US Senator betrays father and wife to support Donald Trump

Ted Cruz unexpectedly voiced his support for Donald Trump in the race to the White House, even though the American billionaire had previously repeatedly attacked the senator's private life.

Senator Ted Cruz (left) announced on September 23 that he would support Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump. Illustration photo: AFP

Senator Ted Cruz has spent his political career carefully cultivating an image of himself as a principled conservative lawmaker, unafraid to stand up to powerful groups within his own party or speak out against even wealthy donors, according to the Daily Beast. But now, overnight, his reputation seems to have collapsed with one unexpected remark.

Ted Cruz announced on September 23 that he would support and vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming US presidential election on November 8. Billionaire Trump was Cruz's arch-rival in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

The New York tycoon also repeatedly insulted Cruz's relatives, implying that his father participated in the assassination plot of former US President John Kennedy and implying that Mr. Cruz had many mistresses outside.

"After many months of careful consideration, prayer, and soul-searching, I have decided on Election Day to vote for Republican nominee Donald Trump," Mr. Cruz wrote on his personal Facebook page.

Unexpected change

According to Daily Beast commentator Tim Mak, Cruz is not the type of politician who acts impulsively. He has a clear strategic mind, calculates every step carefully and makes decisions very carefully. For example, when talking to the press, he always gives exact quotes of what he said an hour before. Therefore, experts say that Cruz's announcement that he will support billionaire Trump is really shocking and it will definitely have a big impact on his reputation.

At the Republican National Convention, Mr. Cruz affirmed that he would not stand with billionaire Trump. His eloquent statement at that time made him lose the trust of a large number of voters who decided to support candidate Donald Trump.

Now, with less than two months to go until Election Day, he has reversed his statements, turning 180 degrees towards the American billionaire. As a result, Cruz has once again hurt conservatives who until now still see him as a leading member of the NeverTrump movement, calling on voters not to vote for Donald Trump.

But Cruz isn’t the only wavering NeverTrump. The wealthy and influential conservative Ricketts family, which spent nearly $6 million to prevent Donald Trump from becoming a presidential candidate, will now spend $1 million to support Donald Trump in his bid for the White House.

The Mercer family, one of the biggest Republican donors, is pouring money into a political action committee against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and is increasingly involved in billionaire Donald Trump's campaign, after their $13.5 million investment in Senator Cruz failed to pay off in the primaries and caucuses.

Leading conservative radio host Mark Levin has also changed his tune. Levin announced earlier this month that he would reluctantly endorse Trump because he and Clinton were a greater danger.

Observers speculate that the reason for Senator Cruz's change of stance stems in part from the Trump campaign's decision to hire Kellyanne Conway and Jason Miller as senior staff, both of whom previously worked with Mr. Cruz on the campaign.

Billionaire Trump also released a new list of individuals he plans to nominate to the Supreme Court if he becomes president yesterday, including Senator Mike Lee, Mr. Cruz's best friend and a former member of the NeverTrump movement.

On the other hand, before they were in a confrontation in the race to the White House, Trump and Cruz were also friends. They had organized an event together on the topic of the Iran nuclear deal during the primary election. Senator Cruz's strategy at that time was to maintain a good relationship with billionaire Trump and then turn the tables when support for the New York tycoon declined.

But that never happened. Instead, the two men engaged in a bitter war. After Trump launched attacks on Senator Cruz’s personal life, disparaged his wife’s appearance, and accused Cruz’s father of being involved in the Kennedy assassination, he responded fiercely.

During the primaries, Cruz called Trump "amoral," "a philanderer," and a "pathological liar," and also a "weak coward" for attacking his wife. At the Republican National Convention, Cruz firmly declared on stage that he would not stand with Trump.

Wrath

The backlash on social media against Mr. Cruz's decision to support billionaire Trump is intense, according to the Daily Beast.

"Damn you weak traitor," a Twitter account named flametrooper420 posted a comment attacking the US senator.

"What a sellout," Greg Gaines of Cleveland, Georgia, wrote in the comments section of Cruz's Facebook post. "I am ashamed to have ever supported you. By supporting him, you implicitly endorse everything he says about you and others... Cruz, you just lost a voter."

"I've had Ted Cruz on the back of my car since day one... And now I'm taking it off," another wrote.

Some of Mr. Cruz's most prominent allies in the NeverTrump movement have also begun to express anger.

"It's been a sad day for me," conservative radio host Glenn Beck wrote on Facebook. "The word 'disappointed' doesn't seem to be enough. Maybe I need to go to the mountains for a while."

The frustration of these people stems from the fact that they have been led by Mr. Cruz for so long that they have formed a firm belief that he will never change his stance, experts say. But regardless of the public reaction, this is still good news for Donald Trump.

"I am deeply honored by Senator Cruz's endorsement," Trump said in a statement. "We have fought together, and he is a tough and brilliant opponent. I look forward to working with him for many years to come to make America great again."

According to VNE