Cruz called Trump a “pathological liar” who is “utterly amoral”, a “serial philanderer”, a “bully” and a “narcissist at a level I don’t think this country has ever seen”.
Advertisement
Cruz said he has taken that decision for two reasons: first, because previous year he promised to support whatever Republican candidate was elected; and second, though he has “areas of significant disagreement” with Trump, “by any measure Hillary Clinton is wholly unacceptable”. Clinton would appoint “a left-wing ideologue”, while Trump has promised to appoint justices “in the mold of Scalia”. “My conscience tells me I must do whatever I can to stop that”. In a lengthy Facebook post, the failed Republican presidential candidate said he’s planning on voting for Donald Trump this November. “It’s because he has no choice”, Mr. Trump said then. Trump has not apologized for dragging Cruz’s family into the race, and after the convention, he continued to discuss the lines of attack.
For starters, Ted Cruz saves his face in the endorsement by first acknowledging that he had deep personal differences with Donald Trump during the primary, and it’s taken him a lot of introspection to get to a place where he can support his opponent’s bid for the White House.
“I thought you had principles, but you clearly do not. I hope you’re defeated in your next election and if you run again in 2020 I will shout from the rooftops that you’re a party-line-holding sellout”.
After Cruz came out victorious during the Iowa caucuses, Trump accused Cruz of committing fraud and stealing the win. But now, it seems Cruz might be changing his tune, according to Politico.
Many Republicans, including those sympathetic to Cruz, expressed incredulity at his planned announcement. However, as the field winnowed, the amity between the erstwhile rivals evaporated.
Trump retweeted an unflattering picture of Cruz’s wife.
“(Ted Cruz’s) father, you know, was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s, you know, being shot.
Atlanta-based radio talk show host Erick Erickson said a Cruz endorsement at this point “plays to the caricature that he is self-interested, not really principled”.
“Vote your conscience”, he urged in a primetime speech, drawing boos from the crowd and prompting security to escort his wife, Heidi, out of the venue.
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, had called Cruz’s failure to endorse Trump “unconscionable”, and has been publicly flirting with challenging Cruz for the nomination to his Senate seat in 2018.
Advertisement
Now the vast majority of Republicans tell pollsters they’re backing Trump.
