“This makes Senator Cruz seem much more sane,” Iowa state Senator Dennis Guth told Bloomberg Politics.

“Cruz is like Trump, but at a toned-down level,” echoed state Senator Jake Chapman. “He’s not going to say something like that.”…

“He’s taken bold stands—shutting down the government, that kind of thing,” said Guth. “He did something that sounds wild and crazy with the shutting-down-government thing. That didn’t cost him the political collateral that everyone predicted it would. That’s similar to what Trump is doing. But Trump doesn’t have any consequences, just words.”

Chapman said that unlike Trump, Cruz “isn’t someone who is quick to pull the trigger,” but he will stand firm. Guth said that Trump’s “ego is the biggest elephant in the room and it makes it a little tough for some of us to swallow.”