After a bitter primary battle that culminated with Ted Cruz being booed off the stage at the Republican National Convention, the Texas senator says he will vote for Donald Trump.
In a long Facebook post Friday, Cruz wrote that he made the decision because he wants to "keep his word" to vote for the Republican nominee and because he finds Hillary Clinton "wholly unacceptable."
It was hardly a full-throated endorsement, though Cruz did end his post saying "I encourage you to vote for him."
It's a remarkable turn for Cruz, who declined to endorse or express support for Trump even as late as the Republican convention in July in Cleveland. There, he was given a speaking slot and, in a scene almost out of professional wrestling, was booed off the stage as Trump emerged in the crowd and waved to supporters.
<aside role="complementary" aria-label="pullquote" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">[FONT="]Submissive conformity to Trump ... just cements Trump as the unopposed alpha in the GOP and hangs Cruz's conservative resistance out to dry.
Cruz's Iowa Co-Chair Joel Kurtinitis
</aside>[/FONT]
Trump and Cruz have had a bumpy relationship. Early on, they had something of an alliance, declining to attack each other in early debates. But the bromance did not last. Cruz wound up winning the Iowa caucuses, and the acrimony became so strong that Donald Trump accused Cruz's father, Rafael, of being involved with the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy.
Trump also insulted Cruz's wife, Heidi, retweeting an unflattering picture of her alongside a modeling photo of his own wife, Melania Trump, and threatening on Twitter to "spill the beans" about Mrs. Cruz without explaining what he meant.
The move may be a recognition by Cruz that his future is limited at the presidential level without Trump supporters, despite an earlier calculus that if Trump were to lose in a blowout, those voters would look toward Cruz in four years.
In a long Facebook post Friday, Cruz wrote that he made the decision because he wants to "keep his word" to vote for the Republican nominee and because he finds Hillary Clinton "wholly unacceptable."
It was hardly a full-throated endorsement, though Cruz did end his post saying "I encourage you to vote for him."
It's a remarkable turn for Cruz, who declined to endorse or express support for Trump even as late as the Republican convention in July in Cleveland. There, he was given a speaking slot and, in a scene almost out of professional wrestling, was booed off the stage as Trump emerged in the crowd and waved to supporters.
<aside role="complementary" aria-label="pullquote" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">[FONT="]Submissive conformity to Trump ... just cements Trump as the unopposed alpha in the GOP and hangs Cruz's conservative resistance out to dry.
Cruz's Iowa Co-Chair Joel Kurtinitis
</aside>[/FONT]
Trump and Cruz have had a bumpy relationship. Early on, they had something of an alliance, declining to attack each other in early debates. But the bromance did not last. Cruz wound up winning the Iowa caucuses, and the acrimony became so strong that Donald Trump accused Cruz's father, Rafael, of being involved with the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy.
Trump also insulted Cruz's wife, Heidi, retweeting an unflattering picture of her alongside a modeling photo of his own wife, Melania Trump, and threatening on Twitter to "spill the beans" about Mrs. Cruz without explaining what he meant.
The move may be a recognition by Cruz that his future is limited at the presidential level without Trump supporters, despite an earlier calculus that if Trump were to lose in a blowout, those voters would look toward Cruz in four years.
