At long last, the battle between Cruz and Trump has been joined. Trump’s remarks on Cruz have made national news, and both Limbaugh and Levin have called out Trump. There’s no way the moderators of tonight’s debate can let this incident pass without remarking on it. Always before, Trump and Cruz have avoided coming to blows because both were mutually agreeable to it.

Now, it seems like that is no longer the case for Trump. And even if his remark may have been off the cuff (as I somewhat expect that it was) and that he probably genuinely feels no personal animus towards [mc_name name=’Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001098′ ], Donald Trump cannot apologize. For one thing, I think he might be physically incapable of saying the words, “I’m sorry.” As in, he suffers from a rare and debilitating throat condition that affects him in exactly one way – inability to form the words “I’m” and “sorry” in that order.

For another thing, part of Trump’s brand is built on the idea that he is a guy who does not apologize, or admit error, or appear contrite for any reason. If he refused to apologize for mocking a disabled guy – and was praised by his followers for it – how can he apologize for unintentionally besmirching the political reputation of [mc_name name=’Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001098′ ]?

For Cruz, this then becomes a case of him being in a war, whether he knows it or not. The Donald cannot back down, and thus far has had no reason to. Everyone he has taken on the GOP field has ultimately faded, with the exception of [mc_name name=’Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’R000595′ ], who at least has been kept at bay. Trump has no reason to think that tussling with Cruz will end any differently; although the reaction of Limbaugh and Levin may indicate that he may have misread the playing field in that respect.

That does not necessarily mean that [mc_name name=’Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001098′ ] will respond in kind; in fact, I rather suspect he won’t. Cruz might well go on saying that he thinks The Donald is great, and awesome, and the best think that’s ever happened to America, even while Trump is literally spitting in his face.

However, that in and of itself does not indicating that [mc_name name=’Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001098′ ] is not fighting; rather, it indicates that he is fighting in essentially the same manner as Ghandi, and hoping to win by roughly the same means.

But one way or another, the confrontation is coming. Trump realizes that he cannot win the nomination with just the ~30% that he has, and the amount that [mc_name name=’Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001098′ ] is consolidating against him has reached the point of presenting a genuine threat to Trump. Unlike Carson, Trump knows better than to expect that Cruz will be undone on his own through being unprepared or ill-equipped to handle hostile questioning.

Sooner or later it had to happen, and Trump is dictating that it will happen now.