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US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has stumped for his former rival Ted Cruz, a pair that had long exchanged barbs but now share a Texas rally stage just two weeks before the congressional midterms.
The political equation is simple: Trump needs Cruz to maintain Republican control of the US Senate, while Cruz is all too aware that a presidential seal of approval could help him in his face-off with rising Democrat star Beto O’Rourke.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump infamously insulted the looks of Cruz’s wife Heidi, vaguely suggested Cruz’s father had played a role in John F Kennedy’s assassination and tagged him with the nickname “Lyin’ Ted”.
The 47-year-old junior senator from Texas fired off insults of his own, calling Trump a “pathological liar” and “utterly amoral”.
But sporting black cowboy boots, Cruz welcomed the president to the Lone Star State on the tarmac as he descended from Air Force One.
“He’s not Lyin’ Ted anymore,’” Trump told reporters before leaving for Texas, bestowing Cruz with two new nicknames: “Beautiful Ted” and “Texas Ted”.
“He defended your jobs. He defended your borders,” Trump said later at the rally.
“He defends your families and your faith.”
“We are defending together with other great Republicans your freedom,” he said, encouraging Texans to “get out there and vote”.
Thousands of Trump supporters arrived hours in advance of the rally – swarming streets around Houston’s Toyota Center stadium in a festival-like atmosphere that was to include live music and food trucks.
Some had camped overnight, bundled up against the frigid temperatures, according to local media.
Trump focused particularly on immigration, a tender point in the border state of Texas.
The rally is timed with the beginning of early voting in the state. Local media reported unexpectedly heavy traffic at polling stations, where some also camped overnight in order to cast their ballots.
With national attention on Houston, O’Rourke campaigned in various spots around the city to boost supporters and encourage them to vote early.
“We are here for everyone,” O’Rourke told a crowd in Pasadena, a Houston suburb, “Republicans, Democrats, independents alike”.
Far from a cake-walk
Opinion polls still have the ultra-conservative Cruz in the driver’s seat, but he is far from the cake-walk win he and the party initially predicted.
“Beto”, as supporters of the 46-year-old O’Rourke call him, is making life difficult for Cruz.
While positioning himself firmly on the left, O’Rourke has eschewed the anti-Trumprhetoric systematically rolled out by most of his party – a move that has won over voters.
Some even say O’Rourke could be the party’s saviour in the next presidential election in 2020.
Trump has called O’Rourke a “total lightweight” but the Democrat has opted not to trade insults with the president on Twitter.
“I don’t know that it makes any sense to respond,” O’Rourke told ABC News.
“The kind of bitterness and the name-calling and partisanship that has unfortunately defined so much of the national conversation, you can add more to it or you can stay focused on the future.”
Trump and Cruz: a study in insults
Though Trump sang the praises of Cruz last night, two years ago the pair were hardly friends.
Cruz was the last man standing against Trump in the primary – and the campaign got ugly.
Trump gave vague credence to a report from The National Enquirer tabloid that Cruz’s Cuban-born father Rafael had been friends with Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who assassinated John F Kennedy in 1963.
Cruz, in turn, accused the Manhattan real estate mogul of being the source of another Enquirer article that alleged the senator had been unfaithful to his wife.
After the primaries, Cruz took a long time to formally endorse Trump, even going so far as to accept a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in July 2016 – and withhold his support.
Instead, Cruz urged Republicans to “vote your conscience”. Only in September 2016 did Cruz eventually say in a Facebook post that he was voting for Trump.
As is often the case, Trump’s tweets on Cruz tell the story about the evolution of their relationship.
In February 2016, Trump said: “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!”
In August this year, Trump tweeted: “As you know, Ted has my complete and total Endorsement. His opponent is a disaster for Texas.”
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I believe it’s called politics.
Hillary Clinton started the “birther” movement against Obama (but Trump was the main person to continue it)
@Fiasco99: no she didnt
@Barry Somers: ok, Hillary didnt have anything to do with the birthers
And President Trump didnt call Ted Cruz, a liar.
Grand
@Fiasco906; I see that you are still throwing around untruths on here..tsk tsk..
@Kan Ye Go West: It’s an idea that Trump put out there but has no proof to back it up
@Damien Hawe: spot on!
Fiasco906 has only gone and ran away ‘again..’
@Fiasco99: and your over 70 thumbs up is a prime example of how fake news works
@Fiasco99: fake news fake news
Now, how do I put this? Given that Trump gets nearly minute by minute coverage, by his own country’s media, wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a week, even a couple of days, where our own media doesn’t cover everything he does or says? Especially if it has no relevance to every day life in Ireland?
So a guy can slag you, your wife and even suggest your dad helped kill a president and you still welcome him with open arms.
I’m not sure why I’m surprised by this, the republicans previously supported a pedophile so it’s clear the bar for self respect and the respect of others is basically none existent
@Barry Somers: its gets the votes, sure he fixed the road. No different to corporate land where wannabe 1 becomes ceo and remaining wannabees all smile, 1 team etc but privately want to gouge each others eyes out. Imo
@Barry Somers: unfortunately supporting pedophiles is not unique to republicans. Democrats have a poor track record in this department. For example ed murray, anthony weiner, robert menendez along with clintons best friend jeffrey epstein. Paints a poor picture
@Myles Collier: were they running for office ?
@Kan Ye Go West: anthony weiner was a congressman, murray was the mayor of seattle, Epstein no he was not a politician
@Myles Collier: Did the Democratic leadership endorse/back Weiner when he was a candidate at the 2013 New York Mayoral election ? Did Trump back Moore ?
When the ‘allegations’ came out about Murray,in 2017,did the Democratic leadership ‘support’ him ? Did Murray resign ? Did his council colleagues ask him to resign?
Spineless Ted
Trump would need to buy a new suit. He looks like an old tramp. Cruz looks like an extra from “Carry on screaming”.
@Irving Chubbie: oddbod
Well he called him lying ted so that is established and now he is a great fellow conclusion ( he likes liars ) being one himself maybe it’s a trait with president’s ,at that we all are a little guilty
The American public are some fools
@The Bull McCabe: as are we all…
@Bridget O’Hanlon: agreed.
Look at what we have as a choice of politicans
@Fiasco99: Indeed, look at all the support Casey is getting. Same tricks work on the masses here too it seems! Too many people suffering with the feels and not enough bothered to ask even simple questions.
Trump Jr. tweeted “Another obvious political setup designed to create an emotional response coincidentally right before an election.
Wake up people you’re being taken advantage of by the leftists. This is the game they play. Who is paying for it all?” The march on the US border and whose organising it is the latest Blocked News item in Irish media.
@Tom Molloy: It was covered on here 3 days ago
@Kermit: Seen that, but things are getting more serious and someone is now providing transportation to add to the numbers. Politicians name calling is trivial compared to what may happen when the marchers try to storm the border. Waiting to get pictures of preventable conflict rather than promoting solutions is modern media.
@Tom Molloy: “Wake up people you’re being taken advantage of by the leftists. This is the game they play. Who is paying for it all?” The march on the US border and whose organising it is the latest Blocked News item in Irish media.” <- hahahhaha..I absolutely love that :) T'is SOROS ,Tommy…i twear it is
@Kan Ye Go West: And no Irish media coverage of the Anti Prosperity policies that have destroyed the countries and lives of the marchers, why ?, because the Irish media are promoting those policies and politics in Ireland.
@Tom Molloy: Soros funded invasion.
@Carnac: Soros planted a bomb in his own mailbox.This tells me that that Soros guy is wayyy head of everybody else.
Alan Dershowitz has described Cruz as one of the best students he ever taught at Harvard. Beto is a donkey that went to college.
@Joe Caulfield: tell us what you really think
Democracy is for the rich….
@Dave Walsh: ? So explain how the budget spending in our Democracy is on Social Welfare, Public Hospitals, free Education etc.
@Tom Molloy: who controls our democracy,the poor?
Rabid dislike of each other was the only thing I had in common with either of them. Couldn’t blame either of them for being sickened by the sight of the other.
@Kan Ye Go West: It’s an idea that Trump put out there but has no proof to back it up
Jayses, trump has his tongue in pretty deep. Pathetic move, showing trump knows he’s unlikely to do well in the next vote.
have your say