Combative as ever, Sen. Ted Cruz signaled Saturday that he’s in no hurry to help elect Donald Trump as president, warning of dark days ahead regardless of who wins the White House this fall.
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“The odds are significant that we are headed for four very challenging years for this country. And I believe that movement, that remnant of freedom loving patriots, may well be the force that pulls us back from the abyss,” Cruz said in a suite at the Omni Hotel overlooking downtown Dallas.
Remnant is a term that resonates with the evangelical Christians whom Cruz has carefully courted, referring to the survivors of biblical-scale catastrophe. He invoked it again an hour later, when thousands of cheering Texas Republicans at the convention received him as a returning hero with a shining future, despite this year’s disappointment.
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“For those who are discouraged let me simply say this, truth will prevail,” he told the party’s activists. “Of course you’re disappointed…. I don’t know what the future will hold. But I want to encourage each of you to have hope.”
Cruz has remained proudly an outsider. He signaled no interest in adjusting his approach. There will be no reboot, no Ted Cruz 2.0.
“I understand that the media would like to see me surrender the conservative principles that I’m fighting for, join the Washington cartel, and stop fighting for the men and women of this country. I am not willing to do so,” he said in the interview. “My responsibility is to the 8,000 delegates who are gathered here today at this convention, is to the little old ladies across this state who have knocked on doors and made thousands and thousands of phone calls” and to struggling business owners and veterans.
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“You learn a great deal about a candidate watching them up close and how they campaign. What I thought and knew about each candidate changed dramatically over the course of the campaign,” he said. “What I said then and I say now is, I enthusiastically embrace Donald Trump supporters –millions and millions of Americans who are good people, who are frustrated out of their minds with Washington, who are tired of being lied to, and who are desperate for somebody who will stand with them.”
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He called Trump “catnip to reporters – utterly and completely irresistible,” while making clear that he personally finds Trump entirely resistible.
“I did everything within my ability to defeat him for the nomination,” Cruz said. “And the voters chose a different path. I’m going to allow the campaign to play out and to watch and listen to how each candidate conducts themselves.”
Going forward, Cruz said he’ll devote himself to pushing the conservative cause, from within the Senate – “working to motivate and inspire and energize that grassroots army. This campaign sparked a movement, a movement that came from the people.
“And that movement is far bigger than any one campaign. It’s far bigger than any one candidate,” he said. “It’s about the principles and that made America great. And I will continue to do everything I can to energize and empower that movement.”
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- Discussion
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Ted Cruz won't make nice in Senate and isn't ready to back Trump https://t.co/4koquV14j5
— Josh Painter (@JoshPainter2154) May 14, 2016
Cruz to @toddgillman: "The odds are significant that we are headed for four very challenging years for this country" https://t.co/e3G10lYwmC
— Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) May 14, 2016
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