This past Tuesday Donald Trump was poised to win the Indiana Republican Presidential Primary and vanquish his closest rival for the nomination, Ted Cruz. Trump had been on a roll since sweeping five eastern state primaries the week before and was already heralding himself as the “presumptive nominee.” So it came as something of a surprise, when on the day of the Indiana Primary, he accused Cruz’s father of being involved with Lee Harvey Oswald who assassinated President John F. Kennedy fifty-three years earlier.
Trump based this charge on an article in that paragon of investigative journalism, the National Enquirer. Trump made the accusation in an interview on Fox News, a network which competes with the National Enquirer in a contest to see which one can invent the most sensational stories. Trump declared; “His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s being-you know, shot I mean the whole thing is ridiculous. What is this, right prior to being shot, and nobody even brings it up. They don’t even talk about that. That was reported and nobody talks about it. I mean what was he doing-what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald before the death? Before the shooting? It’s horrible.”
Cruz, whom Trump refers to as “Lyin Ted,” called Trump “a pathological liar” and declared; “He doesn’t know the difference between truth and lies. He lies, practically every word that comes out of his mouth.” He went on to denounce Trump as “…utterly amoral, morality doesn’t exist for him.”
For good measure, he reminded us that the National Enquirer had endorsed Trump. Clearly, an endorsement that will sway the electorate like no other.
There is probably no event in history that has been examined more often and in more detail than the assassination of President Kennedy. In addition to the Warren Commission Report there have been countless books published about it. Conspiracy theories abound including some that place assassins on the “grassy knoll” on the motorcade’s route, in addition to Oswald in the Texas Book Depository. None of these books or theories have, heretofore, included Rafael Cruz.
So, it leads one to wonder, why, as he is about to clinch the Republican nomination and needs to unify the Party, would Donald Trump make such a preposterous accusation?
I’m not one who likes to put politicians on the couch and delve into their innermost thoughts and motivations. I can’t imagine trying to do it with Donald Trump but it does make me wonder whether he sometimes secretly hopes not to be the nominee.
I wonder whether he is most interested in winning the primary contests and avoiding the awesome responsibilities that come with being President. It’s clear that he hasn’t given any thought to serious policy positions, assembling a deep bench of policy advisors or governing at all. It does make one wonder what the fall campaign holds for us.
Maybe we’ll learn that Chelsea Clinton was involved in the Watergate burglary or that Bill Clinton was the mastermind of the 9/11 attack.
Only time and Donald Trump will tell us.