Trump appears at rally in support of ex-rival Cruz

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 crowd in Houston on behalf of his onetime rival for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. The rally comes as Cruz faces a strong 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 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 warm-up 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.”

Closing in on Election Day, Trump tweeted Monday morning, “Big Night In Texas !!!! ” In recent weeks, Trump has attacked O’Rourke on Twitter as a “total lightweight” and a “flake” — he deemed him “overrated” on Monday — while stressing that Cruz “has long had my Strong Endorsement.”

While Trump will promote Cruz and other Texas Republicans, Texas will also provide a backdrop for the president’s invigorated immigration rhetoric.

Trump escalated that message Monday on Twitter, saying the U.S. would begin “cutting off, or substantially reducing” aid to three Central American nations over a migrant caravan heading to the U.S. southern border. On recent campaign stops, Trump has raised alarm over thousands of migrants traveling through Mexico, as he tries to make immigration politics part of his closing argument.

The president’s focus on immigration politics comes as he seeks to counter Democratic enthusiasm in November. But the approach offers both risks and rewards. He risks energizing Democratic foes as well as the Republicans he wants to rouse to the polls.

Although political relationships tend to be fluid, Trump’s appearance for Cruz is notable, given that the two were bitter enemies during the 2016 primaries. After Trump insulted Cruz’s wife and father, and Cruz refused to endorse Trump at the Republican convention, it was far from clear that the two would ever put it all behind them.

But they started rebuilding in the closing days of the campaign and have worked together since Trump took the White House.

Trump promised he would come to Texas after the Senate race grew closer than expected, with O’Rourke out-fundraising Cruz and drawing large and enthusiastic crowds around the state. Cruz, who is leading O’Rourke in the polls, said over the summer that he would welcome Trump’s support, though he has brushed off any suggestion he’d need Trump to win.

During the 2016 Republican primary, Trump assailed Cruz as a liar and “dishonest politician,” insulted his wife’s appearance and promoted unsubstantiated claims that Cruz’s father had links to President John F. Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.

Trump on Monday did not voice any second thoughts about labeling Cruz the son of a presidential killer, telling reporters, “I don’t regret anything.”

Cruz gave back as good as he got. He criticized Trump as a “pathological liar,” an “amoral bully” and a “sniveling coward.” After Cruz lost the primary, he gave a speech at the Republican National Convention in which he did not endorse Trump and instead called on Republicans to “vote your conscience,” drawing boos from the crowd. But he announced his support about a month before Election Day — and won points in Trump’s camp for not withdrawing after the Access Hollywood tape was released, in which Trump bragged about groping women.

“That was a real concern because he had just endorsed two weeks earlier,” said former Trump campaign aide Andy Surabian. “I think that’s the moment when the detente started and the moment when Ted and the president’s relationship began to shift for the better.”