Trump's Tweet About Ted Cruz Committing 'Fraud' During 2016 Iowa Caucuses Resurfaces as Senator Backs 2020 Claims

As Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, has backed President Donald Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud as the reason President-elect Joe Biden won the election, old 2016 tweets of Trump accusing Cruz of fraud have resurfaced.

"I believe President Trump still has a path to victory," Cruz said during a Sunday interview with Fox News. "And that path is to count every single legal vote that was cast, but also not to [count] any votes that were fraudulently passed or illegally cast, and we have a legal process to determine what's legal and what isn't." But back in 2016, Trump accused Cruz of fraud during the Republican primaries.

Cruz sought the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, competing against Trump and several other GOP politicians. The Republican senator came out on top in the Iowa caucuses, drawing Trump's ire and false allegations of fraud.

"Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified," Trump tweeted after the 2016 Iowa caucuses results came in.

"Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!" then-candidate Trump wrote in another tweet at the time.

At the time, Cruz responded via Twitter, dismissing Trump's criticism. "Yet another #Trumpertantrum... @realDonaldTrump very angry w/the people of Iowa. They actually looked at his record," the GOP senator wrote in a Twitter post. Trump of course went on to win in the primaries and secure the Republican Party's presidential nomination.

When reached for comment by Newsweek, a spokesperson for Cruz said, "We'll let you know if we have anything to add." Some on social media found it ironic that Cruz now supports Trump's fraud claims, considering a similar unfounded argument was once used by the president against him.

"Oh look, @realDonaldTrump has cried wolf 8,379 times. cc: @tedcruz," Representative Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, wrote, re-tweeting Trump's 2016 post accusing Cruz of fraud in Iowa.

Author and actor George Takei wrote on Twitter: "We've seen this movie before." He shared a link to an article highlighting Trump's previous fraud allegations against Cruz.

While Cruz has declined to accept Biden's victory and backed Trump's unfounded fraud allegations, multiple prominent Republicans have congratulated the president-elect and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

"The American people can have confidence that this election was fundamentally fair, its integrity will be upheld, and its outcome is clear," former President George W. Bush said in a Sunday statement, in which he congratulated the Democratic winners.

"Ann and I extend our congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President–elect Kamala Harris. We know both of them as people of good will and admirable character. We pray that God may bless them in the days and years ahead," GOP Senator Mitt Romney of Utah tweeted on Saturday. Romney has been a critic of Trump throughout his administration.

Representative Francis Rooney, a Florida Republican, warned on Monday in an interview with CNN that Trump's refusal to concede was "playing into Russia's hands."

"I think the peaceful transition of power is a critical element of our democracy. So I want to compliment and congratulate the president-elect," Rooney, who did not seek re-election, said.

"I think we're playing into Russia's hands here by undermining our own democratic principles," the GOP lawmaker said.