Despite being a leader in the Republican Party, getting a chance to be a gracious loser or improving the prospects of beating Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz is unlikely to endorse Donald Trump for president — ever.
In previous columns, I’ve written about how GOP leaders are squandering political capital and time pouting about Trump. Top Republicans such as House Speaker Paul Ryan are helping to divide the party by withholding endorsements from Trump, who needs a united front to beat Clinton in November.
But for Cruz, avoiding a formal endorsement of his rival makes sense, even if it defies the party principle of fighting it out in the primary but supporting the winner in the general election.
Here’s why.
Cruz doesn’t want to become a phony, particularly with the conservative base he’s nurtured since his stunning 2012 Senate victory.
With his respectable showing in the presidential race, Cruz is now the leader of the staunch conservative movement, and part of the lineage that includes Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. He badly wanted to carry that mantle in the 2016 race for the White House. He brashly said Republicans had not nominated a true conservative for president since Reagan in 1980.
Cruz and many of his supporters don’t consider Trump a conservative but a shyster looking to take advantage of angry, frustrated voters.
After misguided praise in the early part of the primary season, Cruz tried to unravel Trump by pointing out his past support of Democrats like Bill and Hillary Clinton and his previous liberal stances on issues ranging from spending to abortion.
But Trump tapped into a populism that sprang from the Republican base. His supporters cared more about Trump’s message and appeal than his credentials inside the traditional conservative movement. At the same time, Cruz’s base proved too small to compete with Trump, who pilfered voters across the Republican spectrum.
Yet many self-described conservatives have accepted Trump’s victory and will support him in November, including Sen. John Cornyn, Rep. Michael Burgess and Rep. Pete Sessions. Being a good Republican dictates rallying around the fair and square winner of the primary.
But neither of those elected leaders have aspirations like Cruz, who is hoping to run for president again in 2020.
Cruz believes Clinton will pummel Trump in November, creating a scenario in which Republicans will have to re-examine their party and figure out how to win national elections again.
That’s when Cruz can argue: “I told you so.” He’ll tell Republicans that it’s time to nominate a real conservative, not a poser. It’s tougher to make that argument if he endorses and clasps hands with Trump in a show of unity.
Though he won’t admit it, Cruz should have been trying to expose Trump from the moment the New York businessman began to show strength in the polls.
A vanquished Trump is good politics for Cruz, just as it was in 1976 for Reagan, when President Gerald Ford won the GOP nomination but lost the White House to Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter. Reagan rebounded to win the 1980 Republican nomination and beat Carter in the general election to become president.
Cruz fancies himself as the second coming of Reagan, and he hopes to sooth the wounds Trump gave him with another chance to lead a conservative, grassroots army.
That’s why he’ll never endorse Trump.
If Trump does win in November, it’s unlikely that he’ll pick Cruz for his Cabinet or name him a Supreme Court nominee. I doubt if Cruz would want any part of a Trump administration, preferring to remain a Senate watchdog for conservative priorities.
If the Senate gets too stale and the White House is out of reach, Cruz will have to option of one day returning to Texas, perhaps running for governor in 2022 against Julian Castro, the former San Antonio mayor who is currently U.S. housing secretary.
Whatever the case, it’s important for Cruz to have his conservative credibility intact.
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2016/05/why-ted-cruz-will-never-endorse-donald-trump-for-president.html/
