock, Trump reproves Cruz, 'political people'

Donald Trump greets the crowd at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock. Trump campaigned at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2016, just days before the state's March 1 primary.
Donald Trump greets the crowd at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock. Trump campaigned at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2016, just days before the state's March 1 primary.

For Donald Trump, the world is divided into winners and losers. In Little Rock on Wednesday, the Republican presidential candidate made clear on which side of the divide he believes his campaign falls.




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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

“These political people are really, really dishonest,” said Donald Trump, taking aim at GOP rival Ted Cruz on Wednesday in Little Rock. “They are a bunch of dishonest cookies, that’s what I’m telling you.”

Familiar refrains -- negotiating wins, besting China, killing terrorists, creating jobs and being superior to President Barack Obama -- were uttered during Trump's hourlong appearance that started almost two hours late in Barton Coliseum.

"We are going to win so much," said Trump to a crowd of thousands that cheered many times as he spoke.

"We're going to win, win, win."

The real estate mogul directed his fiery criticism at the campaign of a rival, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

"These political people are really, really dishonest," Trump said. "They are a bunch of dishonest cookies, that's what I'm telling you."

He had complained earlier in the day about Cruz's campaign tactics in Iowa. Gone was the calm Trump on display during a Monday speech when he accepted defeat in Iowa. Cruz finished first in Monday's Iowa's Republican caucus.

Trump said Cruz was responsible for Obamacare because he supported Justice John Roberts' appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. Roberts was a swing vote in two decisions that upheld portions of the law.

"Ted Cruz gave us Obamacare, believe me," he said. "What I hate is when somebody lies. In every single speech -- every single speech that I give -- I talk about repealing and replacing Obamacare."

Cruz, Trump said, "got up -- in Iowa -- and said Donald Trump wanted Obamacare. It's a flat-out lie. A flat-out lie."

Trump called for more security and a strong military. Syrian migrants could pose a threat to the U.S., he said.

"We have no idea who they are, where they come from. They're strong young men. So many, strong young men," he said. "We can't do it. We can't do it. We don't know what's going to happen. It could be one of the great Trojan horses of all time. We don't know. And you know what, probably it's not."

Gun-free zones are a problem, Trump said. He said those killed during the terrorist attacks in France could have defended themselves if their country had less-stringent gun laws.

Trump also called Common Core education standards a disaster.

"I want education to be local, with love, that's what it's got to be," he said. "No more Common Core."

Along with the rest of the crowd, he booed protesters who were thrown out. His speech was interrupted at least three times by protesters.

And he saved a comment for the Clinton family.

"By the way, Hillary and Bill left Arkansas," he said. "They left."

Trump was more than an hour and a half late to his rally.

His speech, scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Wednesday, was delayed until about 6:45 p.m. Trump's flight landed in Nashville, Tenn., before taking off for Little Rock, according to a tweet from the Nashville International Airport.

Steve McClanahan, a Little Rock police spokesman, said Trump's airplane experienced some engine trouble. Trump staff members in the press area declined to speak on the record and directed inquiries to Hope Hicks, a spokesman for the campaign. She did not immediately return an email. Trump himself didn't explain to the crowd why he was late.

A few in the crowd filed toward the exits during the delay.

Barton Coliseum officials said the venue was at capacity. The State Fair's website listed the capacity as 10,195, including standing room on the floor, but several risers were empty, and crowds didn't form on either side of the floor. There appeared to be more than 6,000 people in attendance, based on estimates by reporters.

Trump supporters were out in force by late morning Wednesday. Larry Parker, 48, drove from Johnson County with his 13-year-old son, Jayz.

Like many Trump supporters at Wednesday's rally, Parker said he admires Trump's candid approach.

"He's strong. He speaks his mind and tells it how it is," Parker said. "He is what he is."

A lifelong Republican, Parker doesn't put much stock in the rest of the Republican field. He said his father was a Cruz supporter, but the Texas senator's actions in Iowa, including sending out "voting violation" notices to would-be caucusgoers, didn't sit well with Parker.

"That's pretty dirty in my opinion," Parker said. "[The other candidates] all seem bought and paid for."

Fran Hayes, an Ohio native and longtime Boston resident, drove up from her home in Hot Springs Village to see the candidate that brought her back to the Republican fold.

Hayes said Trump speaks to people like her who feel social pressure to not speak their minds, whether at work or when out for dinner.

"I feel a cold state of anger about what's happened to my country," Hayes said. "[Trump] was expressing what I couldn't say. ... Society is into condemnation, and here is a candidate that says it's OK to speak out."

Hayes said she voted for Obama in 2008, which she now sees as a mistake. She said she thinks Trump is the real deal and that the media too often picks on his supporters and tries to turn them into caricatures.

"We have two master's [degrees] in my household. ... I'm tired of hearing that Trump supporters are ignorant, stupid, low-information people," Hayes said. "I can't feel safe in my own country. ... Who are they going to blow up? Who will they shoot? ... This is not the America I want."

Like others, Conway resident Jason Fulmer, 28, said he likes Trump's "staunch" approach to his views.

Fulmer is a big Cruz fan too and is still weighing his options, but he thinks Trump has the business acumen to handle trade deals and help the American economy.

Asked if he thinks Trump's rhetoric can be bombastic, or even inflammatory, Fulmer said that could be a good thing.

"It is [inflammatory], but it's probably something we need," Fulmer said. "This election, there's a lot of intensity. I think more people are more into politics, and that's a good thing for the country."

Trump said he is strong and most leaders are weak.

"It takes guts to do what I'm doing. It takes guts to run for president," he said. "The real talent is making things work when in theory they shouldn't work."

Earlier in the day, Trump complained about Cruz's campaign tactics in Iowa.

"Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it," Trump said on Twitter earlier in the day. "That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!"

Trump pointed to a mailer sent by the Cruz campaign headlined "voting violation" that resembled an official notice. The mailer showed recipients their history of voting or not voting in past caucuses, along with the turnout record of their neighbors. It drew complaints from Iowa's secretary of state.

Trump also blasted Cruz backers for circulating a false rumor Monday night that fellow candidate Ben Carson was dropping out of the race as caucusing was underway.

Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler told CNN on Wednesday that Cruz apologized personally to Carson for the mistake. He said the Cruz team "as a campaign" never alleged that Carson was dropping out.

"It may be that some of the surrogates or some of our caucus precinct captains ... went too far," Tyler told CNN. If so, he added, "that was in error, that was wrong."

Information for this article was contributed by The Associated Press.

A Section on 02/04/2016

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