I
n 2016 more than a dozen candidates ran in the Republican Party
primaries, state elections that helped determine the party’s nominee
for president of the United States. Among the top candidates were
Donald Trump, a New York real estate developer and reality TV star,
and Ted Cruz, a US senator from Texas.
CHAPTER 1
FAKE NEWS:
IT’S REAL AND
IT MATTERS
Stretching over the first half of the year, the primary campaign
grew increasingly nasty, with ugly name-calling and verbal insults. For
example, on May 3, during an appearance on the Fox News television
channel, Trump attacked Cruz’s father, Rafael, a Cuban-born Christian
preacher. Trump accused the elder Cruz of having associated with Lee
Harvey Oswald. On November 22, 1963, Oswald assassinated John F.
Kennedy, the nation’s beloved young president, in Dallas, Texas. The
assassination was shocking and sent Americans into deep mourning.
Millions of Americans watched the funeral live on television.
“What was [Rafael Cruz] doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly
before the death? Before the shooting?” Trump asked. “It’s horrible.”
Trump was referring to a story that had run in the
National
Enquirer
, a tabloid newspaper, several weeks earlier. The headline read,
“Ted Cruz’s Father—Caught with JFK Assassin.” The story claimed
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