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Carpenter and anna navarro. amanda is a former communication director. amanda, you heard what congressman king just said. i know you've heard this before and senator cruz has heard this before. we were at the republican debate. everywhere you go, you could find people in the republican party, people connected with the senate who would bash ted cruz pretty openly. does this bother him? does he care that he's not likable? and couldn't this hurt him eventually? >> well, hey, number one, i respect the congressman's candor. we hear that often from him. we respect it. and that's certainly his right ...

Possibility, what does the establishment do? do they fall in behind him? >> look, that is a question that a lot of people here in washington don't even want to think about the answer to. but i think we should note, maybe underscore that the very reason he is disliked in washington is the reason he is so liked among so many conservative grassroots voters. because they're so fed up with washington, he has been able to have this unbelievable feat in that he does have senator before his name but is able to kind of be an outsider while still being an insider, which has not been easy. but, look, i t...

That is the u.s. senate, where he works. in fact, if washington were whoville, many would cast him as the grinch. here is dana bash. >> wow! >> reporter: ted cruz has a new prediction making establishment republicans shudder. >> i think it could easily end up being a two-man race. between donald trump and me. >> reporter: it's no secret that many mainstream republicans recoil at the thought of trump at the top of the ticket. but some republicans also can't stand the idea of cruz as their nominee. mostly because they can't stand cruz in general. >> to me, he's just a guy with a big mouth and no...

Private meetings but cruz didn't seem to care. >> you are a human being. you are sitting with people around you who, i would think that you have some respect for. fellow senators in your own party. for them to be so mad at you, so mad at you, what's that like? >> oh, listen. you know, what i try to keep an eye on is that i don't work for the party bosses in washington. >> god bless you! >> reporter: cruz may just be used to it. multiple sources who worked with cruz for george w. bush's 2000 campaign say he was profoundly disliked there, too. bush himself said at a fund-raiser this year he can'...

>> i'll point out there's almost an inverse relationship between being liked and appreciated in washington, d.c. and reviled by home. and being reviled in washington and appreciated back home. >> it is true that in his home state of texas after the 2013 government shutdown, cruz was greeted like a hero. republican women at a convention there were thrilled he stood up to washington like he said he would. on the presidential trail now, cruz does connect with republican voters, both with fiery rhetoric and fun moments, like his love for the movie "princess bride." >> do not say that name. what? i...