Ted Cruz supporters were alarmed Wednesday at suggestions that he was on the verge of endorsing Donald Trump.
They worry that the Texas senator could squander his brand as a fighter — and goodwill earned among many through his stubborn refusal to back his party’s nominee — if he caves with nothing to show for it.
Cruz has held out on the grounds that Trump is insufficiently conservative, and because Trump attacked his wife and father down the stretch of their heated battle for the Republican nomination.
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After taking such a public stand against Trump, reversing himself this close to Election Day without explaining how he reconciled their ideological and personal differences could damage his future presidential prospects.
“If Cruz were to ever do this, it would be imperative that he describe what changed in regard to Trump’s actions that allowed Cruz to finally ‘vote his conscience.’ And, that’s a hard case to make,” said Amanda Carpenter, a former Cruz aide who now works as a political analyst for CNN.
Steve Deace, an influential conservative talk radio host in Iowa who endorsed Cruz in the primary, said on Twitter that Cruz risks losing voters’ respet.
“…things that kill political brands…Stand tall on principle when it matters most, and then walk away from it for no good reason,” Deace said.
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Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier declined to comment on the level of any coordination between the Trump campaign and the senator’s office, nor on whether Cruz personally asked for the nominee’s attempt to insert this policy into a pending budget bill.
Frazier confirmed that Cruz hasn’t ruled out endorsing, but declind to elaborate.
For Cruz, whether or not to endorse Trump is complicated.
To begin with, his opposition to Trump is not just ideological. It’s also personal.
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So unless he can show that his endorsement extracted promises from Trump in the way of conservative policies that weren’t already on the table at the time of the convention, his backing could look as though it was made out of fear.
That’s especially the case since Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus recently suggested that Republicans who don’t endorse Trump could face penalties by the party in the future.
And all of that could diminish support for Cruz should he decide to run for president again in 2020, if Trump loses, or beyond.
Cruz’s base of support, plus many other “Never Trump” Republicans, were heartened by his willingness to stand up to Trump so publicly. And endorsement without a sufficient reason, could be disappointing, and provide ammunition to his critics who contend the senator is more calculating than principled.
“There were thousands of people not in that arena who will be utterly disappointed that Cruz didn’t maintain his principled stand for conservatism,” said Rick Tyler, an MSNBC political analyst who served as a Cruz campaign spokesman before being let go because of his role in what was deemed an untrue attack on another candidate.
“Endorsing now for no reciprocation? He would just end up being a Trump Chump,” Tyler said.
- Discussion
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Cruz supporters alarmed he will end up as Trump's Chump https://t.co/VvwgiefAOk via @DCExaminer
— Rick Tyler (@rickwtyler) September 22, 2016
Ted has no choice.
If Hitlery were to win, all he has worked for in his professional life would go down the tube the moment she was sworn in.
This may be one of the ugliest elections we have ever had, rivaling the Carter/Ford contest.
Whatever the Senator does won’t affect me. I decided early on I could not trust Trump or Hillary and I refuse to vote for either liberal and in the process, help bring down the country I love. The US will be swirling the bowl, no matter which liberal wins, but at least when it does, I can sleep well at night knowing I didn’t vote for America’s destruction.
Endorsements from politicians and celebrities do not influence how I vote. I am not a sheep. I can make up my own mind.
He won’t influence me either. However he does have a choice. You always have a choice. And if he doesn’t know it already the GOP will never let him get near the WH whether he endorses Trump or not. His only hope is his supporters. Hmmmm…whom should he let down? The GOP or his supporters who would actually donate money and work to get him elected in 4 years.
I can tell you that if he caves, he has also lost my respect and my future votes.
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