Donald Trump says poll showing Ted Cruz ahead ‘a total joke’

Leading US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has described a poll showing his GOP rival, Ted Cruz, in the lead nationwide as “a total joke.”

According to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Thursday, Cruz is the first choice of 28 percent of Republican primary voters, while Trump is behind with 26 percent.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio trailed behind Trump by 17 percent, followed by Ohio Governor John Kasich, former neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush with 17, 11, 10 and 4 percent support respectively, the survey showed.  

Trump dismissed the results of the NBC News/WST poll, and pointed to a poll released simultaneously that shows him ahead.

“New CBS National Poll just out – massive lead for Trump,” he stated in a tweet on Thursday. 

The New York billionaire businessman was referring to the CBS News poll that has him leading Cruz by a 35 to 17 percent margin.

“The Wall Street Journal/NBC poll is a total joke,” Trump said of the survey that shows Cruz leading him by a 28-26 margin. “No wonder WSJ is doing so badly!”

Earlier this week, Trump called Cruz an “unstable” person and threatened him with legal action if he does not “take down his false ads and retract his lies.”

“Ted Cruz is a totally unstable individual,” Trump said on Monday. “He is the single biggest liar I’ve ever come across, in politics or otherwise, and I have seen some of the best of them. His statements are totally untrue and completely outrageous.”  

"Cruz has become unhinged and is lying with the hopes that his statements will go unchecked until after the election and he will save his failing campaign," Trump continued.

He said he might bring a lawsuit against Cruz “relative to the fact that he was born in Canada and therefore cannot be President.”

A war of words between Trump and Cruz intensified after the Texas senator won the Iowa caucuses last month, beating Trump and Florida Senator Marco Rubio in a tight contest. He received 27.7 percent of the vote compared to 24.3 percent for Trump, while Rubio finished in third place with 23.1 percent.

In an interview later on, Trump said the election was stolen from him by Cruz’s campaign, adding he “probably will” file a legal complaint against the Texas senator. He accused Cruz of “voter fraud” in Iowa.

The billionaire businessman, who won the New Hampshire primary on February 9, on Monday went on to call Cruz a “nasty guy.”

“He’s a very bad guy. He's a very nasty guy. He's got no endorsements from any senators who he works with. He'll never be able to unify anything," he said.

In response, the Cruz campaign accused Trump of “name-calling and falsehoods."

"To be fair to Donald, he doesn't know what he actually believes so he can't really be expected to defend himself with reason and facts," said Rick Tyler, Communications Director for the Cruz campaign. 

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