Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz sat down with "Meet the Press" to discuss their campaign's path forward following a weekend of increased violence at several Trump events.
NBC's fact-checking partner, PolitiFact, took a look at the claims Trump's and Cruz's made about their protesters. And while Trump's comment almost reached a "Pants-On-Fire" rating, the highest on PolitiFact's scale, Cruz did not bend the truth.
Donald Trump Claims Protester Has ISIS Ties
Trump was asked to clarify a tweet he sent out after a man rushed the stage at his Dayton, Ohio event on Saturday. Trump allegedly claimed that the man, identified as 22-year-old Thomas DiMassimo, had ties to ISIS after the campaign found an online video purportedly showing DiMassio holding a gun in front of an ISIS flag backdrop.
Trump was pushed to acknowledge that the video was completely fabricated, but the real estate mogul defended his claim.
"He was playing Arabic music, he was dragging the [American] flag along the ground, and he had Internet chatter with ISIS and about ISIS. So I don't know if he was or not. But all we did was put out what he had on his Internet," Trump said.
PolitiFact rated Trump's comments as "False."
Ted Cruz Claims He Engages With His Protesters
In response, Cruz has one message for Donald Trump: follow my lead.
Cruz said that he also gets protesters at his events, but instead of kicking them out or encouraging abusive behavior among the audience, like Trump, he engages with them.
"You know, listen, I get protesters at my events. But it's very different," Cruz said. "When I have protesters at my events, I endeavor to engage in them with civility and respect. More than once, I've actually had a conversation with the protesters on substance."
PolitiFact found several examples of Cruz doing just that, earning him a "True" rating for his claim.
