Cruz's views are legitimately frightening and awful, but unlike Trump, Cruz actually understands how to win an election. Trump thinks he can just show up, promise the world, demonize his opposition, and sail to victory. Cruz understands how you win elections at the grassroots level. The post had a very interesting article this weekend about how Cruz is being extremely savvy with data mining of Republicans.
I will say though that I don't understand at all what you mean by "don't believe anything the media says about Trump." When you say "the media" who exactly do you mean? The media -- as in, news-reporting media, not pundits or op-edders or Fox News heads -- are the only ones showing what a lying megalomaniac Trump is.
I mean, Trump's base love him because they see him as honest and "one of us" and he is absolutely, positively neither of those things. It's really incredible.