WASHINGTON: Ted Cruz announced Friday he will vote for Donald Trump, a dramatic about-face that may help unite a deeply divided Republican Party months after the fiery Texas conservative called Trump a “pathological liar” and “utterly amoral.”
Cruz said he was simply following through on a promise to support his party’s presidential nominee, even though the New York billionaire had nicknamed him “Lyin’ Ted,” insulted his wife and linked his father to the John F. Kennedy assassination.
But facing intensifying political pressure to back Trump, Cruz said he would cast a vote for Trump, while stopping short of an official endorsement in a statement posted Friday on Facebook.
The distinction may matter little to voters, but helps Cruz save face among those supporters still unwilling to forgive Trump’s heated attacks during their ugly and often intensely personal primary campaign. Cruz was booed by Trump supporters at the national convention for encouraging Republicans to “vote your conscience.”
“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 wrote Friday.
Trump accepted Cruz’s support, describing it as an “endorsement” in a statement. That’s even after Trump claimed he didn’t want Cruz’s endorsement immediately after the convention chaos.
“I am greatly honored by the endorsement of Senator Cruz,” Trump said Friday. “We have fought the battle and he was a tough and brilliant opponent. I look forward to working with him for many years to come in order to make America great again.”
Earlier Friday, Trump added 10 names to the list he says he’d use to fill Supreme Court vacancies if he becomes president.
Trump’s naming of Cruz ally, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, in his updated list of potential Supreme Court picks helped ease tensions between the two camps.
The expansion adds several minority judges to Trump’s previously all-white list, including Venezuelan-born Federico Moreno, a 64-year-old judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. It includes an African-American judge, a South Asian judge and a female judge who served in the Marines.
Revealing poll
In the final sprint to Election Day, a new Associated Press-GfK poll finds more than half the country fears a Trump presidency. And only about a third of Americans believe he is at least somewhat qualified to serve in the White House.
The poll underscores those daunting roadblocks for Trump as he tries to overtake Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Moreover, most voters oppose the hard-line approach to immigration that is a centerpiece of the billionaire businessman’s campaign. They are more likely to trust Clinton to handle a variety of issues facing the country, and Trump has no advantage on the national security topics also at the forefront of his bid.
Trump undoubtedly has a passionate base of support, seen clearly among the thousands of backers who fill the stands at his signature rallies. But most people don’t share that fervor. Only 29 percent of registered voters would be excited and just 24 percent would be proud should Trump prevail in November.
Only one in four voters find him even somewhat civil or compassionate, and just a third say he’s not at all racist.
To be sure, the nation is sour on Clinton, too. Only 39 percent of voters have a favorable view of the Democratic nominee, compared to the 56 percent who view her unfavorably. Less than a third say they would be excited or proud should she move into the White House.
But as poorly as voters may view Clinton, they think even less of Trump.
Forty-four percent say they would be afraid if Clinton, the former secretary of state, is elected, far less than the 56 percent who say the same of Trump.