Trump forced to back ‘Lyin’ Ted’
President Donald Trump has pledged to campaign in Texas for the man he once labelled ‘‘Lyin’ Ted’’ Cruz who is under threat from a strong Democratic challenger who could help to turn the Senate against the president.
Trump and Cruz became bitter rivals during the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. The billionaire businessman made unflattering comments about his rival’s wife and accused his Cuban-born father of being involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
After the bruising battle Cruz, 47, refused to endorse Trump for president ‘‘like a servile puppy dog’’ but the buoyant campaign of Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic challenger in Texas, seems to have brought about a rapprochement. Recent polls showed O’Rourke, a congressman from El Paso, dramatically narrowing the gap with Cruz: one found just a single point between them in a seat that was widely expected to be a ‘‘cakewalk’’ for the incumbent. Texas has not had a Democratic senator since 1993; Trump won the state by nine points in 2016.
An unlikely victory for O’Rourke, 45, would bring the Democrats a step nearer to taking control of the Senate, held 51-49 by Republicans at present, although several Democratic incumbents are also facing tough battles to cling on, making the outcome hard to call.
‘‘I will be doing a major rally for Senator Ted Cruz in October. I’m picking the biggest stadium in Texas we can find.’’ Trump tweeted. ‘‘As you know, Ted has my complete and total Endorsement. His opponent is a disaster for Texas – weak on Second Amendment, Crime, Borders, Military, and Vets!’’
Activists are determined to remind Texas voters of the president’s own words about Cruz in the primary campaign for the Republican nomination. A group led by Antonio Arellano, a Houston-based Latino community activist, has raised money from an online appeal to fund a mobile billboard to drive around the state on a lorry. It will carry one of Trump’s tweets from 2016 declaring: ‘‘Why would the people of Texas support Ted Cruz when he has accomplished absolutely nothing for them. He is another all talk, no action pol!’’
Organisers said that another tweet from Trump could be displayed on the reverse stating: ‘‘How can Ted Cruz be an Evangelical Christian when he lies so much and is so dishonest?’’
O’Rourke has become one of the faces of the Democratic ‘‘blue wave’’ the party hopes will overturn control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in November. A former musician who founded an internet services business, he has shot to attention with viral videos including one of him defending NFL players’ right to protest by kneeling during the national anthem. Some commentators see a future vice-president or presidential candidate.
– The Times