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Texas Gov. Abbott: Have to Back Trump Over Hillary
Tuesday, May 17, 2016 07:51 AM
By: Greg Richter
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott endorsed his friend and former employee Sen. Ted Cruz in the Republican GOP primaries, but now that Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee, Abbott tells Newsmax TV his new endorsement is an easy decision.
"It's either Trump or [Democrat] Hillary [Clinton] and I knew the complete disaster Hillary Clinton would be for the United States of America," Abbott said Monday on "The Steve Malzberg Show." "She must be defeated. Otherwise, America is in grave danger."
Abbott admitted it was tough to switch course, and added that Cruz himself may not be able to eventually back Trump himself because, "He went through the grinder with it, and sometimes it's more challenging for a candidate who goes through that process to be able to come out and make an endorsement."
Republicans are divided over Trump, with 2012 nominee Mitt Romney reportedly leading an effort to recruit a third-party conservative to run against Trump. Others in the party warn that such an effort will only divide the GOP vote and hand a certain victory to Clinton.
House Speaker Paul Ryan has yet to decide on Trump, and Abbott told Malzberg he isn't as surprised by Ryan's reluctance as some are.
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"Listen, you cannot use the words in a sentence together 'I'm surprised' by anything this campaign cycle," Abbott said. "No one can predict what was going to happen this campaign cycle."
Abbott also discussed his new book, "Broken But Unbowed," on the strength he has gained in his faith after a falling tree left him paralyzed at age 26.
The book parallels his own journey to that of conservatives fighting to hold traditional values amid battles such as the transgender bathroom issue.
"It deals with this president and what he's done repeatedly about trampling the United States Constitution," Abbott said.
"The president does not have the authority to make these kinds of policies. That authority is given to the United States Congress, and what the president has done, he's rewritten the Constitution by himself, writing laws and trying to impose laws and the rule of law in America."
