As he struggles to gain traction in the polls, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Sunday took direct shots at his Republican presidential primary rivals — and the media outlets that cover them — while insisting he still has a chance to win the crucial Iowa caucuses.
Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Mr. Huckabee attributed real estate mogul Donald Trump’s lead to the “seething rage” among the Republican electorate and said it’s far too early to assume that the rage will translate into a victory for Mr. Trump.
“It’s the anger, the seething rage of the electorate right now. People are so mad,” he said before sounding an optimistic note about his own political prospects.
“Not one person in all of America has even voted,” Mr. Huckabee said. “I get so amazed that people act like this is all settled. It’s never settled this far out.”
Mr. Trump shot back at the notion that anger is driving up his poll numbers.
“People are angry. They are angry,” the billionaire businessman said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “I’m not tapping into the anger, and some people have said I’m doing that, and certainly I’m not going it intentionally. I just know it can be turned around, it can be turned around quickly. But I’ll tell you what — if you have another four years of, like, a Hillary [Clinton], that kind of mentality and thinking, we’re not going to have a country left.”
Mr. Trump remains far ahead of his Republican primary rivals. The latest Real Clear Politics average of polls shows Mr. Trump with the support of 36.5 percent of likely Republican voters. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas comes in second with 17.8 percent.
Mr. Cruz is, however, on Mr. Trump’s heels in the crucial state of Iowa, which holds its caucuses Feb. 1.
Mr. Huckabee also is taking aim at Mr. Cruz. He suggested that the senator isn’t a true champion of conservative values such as traditional marriage.
“You say the same thing regardless of where you are geographically and you don’t take a different position, or a slightly nuanced position, because it would help you or hurt you with Manhattan fundraisers and people who are the big-dollar donors in what I call the Washington-to-Wall Street axis of power,” Mr. Huckabee said.
The former governor was referring to comments Mr. Cruz made at a New York City fundraiser, remarks that are highlighted in a recent campaign ad from the super PAC Pursuing America’s Greatness. The PAC is backing Mr. Huckabee in the presidential race.
The ad includes an audio clip from a Manhattan fundraiser in which a voter asks Mr. Cruz whether he considers stopping same-sex marriage as a “top-three priority.”
Mr. Cruz responded “no” and went on to say that defending the Constitution would be his top priority. The Cruz campaign has stressed in recent days that the senator strongly opposes same-sex marriage.
In his Sunday interview, Mr. Huckabee also took shots at the media, saying Mr. Trump has been greatly aided by the airtime news organizations give him.
“In the days after he made the comments about Muslims entering the country, Donald Trump got 25 times more media attention on television than all other top candidates combined,” Mr. Huckabee said, referring to Mr. Trump’s proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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