Washington Free Beacon editor-in-chief Matthew Continetti appeared on CNN's Newsroom Friday to discuss the potential of a brokered Republican convention in 2016 and Ted Cruz's strategy to publicly "bear hug" Donald Trump as he seeks to out-duel him for the GOP presidential nomination.
The combination of a big Republican field and Trump's continued perch atop the polls have led GOP officials to brace for the possibility of a brokered convention next year in Cleveland.
"Right now, the Republican field is so large and the delegate allocation rules in the different states are so complex that you could have a situation, if all of the candidates remain in the race for awhile, where no one candidate has the required number of delegates required to win the nomination," Continetti said.
CNN host Brooke Baldwin also brought up the leaked audio of Ted Cruz from a New York fundraiser where he called out the "judgment" of Trump and Dr. Ben Carson to be president. His strategy, he told fundraisers, was not to criticize them in public but to "bear hug" them and "smother them with love."
Cruz, who has moved up in the polls in Iowa, tweeted his affection for Trump in the aftermath of the report.
The Establishment's only hope: Trump & me in a cage match. Sorry to disappoint -- @realDonaldTrump is terrific. #DealWithIt
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 11, 2015
The two will meet again at the next GOP debate on Tuesday, which will be hosted by CNN in Las Vegas.
"As I'm looking ahead to Vegas and our Republican debate, how do you think the dynamic between those two, between Cruz and Trump, will play out for all of us to see?" Baldwin asked.
"I think it's up to Donald Trump, because in that tweet you just read is exactly what Ted Cruz said in private he was going to do, which is continue to bear hug Donald Trump and wait, basically, for his campaign to fade away," Continetti said. "You'll see Ted Cruz try to avoid conflict, and then, really, the matter is up to Donald Trump. Does he want to initiate conflict with Ted Cruz, since it's Cruz who's creeping up in the Iowa polls."
Continetti was also asked by Baldwin to expound upon his Friday column, where he discussed the prospect of a Trump nomination bringing about a huge identity change for the Republican Party. He argued the party's nominee is a "reflection of where the party is going," citing the 1964 GOP nomination of Barry Goldwater and 1972 Democratic nomination of George McGovern, both candidates who were trounced in general elections but helped shift their party's ideologies.
"It's very possible that what we're seeing in Donald Trump is a new change in the complexion and character of the Republican Party, bringing in new voters and maximizing the white working-class voters who have always been a part, but a neglected part, of the Republican coalition, " he said. "If that happens, then the party of Reagan and George W. Bush will probably cease to exist as we know it after this election."