In a statement released by his campaign, Mr. Trump said: “I am greatly honored by the endorsement of Senator Cruz”.
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“After many months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump”, the senator said in a long message to voters. Hannity even said he would blame peoplelike Cruz and other anti-Trump conservatives if Trump loses.
Asked Friday night how involved he would like to be in Trump’s campaign, Cruz told the Tribune he will “do whatever I can to defeat Hillary Clinton and to help preserve the Republican majority in the Senate, and also to help turn out conservatives in Texas”. Trump, in particular, has been branded as a phony by hard-line conservatives, Cruz among them, who see him more as a political opportunist than a true Republican.
Cruz made the announcement on Friday, following mounting criticism over his refusal to endorse Trump at the Republican National Convention in July.
In a phone interview, Patrick called Cruz’s announcement “extremely significant because Ted has a large number of supporters and donors who believe in him”. When Trump, now the GOP nominee, went after Cruz’s dad and wife, Cruz said, he “abrogated” a GOP unity pledge all the candidates signed previous year. He doesn’t know the difference between truth and lies. “And I intend to keep my word”.
The Republican nominee was visibly annoyed with the senator, his toughest rival in the primaries, and countered by saying “I don’t want his endorsement”, and “if he gives it, I will not accept it”.
Since the convention speech, polls have suggested that Cruz’s popularity was slipping nationally and in Texas – where he could face a primary challenger for re-election in 2018. Trump’s running mate Mike Pence spoke with Cruz several times in recent weeks and Trump has hired several Cruz allies, including Kellyanne Conway to be his campaign manager. Trump has not apologized for dragging Cruz’s family into the race, and after the convention, he continued to discuss the lines of attack.
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Hitting out at the Democrat presidential nominee Clinton, Cruz said the country is in crisis and “Hillary Clinton is manifestly unfit to be president, and her policies would harm millions of Americans”.
