Cruz: No Apology for Calling Mitch McConnell ‘A Liar’

In a portion of an interview CNN’s Dana Bash conducted with Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) that aired on CNN on Friday, Cruz was asked if he would offer an apology to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for calling him a “liar” last July.

Cruz said McConnell had misled the entire Republican conference about allowing an amendment for the Export-Import Bank to be voted on, despite having said otherwise.

“Look, my focus is not on Washington, Cruz said. “That ain’t going to happen. And if the Washington lobbyists want the see that happen, they can hold their breath a long, long time. My focus is on the American people and uniting Republicans behind a shared values and a shared vision. Now I will tell you this. I am happy to praise Mitch McConnell, praise him effusively for his stand, along with Chuck Grassley saying, ‘We are not going to hold hearings on a replacement for Antonin Scalia.’ Mitch McConnell is doing the right thing. Chuck Grassley is doing the right thing. And I’m proud to commend them. I’ve done so publicly many times. They’re doing the right thing in saying that Justice Scalia’s replacement should be made by the next president so that the American people have an opportunity to vote and express their views. But we need to be focusing on the American people, not politicians bickering in Washington.”

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