Sen. Ted Cruz endorsed Donald Trump’s presidential campaign on Friday, the latest chapter in a rocky relationship between the two men that has ricocheted from fawning support to searing personal insults to, now, a kind of detente.
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What can I say….even Ted Cruz understands what is truly at stake here…. “And Donald Trump is the only thing standing in her way”. You can read his statement in full. Naturally, Cruz could have opposed Hillary in May (when he dropped out) or July (at the RNC) by publicly endorsing Trump, if this is his full reasoning.
“I look forward to working with him for many years to come in order to make America great again”, Trump said.
Last year, Clinton blamed Republicans for the rise of Donald Trump, saying that Trump’s “hateful comments” were nothing new in the party.
In January, Trump tweeted a fallback plan for Cruz in case his presidential dreams fell short, suggesting Cruz could be the Canadian prime minister, a jab at questions over Cruz’s eligibility to be president due to his Canadian birthplace.
Or, viewed another way, how can you vocally endorse someone whom you called “a serial philanderer” and a “pathological liar” 143 days ago?
Trump has already gotten most Republicans and conservatives on board with his campaign – largely by reassuring them on the Supreme Court and on issues like the Second Amendment and abortion.
The move left some Cruz supporters dumbfounded. He was also told by Trump in a public display that he should go home, as the GOP candidate didn’t want or need his endorsement.
The decision to announce his intention to vote for Trump, rather than endorse him outright, was seen as a compromise – even if voters see little distinction between the two.
January 15: Cruz criticizes Trump for embodying “New York values” – but instead attacks all New Yorkers.
Cruz’s backing now could help Trump shore up support from Republicans who have long suspected the candidate’s conservative credentials, including the evangelical voters who form the core of Cruz’s electorate. In a statement posted on Facebook, Cruz specifically cited Trump’s Supreme Court list and its inclusion of his friend and colleague, Utah Sen.
In December, Cruz promised that nothing would come between him and Trump.
“I apologize for that”, he wrote. “He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth”, Cruz said of Trump in May, hours before ending his campaign. 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 past year. If he gives it I will – I will not accept. He faces a possible Senate primary challenge from Texas Representative Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
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His Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, was behind closed doors as she prepared for their initial debate and did not address on Thursday the escalating racial tensions in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Mike Lee, who would make an extraordinary justice — and making an explicit commitment to nominate only from that list”.
