Donald Trump Calls Ted Cruz 'Worse Than a Puppet' and Fumes After Wisconsin GOP Primary Loss

Republicans who recoil at the prospect of Donald Trump as the party's presidential nominee bet on Wisconsin and Ted Cruz to deflate the wheels propelling the New York real estate tycoon to victory after victory in this unusual election year.

Cruz came through. His victory was declared 30 minutes after the polls closed. He took most of the state's 42 GOP delegates.

"Thank you to your tremendous governor, Scott Walker, for his principled, passionate leadership," Cruz said at his election-night party in Milwaukee after three networks quickly projected him the night's winner. "Tonight ... is a call from the hardworking people of Wisconsin to the people of America.

"We have a choice, a real choice."

Cruz was the only candidate to host an election-night party in Wisconsin, perhaps sensing likely victory.

Before voters cast their ballots, Trump delivered a message: "I want Wisconsin to win it for me."

Obviously, Wisconsin had other ideas. This is Trump's most significant loss.

Trump responded a few hours after Cruz's victory speech by calling the Texas senator "worse than a puppet."

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Results

• √ Ted Cruz: 48.2 percent: 531,129 | 36 delegates
• Donald Trump: 35.1 percent: 386,370| 6 delegates
• John Kasich: 14.1 percent: 155,200

» 100 percent of vote counted

• Bernie Sanders wins in Wisconsin

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Exit polls showed Cruz beating Trump, 47 percent to 36 percent.

"Tonight was a bad night for Hillary Clinton," Cruz said, pointing toward November. "We're winning because we're uniting the Republican Party. Of the 17 candidates who started this race ... five have now endorsed this campaign."

Cruz mentioned Rick Perry, Lindsey Graham, Carly Fiorina, Jeb Bush and Walker. Cruz did not, however, mention how reluctant some of them were to get behind him. If not for their aversion to Trump, some probably would not have done so.

"I am more and more convinced that our campaign is going to earn the 1,237 delegates needed to win… either before Cleveland or at the convention in Cleveland we will win the majority of the delegates," Cruz said.

Few who read the tea leaves of delegate math, however, believe that will happen. A convention fight appears inevitable.

Trump's campaign issued a statement via Hope Hicks, his communications manager, shortly before 10 p.m. Central time. Trump, who did not congratulate Cruz, believes he's been maligned.

"Lyin' Ted Cruz had the Governor of Wisconsin, many conservative talk radio show hosts, and the entire party apparatus behind him," the statement read. "Ted Cruz is worse than a puppet -- he's a Trojan horse being used by the party bosses attempting to steal the nomination from Mr. Trump."

Jason Miller, a senior communications adviser to Cruz, told reporters after seeing Trump's statement: “Donald Trump has a real problem when he gets his tail kicked."

John Weaver, chief strategist for the Kasich campaign, issued a release shortly after 8:30 p.m. Central time. Kasich is clearly spoiling for a nomination fight at the Cleveland convention. The Kasich campaign says there is no way the candidate is dropping out.

The nomination contest is now wide open.

This week will be remembered as the one in which Ted Cruz and Donald Trump both effectively admitted they will not reach the GOP Convention with enough bound delegates to be the nominee.

Rather than admit their own electoral and political shortcomings, they are blaming John Kasich, the only Republican who can defeat Hillary Clinton in November.

Wisconsin is the only state to host a presidential primary on Tuesday, April 5. The next major contest will be in New York in two weeks. ...

Tonight’s results will solidify the fact that no candidate will reach Cleveland with 1237 bound delegates. Heading into today, Ted Cruz was already mathematically eliminated, needing 102% of outstanding bound delegates. Donald Trump needs to win 2/3 of remaining bound delegates.

Kasich, however, should have performed much better in Wisconsin. Moderate Republicans and independents could have flocked to his campaign and didn't.

Tuesday night's results signal a shift in the campaign that makes it probable no candidate will arrive at the GOP convention in Cleveland with the necessary delegates to secure the nomination. Some GOP insiders even believe a scenario could play out in a floor fight that sees U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin emerging as the Republican nominee.

How Cruz fares in New York, Indiana, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico down the line will determine how much momentum he brings into the convention.

Wisconsin residents enjoyed the attention and excitement — Sarah Palin campaigned with Trump, as did former Sen. Bob Kasten — leading up to the April 5 primary and the unlikely reality that Wisconsin emerged as a battleground state for the GOP nomination. Wisconsin's primary is so late in the season, past contests historically were decided well before this date.

Wisconsin's governor, Walker, issued a late endorsement of Cruz.

More than $2 million was spent on ads trouncing Trump by various groups, according to NBC, with the Cruz campaign and Cruz backers ponying up $1.4 million. Trump spent less than one-fourth that total on his ads.

CNN's exit polling shows that 53 percent of GOP primary voters say they are angry with the government and 32 percent expressed dissatisfaction with the government. And while that may seem high, it's actually lower compared to earlier primary states.

And that may be why Trump's message did not resonate here as much as it has in other states.

• Perspective: Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders Faced Crucial Tests: "It's clear that Ted Cruz is going to win," analyst tells Patch. The only question, how big. Sanders victory may not mean a lot of delegates for the Democrat.

• Democratic Results: Can Bernie Sanders Keep Momentum With His Win?

By winning the statewide vote, Cruz added 18 of the 42 delegates. Cruz would also need to win in most of the eight congressional districts to boost his total among the 24 remaining delegates. As of the midnight vote tally, Cruz had 33 delegates to Trump's three.

Cruz led in every major state poll except for one, conducted by the American Research Group. In that poll, which has a 5 percent margin of error, Trump had a 10-point lead over Cruz. The RealClearPolitics average of major state polls showed Cruz with a 4.7-point lead over Trump on primary day.

Establishment Republicans were desperate for Trump to lose. Wisconsin may be the place where the tide turned against him.

In an interview with the Washington Post, GOP consultant Mike Murphy had this to say:

Wisconsin is a big primary, not a caucus, and a good measure of what Republicans are thinking right now. If Trump has jumped the shark like I think he has, a big loss in Wisconsin will prove the point and change the media narrative. The media will go from treating Trump like an amazing Dancing Mule Act — “Wow, I’ve never seen a mule dance the Jitterbug like that! Amazing! Get him a TV show! Call the neighbors!” — to asking, “Why is that mule crapping on the carpet? Who brought that stinky creature in here?!”

Murphy led erstwhile presidential candidate Jeb Bush's super PAC. He was luxuriating Tuesday night in Trump's loss, poking fun at his skin tone and his defeat.

Trump, however, proved to be an inspiration to one Wisconsinite. Perhaps not in the way he'd like.

Tanya Niemi, 19, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, was invited to a Trump town hall, where she asked a question about abortion. Her question stumped Trump for a bit, and eventually he answered that women who have abortions should receive "some form of punishment."

Niemi, who was studying computer science, told NBC she now plans to major in political science.

"It's funny how such a person — me, in Green Bay — can make such a difference," she said while waiting in line to vote. "I'm pretty proud of myself. I mean, honestly, I'm excited."