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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Election Shocker: Ted Cruz Voting for Trump

(CN) - Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has decided to back Donald Trump's White House bid, announcing on Friday he intends to vote for the man he once called "utterly amoral" and a "pathological liar."

Cruz's support for Trump, revealed in a lengthy Facebook post, is a huge change of course for the senator who snubbed the GOP nominee in prime-time during the Republican National Convention in July and told the party faithful to "vote your conscience" in November.

The publicly expressed animus between the two men was unrivaled in modern politics.

Trump repeatedly got under Cruz's skin during the Republican primaries by branding the senator "Lyin' Ted," and questioning whether he was even eligible to run for president because he was born in Canada.

Cruz maintained that he qualified as a natural-born citizen because his mother was born in Delaware. Several courts agreed, throwing out challenges to his inclusion on numerous state primary ballots.

But Trump continued to shoot from the hip and seemed to have a real talent for making claims that drove Cruz crazy.

At one point Trump accused Cruz's father, Rafael, of being friendly with Lee Harvey Oswald and possibly involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

While that wound was still smarting, Trump retweeted an unflattering photo of Heidi Cruz alongside a flattering picture of Melania Trump, a former model.

"Leave Heidi the hell alone," Cruz snarled through bared teeth shortly before the Wisconsin primary.

After his speech at the RNC convention, Cruz angrily told reporters that he was "not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father."

It was not immediately clear on Friday what inspired Cruz to change his mind, but Trump has made a habit over the past several weeks of hiring former Cruz associates and bringing them into his campaign.

In June, he hired Jason Miller, a former political strategist and advisor to Cruz, to be his communications director.

In July, he hired Kellyanne Conway, another strategist and veteran GOP pollster aligned with Cruz, to be one of his senior advisors.

Then on Friday, Trump included former Cruz ally, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, on a new list of 21 potential Supreme Court justices he would consider for the court if he wins the Nov. 8 election.

In his statement on Facebook, Cruz said "This election is unlike any other in our nation's history. Like many other voters, I have struggled to determine the right course of action in this general election.

"In Cleveland, I urged voters, "please, don't stay home in November. Stand, and speak, and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket whom you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution."

"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," he said.

Cruz goes on to say that he has two reasons for supporting Trump: He promised to support the Republican nominee "And I intend to keep my word," he said and, "even though I have had areas of significant disagreement with our nominee, by any measure Hillary Clinton is wholly unacceptable."

In response, Trump released a statement saying he is "greatly honored by the endorsement of Senator Cruz."

"We have fought the battle and he was a tough and brilliant opponent. I look forward to working with him for many years to come in order to make America great again," Trump said.

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