Chuck Todd deflates Ted Cruz's SC victory delusion: 'Wait a minute, you finished third'

NBC host Chuck Todd reminded Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz over the weekend that his third place finish in South Carolina was not, in fact, a victory in any way because he lost evangelical voters to Donald Trump.

Speaking on Meet the Press, Cruz explained that his third place finish was an "incredible evening" for the campaign.

"There is now only one strong conservative in this race who can win," Cruz opined. "We see conservatives continuing to unite behind our campaign."

"Our campaign is the only campaign that has beaten Donald Trump, and that can beat Donald Trump," he continued. "So, what we're seeing is Republicans coming to us in incredible numbers."

"Wait a minute," Todd interrupted. "You finished third in a state with the highest evangelical turnout that we've seen yet. And you finished third!"

"That sort of doesn't support what you just said," the NBC host added.

"In South Carolina, we were effectively tied for second," Cruz insisted. "A week ago, Donald was 20 points ahead, we closed that gap."

Todd concluded by asking the senator if he expected to win his home state of Texas.

"I love Texas," Cruz replied. "We believe we're going to do very well."

Watch the video below from NBC, broadcast Feb. 21, 2016.