he also probably thinks it's career suicide to go against the GOP publicly since Preibus (nauseates me to type that name out) said there will be penalties for not falling in line.

pacino wrote:Pence or Christie probably told Cruz he could pick the SC justice.

Or maybe that he would BE a SC justice.

pacino wrote:Pence or Christie probably told Cruz he could pick the SC justice.

There's a not insignificant chance that Ted Cruz would BE the first SCOTUS nominee from a President Trump.

Dang that's what I get for not clicking to the last page of the thread before posting. Sorry for the echo, JFL.

Honored to be joined in the thought by my esteemed colleague.

I doubt Trump would appoint a Mexican like Cruz to be on the SCOTUS

The Crimson Cyclone wrote:I doubt Trump would appoint a Mexican like Cruz to be on the SCOTUS

If he endorses Trump, then Cruz will be one of the good ones.*





* i.e., A person of non-white descent who pays homage to The Donald.

But first he'll have to self deport, then apply to come back in.

I don't think it's cowardice or a lack of courage. In a forced choice I'm sure he prefers Trump to Clinton as president. He's willing to take risks, such as his convention non-endorsement, but only if he thinks the benefits likely outweigh the downsides. Everything is elaborate and super clever in his own mind because he thinks he's the smartest man alive. He thought Trump was going to get killed, and thought being the lone voice in the wilderness would benefit him. Now he's convinced Trump is either going to lose close (and Cruz doesn't want the blame for that) or win, and either way he needs to be pro-Trump. He will say he left the door open during his convention speech to an eventual endorsement and Trump's behavior/campaigning has been a pleasant surprise, so he's supporting him in order to defeat Hillary Clinton. But because he's Ted Cruz he'll also make sure the endorsement is mealy mouthed enough that in 2019 he can say he never actually endorsed Trump or some such bullshit.

The best is it seems whenever someone sticks their neck out for Trump he ends up fucking them sooner rather than later. Like the Judge Curiel thing blew up almost immediately after the Ryan endorsement. We can now expect Trump will implode in one of the debates, lose badly enough that supporting him will be a negative with many Republicans in 2020, so Cruz will have pissed those people off, in addition to the more ardent Trump supporters never trusting him because of his convention speech. And the party establishment types who appreciate loyalty never will like him. A man without a constituency, because his 'clever' moves always fucking backfire because he's a smug turd.

Does a Cruz endorsement help Trump at all? Does it bring in some the Cruz "nevertrump" people? Might it not frighten away wavering Trump supporters and others who really dislike Cruz?

Just took a look over at Redstate, the heart of Nevertrump Cruzland. There is a fair amount of head scratching and consternation there. Now, if Trump were to say something like "I'll appoint Cruz to the SC" that might change things a bit. But again, I think that's at best a break even move in terms of scaring away as many people as it attracts.

It can't hurt. I'm not sure a person exists whose consideration goes "I was planning to support Donald Trump, a man backed by most prominent conservatives, but now that Ted Cruz is on board, no thanks!"

But I doubt it moves the needle much. Most of Trump's problems with GOP voters are with moderates and somewhat conservatives.

Plus it can't hurt that Kellyanne Conway has probably been pestering Cruz's people for his support ever since she came about the Trump train.

He put Mike Lee on his SC list.

jerseyhoya wrote:It can't hurt. I'm not sure a person exists whose consideration goes "I was planning to support Donald Trump, a man backed by most prominent conservatives, but now that Ted Cruz is on board, no thanks!"

But I doubt it moves the needle much. Most of Trump's problems with GOP voters are with moderates and somewhat conservatives.

I don't know. There's gotta be someone out there who is considering Trump solely because of decades of Clinton-loathing but also hates bloviating, self-aggrandizing politicians like Ted Cruz. By surrounding himself with people like Cruz, Christie, et al., doesn't Trump run the risk of that person's distaste for his motley crew of supporters overcoming that person's distaste for Hillary?

And the flip side is that I can't imagine there are too many in the #NeverTrump movement that are swayed by a Ted Cruz endorsement. This seems like a zero-sum gain for Trump at best to me. Sure, Cruz beat Trump in Iowa, but Trump is already leading there.

pacino wrote:He put Mike Lee on his SC list.

and mike lee's people put out a statement saying they want nothing to do with it lol

it's the height of cowardice. Trump accused his dad of being part of the JFK assassination for gods sake. I'd be hard pressed to find a better example of cowardice in modern politics.

pacino wrote:He put Mike Lee on his SC list.

like me

RichmondPhilsFan wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:It can't hurt. I'm not sure a person exists whose consideration goes "I was planning to support Donald Trump, a man backed by most prominent conservatives, but now that Ted Cruz is on board, no thanks!"

But I doubt it moves the needle much. Most of Trump's problems with GOP voters are with moderates and somewhat conservatives.

I don't know. There's gotta be someone out there who is considering Trump solely because of decades of Clinton-loathing but also hates bloviating, self-aggrandizing politicians like Ted Cruz. By surrounding himself with people like Cruz, Christie, et al., doesn't Trump run the risk of that person's distaste for his motley crew of supporters overcoming that person's distaste for Hillary?

And the flip side is that I can't imagine there are too many in the #NeverTrump movement that are swayed by a Ted Cruz endorsement. This seems like a zero-sum gain for Trump at best to me. Sure, Cruz beat Trump in Iowa, but Trump is already leading there.

I just really can't envision a person exists who was for Donald Trump, but decided Ted Cruz's support for Trump is the straw that breaks the camel's back. It's not like Cruz is going to be a prominent surrogate, and plenty of people much worse like Trump. He posted a letter on Facebook that might get a little buzz for a few hours, then will fade away.

There's a bit of upside for Trump with no downside. Mostly I think people who like Cruz and hate Trump will just be angry at Cruz now.

Youseff wrote:it's the height of cowardice. Trump accused his dad of being part of the JFK assassination for gods sake. I'd be hard pressed to find a better example of cowardice in modern politics.

Don't forget about the things Trump said about his wife.

I agree though. It's absolutely cowardice. The weird thing is that a Clinton presidency would be the best thing that happened to Ted Cruz's career. He could be a GOP obstructionist hero. Instead he's hedging his bets now that the race has tightened.

RichmondPhilsFan wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:It can't hurt. I'm not sure a person exists whose consideration goes "I was planning to support Donald Trump, a man backed by most prominent conservatives, but now that Ted Cruz is on board, no thanks!"

But I doubt it moves the needle much. Most of Trump's problems with GOP voters are with moderates and somewhat conservatives.

I don't know. There's gotta be someone out there who is considering Trump solely because of decades of Clinton-loathing but also hates bloviating, self-aggrandizing politicians like Ted Cruz. By surrounding himself with people like Cruz, Christie, et al., doesn't Trump run the risk of that person's distaste for his motley crew of supporters overcoming that person's distaste for Hillary?

And the flip side is that I can't imagine there are too many in the #NeverTrump movement that are swayed by a Ted Cruz endorsement. This seems like a zero-sum gain for Trump at best to me. Sure, Cruz beat Trump in Iowa, but Trump is already leading there.

An endorsement is different from whatever it is that Christie and Trump have together. I imagine that Cruz offers a weak endorsement and limited, if any, fundraising support for Trump. And it's not like Cruz's endorsement adds any obligation to Trump.