One thing Sen. Ted Cruz isn’t doing as he seeks a second term is running away from the president. Despite a checkered history, the Texan boasts about his access and influence on matters ranging from taxes to the Paris Climate Accord."I spent a lot of time urging President Trump to pull out of that deal," he recounted. "I spent 45 minutes on Air Force One saying, `Mr. President, this is killing jobs and it’s bad for our economy.'"
The day after Trump announced his decision, Cruz continued, "he calls me on my cellphone. He says, 'Well, Ted, I did it, what do you think?’ ... I told him, `Mr. President, everyone who hates you is ticked off and everyone who loves you is thrilled.’"
Vice President Mike Pence vouched for Cruz at a Dallas County GOP dinner Saturday night.
"He's worked shoulder to shoulder with this president, every step of the way," Pence said, calling him "one of the most clarion, unapologetic and courageous conservative voices in the United States of America. President Trump and I want to make sure you send Senator Ted Cruz back to the United States Senate in 2018."
At Buzzie's BBQ in Kerrville, under the watchful eyes of 20 or so mounted heads of deer, buffalo and other game, Cruz was talking up border security when a woman shouted "Build the wall!" ‐ a signature Trump promise.
"Amen," Cruz shot back, upping the ante by reminding her that he’d proposed legislation to use assets seized from drug kingpins to pay for Trump’s wall.
The president of the Kendall County Republican Women in Boerne, said Trump remains popular in Texas, so it’s only natural for Cruz to hug him close.
"Texans are elated about what he’s doing for America," she said.
She pointed to Cruz’s success on 529 [college savings] plans as an example of ability to navigate Congress, after an early start as an outcast.
And she has absolutely no concern that he might fall to a Democrat in 2018.
"This," she noted, "is Texas