WINTERSET, Iowa — Donald Trump got a public endorsement Tuesday from the daughter of the late John Wayne, who said the Duke would have joined the groundswell of support for the billionaire businessman’s Republican run for president.
“If John Wayne were around, he’d be standing here instead of me,” Aissa Wayne said standing beside Mr. Trump here at the John Wayne Birthplace Museum
“The reason I am here to support Mr. Trump is because America needs help, and we need a strong leader, and we need someone like Mr. Trump with leadership qualities, someone with courage, someone who is strong like John Wayne,” she said.
Mr. Trump said the endorsement was a “tremendous honor” and that he was a longtime fan of the actor.
Later, in response to a reporter’s question, Mr. Trump rejected rival Sen. Ted Cruz’s allegation that he didn’t have the temperament to be president and might fire off a mean tweet at foreign leaders.
“Ted has a rough temperament,” Mr. Trump said. “You can’t call people a liar on the Senate floor when they are your leader and you want to curry favor.”
He was referring to Mr. Cruz calling Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, a liar on the Senate floor.
Mr. Trump’s supporters have long viewed the straightforward and combative Mr. Trump as a John Wayne figure who they believe ban unite blue-collar and conservative voters to win the White House and put the country back on track.
Ms. Wayne previously endorsed Mr. Trump in a letter posted online. But the public appearance helped cement the link between the actor and the movie star with Iowa voters ahead of the state’s leadoff caucuses Feb. 1.
Standing in front of a life-size statue of John Wayne dressed in cowboy costume, he said that the actor was “bigger than life.”
“Come to think of it, who do we have that’s bigger than life today.” Mr. Trump said. “I won’t use some of the names of the actors, but not the same thing.”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.