Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Wednesday he was “really surprised” to hear Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad say it would be a “big mistake” for Iowa voters to support Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
“I was really surprised to see that. Terry Branstad’s a very highly respected man,” Mr. Trump said, pointing out that Mr. Branstad recently became the longest-serving governor in U.S. history.
“The people of Iowa love him,” Mr. Trump said on “Fox and Friends.” “And he cares for them. And he’s not your politician, where they talk — what he says is the right thing. So I think that’s going to have a huge impact, and he really does not want Ted Cruz to win.”
At a renewable fuels summit Tuesday, Mr. Branstad cited Mr. Cruz’s position on the Renewable Fuel Standard as a reason why Iowa voters should not support the Texas Republican.
Mr. Branstad said Mr. Cruz “hasn’t supported renewable fuels, and I think it would be a big mistake for Iowa to support him,” the Des Moines Register reported.
The RFS mandates that a certain level of corn-based ethanol be blended in with nearly every gallon of gas sold in the U.S. and is an issue of intense interest for Iowa farmers.
“I was surprised to see it,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday. “It’s just not him. … He doesn’t do that. So I think that was a very bad hit.”
Asked about Mr. Branstad’s comments, Mr. Cruz told reporters in New Hampshire Tuesday that “the establishment is in full panic mode.”
“The Washington cartel lives on cronyism,” Mr. Cruz said. “It lives on making deals. It lives on picking winners and losers and supporting corporate welfare and cronyism. This is what people are so fed up with.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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