Business mogul Donald Trump was in the midst of a fiery press conference in Hanahan, South Carolina Monday, berating Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, when reporters’ phones suddenly started buzzing.

A Trump press release appeared, with the subject line, “Donald J. Trump Responds to the Lies of Senator Cruz and Warns of Legal Action.”
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“Now [Cruz will] apologize, but I don’t want an apology after the election,” Trump said at the press conference. “I want the apology before, and if he doesn’t, I’m going to bring a lawsuit, because in my opinion based on what I’ve learned over the past two, three days from very top lawyers, he doesn’t even have the right to serve as president or even run as president. He was born in Canada, so I will bring that lawsuit if he doesn’t apologize.”

Leon gave you a taste of the press conference earlier. But it was Gothic/Salvador-Dali-esque. Naturally, the threatened lawsuit came up and Trump’s statement was little short of bizarre and incoherent.

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TRUMP:Well, actually I’m doing him a favor. The Democrats are going to file it anyway. Just so you understand. You don’t think I get along…

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I get along with everybody. Remember, you know, I was a business guy, I got along with everybody. The Democrats are gonna… If Cruz ever got it… I don’t think he’s going to get the nom… I think I’m going to get it… but if Cruz ever got the nomination the Democrats are going to file the lawsuit. So, in a sense, I’m doing him a favor because I’m filing it early. If I file it, I’m filing it early, but I have a very good lawyer already hired, I have a very good lawyer and a lawyer who truly believes that’s right. But remember this, how do you give a man the nomination for your major party, one of the two major parties, and the man has a cloud over his head. And I told him, “get a declaratory judgment, you’ve got to do something because the Democrats are going to file.” To the best of my knowledge there are already two lawsuits out there.

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No, no, no. Look eventually it’s going to be used anyway. They’re going to sue him.

What you see here is rather incredible. Trump is threatening to sue Cruz if he doesn’t get an apology. Then he says he’s doing Cruz a favor. Then that three lawsuits have already been filed (two of which involve Trump supporters). And then he had advised Cruz to get a declaratory judgment… which would presumably have been in Cruz’s favor because just a few months ago Trump said he had his lawyers check out the issue and Cruz was clear.

No ordinary candidate could have survived this press conference. But, because the press has created him, Trump staggers forward.