TRUMP FUMES AFTER CRUSHING LOSS

Allan Smith 

George Frey/Getty ImagesDonald Trump.

Donald Trump's presidential campaign unleashed a furious statement Tuesday night after Ted Cruz easily defeated him in the Wisconsin primary. "Ted Cruz is worse than a puppet--- he is a Trojan horse, being used by the party bosses attempting to steal the nomination from Mr. Trump," the Republican frontrunner's statement declared.

Instead of offering a note of praise like after past losses, Trump's Tuesday-night statement leveled a bevy of attacks against "Lyin’ Ted Cruz." Among other things, the statement accused Cruz of illegally coordinating with super PACs supporting his campaign, though he did not specify any evidence for his claim.

The Trump camp also claimed that its candidate

"withstood the onslaught of the establishment yet again" and noted that Cruz had the support of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and a number of local conservative radio hosts.

Trump had aggressively campaigned in Wisconsin and repeatedly predicted that he would win there. He barnstormed the state for days in hopes of catching up to Cruz after the senator started to pull ahead, holding six Wisconsin rallies between Saturday and Monday.

The billionaire still is hoping to salvage a few of the 42 delegates at stake. Although winning the statewide vote guarantees Cruz a batch of delegates, Trump can gain three delegates for each congressional district he wins. The data-journalism website FiveThirtyEight reported that Trump was competitive in two of the state's eight districts.

Read the full statement below:

Donald J. Trump withstood the onslaught of the establishment yet again. Lyin’ Ted Cruz had the Governor of Wisconsin, many conservative talk radio show hosts, and the entire party apparatus behind him. Not only was he propelled by the anti-Trump Super PAC’s spending countless millions of dollars on false advertising against Mr. Trump, but he was coordinating `with his own Super PAC’s (which is illegal) who totally control him. Ted Cruz is worse than a puppet--- he is a Trojan horse, being used by the party bosses attempting to steal the nomination from Mr. Trump. We have total confidence that Mr. Trump will go on to win in New York, where he holds a substantial lead in all the polls, and beyond. Mr. Trump is the only candidate who can secure the delegates needed to win the Republican nomination and ultimately defeat Hillary Clinton, or whomever is the Democratic nominee, in order to Make America Great Again.