Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said in an interview airing Sunday that GOP front-runner Donald Trump may encourage riots if he does not win the Republican nomination in Cleveland this summer. Asked on CBS' "Face the Nation" if he was concerned about the possibility of violence if he were able to "overthrow" Trump with the delegates in Cleveland, Cruz insisted there wouldn't but said that Trump might try to fan the flames.
"No, it won't, although Donald may do everything he can to encourage riots," he said. "You know, overthrow is such a loaded spin word as ... to bring nothing but chuckles."
Gerald Ford and Abraham Lincoln both won their respective nominations despite coming in with fewer votes than their opponents, he added, so it wouldn't be the first time that the candidate who comes out of a convention is the one who didn't win the most votes during the primaries.
"When we arrive in Cleveland, I'm going have a bunch of delegates," he said. "Donald's going have a bunch of delegates. And it's going be a battle to see who can earn the support of a majority of the delegates elected by the people."
