Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump mocked rival Ted Cruz’s announcement today that Carly Fiorina would be his running mate, should the Texas senator be the Republican nominee, during a rally at the Indiana State Fairground in Indianapolis tonight. Trump drew thousands of supporters to the venue last week, marking his first campaign stop ahead of the state's May 3 primary.
“First of all, you have to look -- Cruz can’t win," Trump told his supporters. "What’s he doing picking vice presidents? He can't win."
Trump added, "He’s mathematically eliminated, it’s like if you’re playing in the World Series and your team loses a game...He’s mathematically eliminated. He has set a record, though. He is the first presidential candidate in the history of this country who’s mathematically eliminated from becoming president who chose a vice presidential candidate.”
His statement was true, however Cruz is not the first candidate to announce a vice-presidential pick before becoming the nominee. The other? Ronald Reagan. In 1976, Ronald Reagan announced Sen. Richard Schweiker before his contested convention with Gerald Ford.
On the side, working for Ford was another familiar name; Paul Manafort, who is now Trump’s convention manager and the man working to ensure that his candidate doesn’t have to duke it out on the convention floor.
Fiorina, the former chairwoman of Hewlett-Packard, suspended her own presidential campaign in February.