Top Cruz Activist Jumps Ship to Join Trump Campaign
APRIL 10, 2016
Michelle Wiles – one of the Palmetto State’s most influential conservative activists – is leaving the South Carolina leadership team of Ted Cruz and joining the campaign of Donald Trump, sources close to both campaigns told us this week.
The Upstate social conservative – widely known and respected in evangelical circles – had been one of Cruz’s most articulate, well-connected South Carolina supporters.
Now her support will go to “The Donald.”
If this scenario sounds familiar, it should ...
This isn’t the first time an influential female Cruz supporter has gone over to Trump’s team ... and it may not be the last.
Wiles, who hails from Pickens County, S.C., is best known for her aggressive opposition to a controversial refugee resettlement program which has been supported by S.C. governor Nikki Haley(an ardent Trump critic). In fact Wiles filed a cease-and-desist motion last
year seeking to block the U.S. State Department from implementing the
program – which Haley’s administration has funded with state tax dollars
against the expressed will of the S.C. General Assembly.
Wiles cited the immigration issue as one of her reasons for choosing Trump.
“For
months I have been leading the fight on the refugee resettlement issue
here in South Carolina – and as much as I respect Senator Cruz’s
positions on immigration and a host of other issues, I believe Donald
Trump will be a far better advocate for securing our borders and putting
a stop to immigration policies that endanger our families and our
future solvency,” Wiles said in a statement.
Wiles’ statement added that her choice for president was always going to be one of the anti-establishment options.
“I
have always been in the ‘show me, don’t tell me’ camp – and because of
that I was never going to consider supporting an establishment
Republican in this presidential primary election,” Wiles added. “And if
Ted Cruz ultimately wins the nomination, he will have my unwavering
support because he is not an establishment Republican – he is, like
Donald Trump, a truth teller who wants real change, not rhetorical
change. But I have come to believe that when it comes to the candidate
who is best equipped to tackle the hard issues – like illegal
immigration – Donald Trump stands head and shoulders above the field.”
That’s true ... controversially so at times, but true.
Wiles’
switch provides Trump’s campaign with a capable grassroots operator –
one who boasts a wide-ranging network of social conservative and Tea
Party activists.
“It’s
another sign that Trump’s grassroots outreach organization is better
than a lot of people are giving him credit for,” one unaffiliated,
out-of-state consultant told us – crediting the efforts of early Trump
supporter and Tea Party organizer Gerri McDaniel.
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