The relationship between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump is…interesting.
Trump made unsubstantiated claims that Ted Cruz’s father was involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy during the 2016 presidential campaign and that Heidi Cruz was not attractive.
Trump was referred to as a “snivelling coward” and “utterly amoral” by the Texas senator, who also famously declined to support him at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Then everything abruptly changed. Cruz transitioned from being one of Trump’s most vocal critics to one of his most ardent supporters. Cruz was also requested by Trump to represent a case that, if it made it to the Supreme Court, would seek to invalidate the results of the 2020 election in a number of crucial states.
Cruz gave an explanation of what, whatever, transpired between then and now on Monday.
When Trump made comments against Cruz’s father and wife during an appearance on ABC’s “The View,” co-host Ana Navarro brought up the remarks and sternly questioned him about his earlier criticism of the former President: “Were you lying before or are you lying now?”
Cruz chuckled nervously before responding.
Cruz claimed that he and Trump “beat the living crap out of each other” in the 2016 primary, and that his wife enjoyed Trump’s insults. (So I suppose that clears it up?) “We engaged in a fight, and he ultimately prevailed. And I needed to make a choice. I could have made the choice to “take the ball and go home and not do my work because my feelings have been hurt.”
Instead, Cruz claimed that for the benefit of all the Texans he represented, he had no choice but to find a way to cooperate with Trump. He said, “I had a job to do and a responsibility.”
That justification falls short in a few key areas.
1) Just because something is your job doesn’t mean it’s appropriate.
2) The notion that Cruz undertook all of this because he was aware that he needed to put personal animosity aside in order to best represent his state ignores the significant calculation that underpinned it all: Cruz plans to run for president again and understood that he would not stand a chance if he was perceived as a Trump rival.
That’s not to say Cruz didn’t think it would benefit his supporters to find a way to cooperate with Trump. He might have. However, Cruz’s desire to get back in Trump’s good graces was motivated by his own political ambition.
Cruz has done well by being open about wanting to run for president once more, perhaps as soon as 2024. Moreover, there is the obstacle that Trump’s probable candidacy would bring. Cruz stated earlier this fall, “I don’t know what Trump’s going to decide; nobody does. “Anyone who claims to have it is making it up. Whatever Donald Trump decides, the entire globe will change. That applies to all candidates. That applies to all potential candidates.
This candour contrasts sharply with Cruz’s just-doing-my-job justification for his decision to make peace with Donald Trump.