Donald Trump says he won’t drop out of the 2016 presidential race if he loses the Iowa caucuses, insisting he has big enough leads in the next primary states to win the Republican nomination.
Mr. Trump has led the GOP field for months but is in a horse race with Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, ahead of the Feb. 1 contest in Iowa, and he could come up short.
An NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll released Sunday said Mr. Cruz leads Mr. Trump by four points among likely caucus-goers, 28 percent to 24 percent.
“I hope I win Iowa. If I don’t win, I mean, you know, that can also happen,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press in an interview that aired Sunday. “And I go right to New Hampshire, where we’re doing great. I go right to South Carolina, where we’re doing great. We go into Nevada where we’re leading big.”
Mr. Trump has already set a distinct tone for the race, from his tough talk on immigration to his proposal to keep Muslims from entering the country until the threat of radical terrorism is stamped out.
But that’s not good enough, he said.
“I really feel that if I don’t win I can’t make the difference,” Mr. Trump said. “We’re not going to bring back trade. We’re not going to straighten out our military. We’re not going to get rid of Obamacare and come up with a real health care plan.”
In the meantime, Mr. Trump is raising questions about Mr. Cruz’s eligibility for the presidency because he was born in Canada.
Many scholars believe Mr. Cruz is in the clear as a “natural-born citizen” because he was born to an American mother. Others, namely Mr. Trump, say it’s still an open question.
“If Ted wins, he becomes the nominee, he goes out — day one, he’s going to be sued by the other party,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Cruz said Sunday the “law is simple and straightforward,” and he won’t engage in personal side-debates with other candidates.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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