Thrill and Ted’s exultant joint venture
Texas crowd fired up as Trump talks up ex-rival
HOUSTON — President Donald Trump hailed former foe Sen. Ted Cruz on Monday as “a man who has become a really good friend of mine” at a campaign rally in Texas.
Trump spoke before a massive crowd in Houston on behalf of his onetime rival for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. The rally comes as Cruz faces a challenge from Democratic Rep. Beto O’rourke.
During the campaign, Trump would frequently deride his former foe as “Lyin’ Ted” but said in Texas that their relationship had come a long way.
“Nobody has helped me more with your tax cut, with your regulation,” Trump said of Cruz. “He defended your jobs, he defended your borders, and we are defending that border, by the way.”
Speaking before Trump took the stage, Cruz also made it clear that the conflict was behind them and that the two were working together. His biggest applause came when he predicted that “in 2020, Donald Trump will be overwhelming re-elected.”
The event bore all the trappings of a Trump rally. An enthusiastic crowd packed into Houston’s Toyota Center, wearing red Make America Great Again hats and waving signs, including one with the president’s new catchphrase, “Jobs vs. Mobs.” Some joyfully did the wave as they waited for the event to start; others shouted “Trump, Trump, Trump” and “build the wall.”
A series of Texas elected officials were among the warmup speakers, as well as Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump and son Eric Trump, who told the audience that “we are driving the Democrats absolutely nuts.”