WASHINGTON ¨C Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed Sunday that he¡¯s responsible for Democratic rival Bernie Sanders¡¯ recent polling surge over front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Trump, who is leading in most Republican presidential polls, said during a campaign stop in Muscatine, Iowa, that the Vermont senator rose after he attacked Clinton¡¯s husband, former President Bill Clinton, for his infidelities.
¡°When I hit Hillary and Bill last week ¡ª but I did the right thing ¡ª but they start saying, ¡®Bernie Sanders is surging, an amazing thing is happening.¡¯ I did that. I did it,¡± Trump told his audience, adding, ¡°This guy Bernie Sanders, give me a break. They say he¡¯s a socialist, some would say he¡¯s a communist.¡±
Trump said it¡¯d be ¡°too easy¡± to attack Sanders right now, and he added that he didn¡¯t want to attack Sanders too much because it might benefit Republicans if Clinton and Sanders continue to attack each other for a bit longer.
He shrugged, then added: ¡°I have stuff in my mind. He would drop so fast.¡±
Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, has made significant gains on Clinton in Iowa polls ahead of the Feb. 1 caucuses. A CBS poll released earlier Sunday found that Sanders is leading Clinton in Iowa by a 47 to 46 percent margin.
Sanders also holds a double-digit lead against the former secretary of state in New Hampshire ahead of the Granite State¡¯s Feb. 9 primary, but Clinton maintains a formidable national lead.
Trump didn¡¯t just go after Democrats on Sunday. He also continued to attack his Republican rival, Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas, who is polling slightly below him in Iowa.
¡°Everybody hates him,¡± Trump told the crowd. ¡°He¡¯s in the U.S. Senate and not one senator has come out to endorse him.¡±
Trump continued to poke fun at Cruz¡¯s Canadian birth and he once again criticized Cruz for not disclosing loans from Goldman Sachs and CitiBank during his 2012 Senate campaign.
¡°He¡¯ll run for president,¡± Trump added, ¡°then he¡¯ll run for prime minister of Canada.¡±
The capacity crowd of more than 1,000 people inside a high school gymnasium laughed in approval.
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