As he left an informal press conference at the Republican convention in Dallas, Patrick said he’s against platform language sought by the Texas Nationalist Movement.
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Speaking from a 20th-floor suite overlooking downtown Dallas, a soft-spoken Cruz was more introspective than usual as he reflected on the race and its fallout. He never mentioned Trump or his father, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a frequent target of Trump during the Republican primary season.
The polling in the upcoming in primary showed Trump leading Cruz by over 15 percentage points in spite of Cruz’s so-called appeal to Indiana’s Christian right.
Pressed on Saturday whether he is open to ultimately supporting Trump, Cruz did not rule it out, reiterating that he is “watching and listening”.
Cruz is apparently holding out hope that he could pull an upset in Tuesday’s Nebraska primary, since his name is still on the ballot.
Cruz’s aides, free from any need to play nice with fellow politicians, have been more willing to remind Cruz supporters that they’ve forgot nothing about Trump’s political impurities. In a nation of immigrants founded on principles of tolerance and religious freedom, the presidential nominee of one of our major parties is campaigning in opposition, in essence, to our national origin story. John McCain, who Trump says is not a hero, despite having been a prisoner of war. This seems extraordinarily unlikely, as evidenced by Cruz’s own comments from a week ago.
So, you might think Trump is trapped, unable to hold his base while broadening his appeal in a more moderate electorate in the fall.
Cruz is 45 and is widely assumed to be planning on running again in 2020, if Trump loses this general election.
He reflected on how he was among the last men standing against Trump, and how Trump’s celebrity dramatically reshaped the trajectory of the contest.
“I am very disappointed in this election”. “It didn’t hinge on any particular policy position, rather it was decided on other factors”. “I have no idea”, he said.
“Listen, there’s time for recriminations, and everyone who is responsible for the rise of Donald Trump, they will bear that responsibility going forward”, Cruz told Houston radio host Michael Berry this week. Among the first issues he has focused on since the end of his campaign: President Barack Obama’s new guidelines asking public schools to let transgender students use the restrooms that match their gender identities.
“There is no decree clause to the Constitution”, he said. “That’s lawlessness and arrogance”. And so far, unlike Marco Rubio who made similarly pointed statements, Cruz has withheld his endorsement.
The new platform proposed Friday by the Texas GOP still calls for gays to have access to “sexual orientation change efforts”. Despite leading the polls since July, the billionaire continued to be regarded by the party as a gadfly who would eventually self-destruct. Doing so, he added, “would be a profound disservice to Republicans across the country, and so I’m working to ensure that we have strong conservatives and that our platform reflects what we believe as a people”. “That’s the takeaway from the Glenn Beck interview”.
He said “we may face some challenges ahead” but that the conservative movement “will be the remnant, will be the core” that can pull “this country back from the abyss”.
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In an email over the weekend to convention delegates backing Cruz, Ken Cuccinelli – a top adviser in the Texas senator’s campaign – urged delegates to fight in Cleveland for “the conservative values that Ted Cruz embodies”.
