Ted Cruz plots a 2024 bid even as he waits on Trump
by David M. Drucker, Senior Political Correspondent
September 09, 2022 09:48 AMLONDONDERRY, New Hampshire — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) shook hands and posed for pictures with the crowd for an hour, then grabbed a stool at the bar at American Legion Post 27 and joined everyone for a beer.
This is what running for president looks like in New Hampshire, the host of the second nominating contest and the first traditional primary on the Republican Party’s quadrennial nominating calendar. And Cruz, the runner-up for the GOP nod in 2016 (the last time the party did not field an incumbent), conceded he has not ruled out mounting a second campaign — even if former President Donald Trump enters the race.
But the senator also confirmed in a brief interview with the Washington Examiner Thursday evening he will make no decision about 2024 until he knows Trump’s plans. Any Republican mulling a White House bid who says otherwise (and at the very least, that includes former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo) is, Cruz insists, being dishonest about his or her internal deliberations.
“There are a lot of candidates out there feeling their oats and boasting, ‘I’m running no matter what. I don’t care what Donald Trump says.’ Anyone who says that is lying. That’s an idiotic statement for someone to make who’s actually thinking about running,” Cruz said after headlining a rally for Karoline Leavitt, the Republican candidate for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, before a couple of hundred voters and activists.
“I don’t know what Trump’s going to decide — nobody does. Anybody who tells you they do is making things up,” the senator said. “The whole world will change depending on what Donald Trump decides. That’s true for every candidate. That’s true of every potential candidate.”
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/ted-cruz-2024-bid-waits-trump