U.S. Senator Raphael Edward Cruz (R-Texas) may have finally figured out how to destroy Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and nobody noticed. At the Republican debate on Jan. 14, 2016, Cruz hit the Donald right in his two weakest spots and Donald had no real defense.

Cruz, who is popularly known as “Ted,” attacked Donald’s “New York values.” This is a brilliant strategy because it emphasizes the differences between Donald and the Republican base. The Republicans are basically a Christian, rural party with roots deep in the American heartland. Donald is a secular elitist from New York City pretending to be a man of the people.

By mentioning New York values, Cruz emphasizes that Trump is an urban elitist and a rich guy from Manhattan. He also highlights Trump’s connection with the media; what we know as Donald Trump is basically a creation of the media – his presidential campaign is driven and sustained by it.

What Cruz is doing is reminding Republicans that Trump is an outsider and an interloper, an opportunist who does not share their values or care about them. He is also pointing out that Trump is part of the media, which Republicans distrust and despise.

Trump has no Defense

The effectiveness of Cruz’s attack was proven by Trump’s reaction to it. Instead of answering Cruz’s criticisms directly, Donald brought up Sept. 11 and the American response to the atrocity. That is not an answer, it is an attempt to distract and mislead the audience.

If Donald wants to effectively counter Cruz, he needs to identify New York values and show the voters why they are not different from Kansas values. Simply stating that there are patriots or conservatives in New York is not good enough.

The strategy helps Cruz in another way. Many liberals and leftists in the media will rush to defend New York values and make it appear that Trump is wonderful. For example, this Guardian piece, which states how wonderful New York is because it is the home of the United Nations and the birthplace of gay rights – two things rank and file Republicans hate. Cruz is effectively painting Trump as a liberal in disguise, a Republican in Name Only (RINO).

Trump just lost a lot of credibility on the Republican main street and he won’t regain it anytime soon. Cruz got credibility by showing that he is the man who is tough enough and strong enough to take on Trump by going for the jugular. One big frustration a lot of rank and file Republicans have is that their party’s leadership has not gone after the Donald. They have let him hijack the party and take it to places they do not want to go.

Average Republicans are looking for a bruiser to come in and beat Donald down. They’re looking for a champion who will challenge the bully and run him out of town. Yet the presidential candidates have been polite and welcoming to Trump. Cruz just proved he is their man and he can take what Donald dishes out.

Once again, Donald proved that he is an amateur who is in way over his head. If he cannot take Cruz’s attack, how is he supposed to fend off the likes of Hillary Clinton? Waiving the bloody flag of Sept. 11 will distract voters for a while, but it is not a long-term defense, Donald needs to answer Cruz’s attack directly if he wants to survive.

The Numbers Prove Donald Cannot Win

The whole New York values affair demonstrates that Donald is largely a creation of media hype. He has little standing or value without his celebrity status, and he exists in a reality that is far removed from average Americans.

More importantly, the poll numbers that the pundits cite to remind us of Donald’s “success” actually demonstrate that he has little or no chance of winning the nomination. A classic example is this New York Times piece entitled “Donald Trump’s Popularity Hits New Heights in Latest National Poll.”

The article cites an NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll that shows Trump has the support of 33% of likely Republican primary voters. That means two out of three Republicans oppose Donald Trump. Yes, the Donald’s popularity has hit a new high, but the number is far from what it will take to win.

A closer look at the numbers indicates that it will not be hard for another candidate to gather the numbers necessary to defeat Trump. According to the poll, Cruz had the support of 20% of Republicans, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) has the backing of 13%, Dr. Ben Carson has the backing of 12%, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey has about 5%, and Jeb Bush has about 5%.

The Math shows us How Cruz can Trounce Trump

If these numbers are correct, all it would take for Cruz to match Trump’s numbers is to add Rubio’s to his. That would give Cruz 33%. All Cruz needs to do to beat Trump is to add Rubio or Carson’s numbers to his own and pick up the support of Christie or Bush. That would give Cruz 37% or 38%.

If Cruz picked up Carson and Rubio’s supporters, he would have 55% of the vote, a massive lead Trump could not match. If Cruz added Bush and Christie’s numbers, he’d have 65% of the vote, which is called a landslide.

It is obvious that the media is not doing any math and hoping that average people won’t do any. The numbers clearly show us that Donald cannot win; unfortunately, there seems to be no way to get the reporters to see that.