WHAT’S UP? Ted Cruz and Rudy Giuliani Meeting Today

Just a couple weeks ago we reported on former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani being on the verge of endorsing Donald Trump:

“The way I look at it, there really are only three people who will be the next president of the United States. One’s Hillary Clinton, the other’s Donald Trump, and the third is Ted Cruz,” he said at a Monday night event hosted by the Columbia University College Republicans on campus.

…

“So I’ll choose between those three,” he said. “I’ll give you a hint: it won’t be Hillary Clinton. I seriously doubt it will be Ted Cruz. But I just want to think about it a little bit more before I do anything formally.”

Though that may still happen, something else is in the works:

Rudy Giuliani will meet with Ted Cruz on Thursday in New York, according to a national political operative and Republican operative in New York familiar with the plans.

The meeting could signal a significant shift: Giuliani had in February said he was acting as an informal adviser to Donald Trump, and had spoken favorably of him publicly several times, including at an event in Peoria, Illinois, when he alluded to the billionaire developer’s slogan, saying, “I hope you’ll look for a candidate who can set a direction for this country that one, talks about how great they are, a lot.”
…
Giuliani, who’s been out of office since 2001, remains the most prominent force in the Republican establishment in New York, and his endorsement would likely have major sway, were he to make one, and even more so because of the switch it would be: He was one of the first notable Republicans to give a nod of support toward Trump earlier in the race.

Cruz is clearly facing an uphill battle in New York with the objective being to deny Donald Trump the 50%+ vote in each congressional district that would give Trump all three delegates from that district. To get back on a glide path to win the nomination on the first ballot, Trump needs 80+ of New York’s 95 delegates. If Giuliani’s influence is as significant as POLITICO suggests — and I have no way of evaluating that claim — then Giuliani staying neutral would be useful and if he could be persuaded to endorse Ted Cruz the effects could be catastrophic for Trump’s efforts.

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