The Cruz-Trump bromance is back on: After vowing to never endorse Donald Trump, Ted Cruz does just that

So much for his call for Republicans to “vote your conscience” only weeks ago

By Sophia Tesfaye

Senior Politics Editor

Published September 23, 2016 8:48PM (EDT)

 Ted Cruz and Donald Trump (Reuters/Tami Chappell/Chris Keane/Photo montage by Salon)
Ted Cruz and Donald Trump (Reuters/Tami Chappell/Chris Keane/Photo montage by Salon)

The on-again, off-again bromance between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump is back on again, likely much to the chagrin of Glenn Beck. In a perhaps not-so-shocking move, Cruz announced that after previously vowing to never support his former buddy turned nemesis, that he would indeed vote for the Republican presidential nominee in November.

“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,'” Cruz posted on his Facebook page Friday, noting that at the Republican National Convention earlier this summer he refused to endorse Trump. “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,” Cruz revealed.

Cruz made no mention of Trump's preferred nickname for the Texas senator, "Lyin Ted," nor Trump's repeated assertion that Cruz’s father is linked to JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in his endorsement.

"A year ago, I pledged to endorse the Republican nominee, and I am honoring that commitment," wrote Cruz on Facebook. Cruz said he made his decision for two reasons: "First, last year, I promised to support the Republican nominee. And I intend to keep my word. Second, even though I have had areas of significant disagreement with our nominee, by any measure Hillary Clinton is wholly unacceptable — that’s why I have always been #NeverHillary."

On the day that he dropped out of the race, Cruz took his criticism of Trump to a new level, accusing him of being a “pathological liar,” a “serial philanderer” and an “utterly amoral” “bully.” But since the contentious GOP primary, Trump has hired key Cruz allies such as Kellyanne Conway as his campaign manager, and Jason Miller as a spokesman.

"Cruz has nothing to gain from this, and everything to lose," Cruz's Iowa co-chair, Joel Kurtinitis told NPR. "His brand is based on principled resistance. Submissive conformity to Trump — a man who personally slandered Cruz's family and hasn't apologized — just cements Trump as the unopposed alpha in the GOP and hangs Cruz's conservative resistance out to dry."

"This endorsement will not convince #NeverTrump folks to change our minds about The Donald," he continued, "but we may well be forced to reconsider our support for Sen. Cruz."


By Sophia Tesfaye

Sophia Tesfaye is Salon's senior editor for news and politics, and resides in Washington, D.C. You can find her on Twitter at @SophiaTesfaye.

MORE FROM Sophia Tesfaye


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Donald Trump Election 2016 Elections 2016 Endorsements Gop Civil War #nevertrump Ted Cruz Video