In a move that shows clearly the strength of Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked his former enemy President Donald Trump Monday to come down and campaign for him.
According to a Tuesday Houston Chronicle report, Cruz telegraphed his need to the President during a campaign stop, when a reporter asked if he would welcome a Trump visit.
“I would certainly welcome his support, and I hope to see him in Texas,” Cruz said. “I think we are likely to see the President down in Texas before the election.”
“Pres. Trump has been aggressively campaigning all over the country for Republicans in the midterms. With liberals running all over Texas talking about impeaching the President I would lay odds we may see him again in the next 90 days,” Cruz strategist Jeff Roe told TPM.
“Sen. Cruz is at the top of the ballot in Texas, so he has talked to the president multiple times one-on-one about how to get conservatives out and vote in November,” he continued. “We have not placed a formal request for a rally or event but Senator Cruz and President Trump speak often about the political landscape in Texas and how the President can be helpful.”
Per the Houston Chronicle, polls from last week show O’Rourke pulling to within a single-digit deficit of the well-funded incumbent.
Perhaps it was that dire news that prodded Cruz to vocalize publicly for the first time that he would welcome the help of a President who pulled no punches during the 2016 Republican primary when Cruz was briefly a candidate. Then, Trump insulted the appearance of Cruz’s wife and speculated that Cruz’s father murdered JFK. He even had a trademark moniker for Cruz, labeling him “Lyin’ Ted.”
Cruz responded in kind, calling Trump “a sniveling coward,” a “pathological liar” and refusing to endorse him at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Though Cruz has wormed back into Trump’s good graces since then, penning the President’s gushing entry on Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2018 list and being a reliable vote for his agenda, the men’s relationship has never fully recovered.
