Ted Cruz clearly laid out the standards that he requires for prospective donors to his campaign during a Friday appearance on CNBC Squawk Box. There are none. This comes as no surprise to anybody that has been paying attention to the Texas senator’s campaign efforts. When asked by CNBC anchor, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Cruz said, “Look, we’ll take money from anyone. In fact, Andrew, I would love a check right now. It’s $2,700, or you could go to TedCruz.org.”
This alarming lack of donor standards stands at odds with the populist message that Cruz has been pushing in recent weeks. His campaign talking points highlight the dangers of “crony capitalism”, potentially corruptive influence of Wall Street, and has criticized banks he deemed to be “too big to fail”. However, railing against the creeping influence of large financial institutions hasn’t stopped Cruz from accepting their donations. So far, he has collected in excess of $12 million from financial industry sources.
Cruz’ campaign gladly cashes the checks that he has been raking in from high profile donor dinners and his upcoming event on Monday will be yet another example. The Harvard Club will host Cruz’ upcoming fundraiser and it costs $1,000 just to get in the door. $2,700 will get you admission to a VIP schmooze session, where Cruz will press the flesh. The cash grab doesn’t stop there because host committee members are required to raise $10,800, while event chairs must rake in a whopping $25,000.
Interestingly, Cruz continues to grovel for the donations of Wall Street benefactors, but that hasn’t stopped him from taking shots at the big banks. In a Bloomberg TV interview, Cruz spoke out against his wife’s employer Goldman Sach’s. This two-faced approach hasn’t sat well with many figures on Wall Street. It also hasn’t stopped Renaissance Technologies co-CEO Robert Mercer from donating $11 million to the Pro-Cruz Super PAC Keep the Promise I.
With anti-Trump donors running out of his opponents to support, Ted Cruz is increasingly looking like the last great hope to stop the Donald. Still his slimy double-dealing has rubbed many potential donors the wrong way. It will be interesting to see if this technique will result in the full backing of Wall Street.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-_D8pC8LDY
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