U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has one of those rare opportunities to redeem his entire political career by supporting President Trump on January 6, 2021. This is a rare second-chance; let us hope Ted Cruz has the grace, humility and strength to see it.
In 2016, during the RNC convention to nominate Donald Trump, a bitter and divisive Ted Cruz self-immolated on a national stage.
The collapse was so catastrophic when Cruz attempted to return to the convention donor suite in the Cleveland auditorium he was kicked out by Cruz’s main financial backers, Robert and Rebekah Mercer. Senator Cruz never recovered.
Two years later, having lost the base of support from a MAGA community that did not forget, Senator Ted Cruz was on his back facing a Senate challenge from democrat Beto O’Rourke and he needed President Trump to rally in Texas on his behalf. Trump came to Texas in 2018 and lifted Cruz to a narrow victory.
Two years later, with the electoral challenge now established for January 6, Ted Cruz has the rare opportunity, a second-chance, to elevate himself back to a political position of influence… While we await the outcome, here is the 2016 reminder.
Before Ted Cruz walked onto the 2016 convention stage in Cleveland, Donald Trump had a very good idea what was about to happen. Without pre-planning, or staged set-ups, Trump knew what to expect because Donald Trump has an exceptional political sense; he knows how to read his adversaries.
Throughout his life, Ted Cruz has exhibited a character of division; entirely tone-deaf to the people he encounters and leaves in his wake. Those who knew Cruz in grade school and college have talked about how Cruz’s abrasive personality made him a lonely person despite his intellect.
Toxic abrasiveness is the same reason why President George W Bush would not elevate Ted Cruz in the White House 2001-2005. Attorney Cruz was 30-years-old and arrogantly thought he should have been a candidate for Attorney General; unfortunately, no-one else did.
Years later it was toxic abrasiveness that drove candidate Ted Cruz to run for Senate in 2011 – to show those same political voices he carried a stronger political tool box than he was ever given credit for.
That same toxic abrasiveness in 2013 is what created a lonely, divisive and ineffective Senator -with zero legislative accomplishment- who announced a presidential bid only 2 years after election to the Senate. And it’s that same personality issue that creates a need for a disguise to be successful.
Apologies to baseball fans, but Ted Cruz is the political equivalent of Ty Cobb. Despite skills, no teammate could get along with either S.O.B.
Donald Trump can sense these things the way most of us can sense the same given enough time around similar characters. As a consequence when Trump invited Ted Cruz to speak at the RNC Convention, he knew what was most likely going to happen. After all, it was entirely predictable.
The only risk to Donald Trump was if Cruz broke character and came to Cleveland to deliver a unity speech. That would have elevated Cruz. However, by mid-afternoon yesterday any doubts about what direction Cruz was going to take were easily dispatched by looking at his actual engagements.
Senator Ted Cruz returned to the national political scene exactly where he left off after losing Indiana. A review of Cruz twitter feed merely confirmed the same cast of characters, the same tone, the same delivery and the same predictable approach heading into the evening.
The only thing that remained last night was for Trump to see how far Cruz was willing to expose himself, to display his toxic abrasiveness on a national stage.
One can only imagine candidate Trump standing out of sight at the back of the auditorium listening to the delivery. Trump listening as Cruz began to describe how divided we are as a nation. Listening to Cruz explain how the values of each state have no commonality.
Yep, exactly as anticipated – After the proselytizing introduction about the police officer’s families killed in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Senator Ted Cruz was delivering a self-absorbed disunity speech at a Republican National Convention and referencing his own campaign: “our campaign”.
The building division was only moderately interrupted when Cruz looked directly into the 12 o’clock camera nineteen minutes later and said:
[19:00] …”and to those listening, please, don’t stay home in November”…
APPLAUSE (audience thinks he’s messaging the #NeverTrumpers to not sit out) – But, wait for it….
APPLAUSE CONTINUES (audience still thinking he’s messaging the #NeverTrump)… But, wait for it…..
Boom, there it is:
….”if you love our country, and you love our children as much as I know that you do, stand and speak and vote your conscience – vote for candidates up and down the ticket, who you trust to defend our freedom and to defend the constitution”….
Wait, wut?
The divisive, too-cute-by-half “vote your conscience, up and down the ticket” commentary came out exactly as Trump thought it would three weeks earlier when he offered the speaking engagement.
That’s the moment toxic Cruz lost the audience, and abrasive Ted self-detonated.
The audience chants: “we want Trump, we want Trump, we want Trump”!
But it wasn’t until Cruz gave the snarky response..:
“I appreciate the enthusiasm of the New York delegation”
..that visible loud BOOS commenced.
And they grew louder, and louder, and louder. As the entire audience began to recognize the arrogance of slighting the home-team delegation for the Republican Nominee for President, at his own convention.
From that moment, Cruz lost the entire convention floor. Chaos began as the pontificating abrasiveness continued with few paying attention to the speaker’s remarks.
It was the snarky slight to the New York delegation that affirmed everything Trump thought would possibly happen.
It was also the arrogant poke in the eye to the audience that finally brought Spartacus Trump into visibility within the auditorium as the audience shouted “Endorse Trump”.
Toxic Ted Cruz left the stage amid a thunderous chorus of boos, having diminished himself spectacularly on the grandest political stage of them all.
The entire audience, and millions of people around the world saw first hand the toxic and abrasive nature that is Ted Cruz unmasked.
WATCH the last four and a half minutes (FF to minute 19:00)
The rest, as they say, IS HISTORY.
Only Cruz sycophants were left believing Ted Cruz had any political viability left at all.
Much like the White House in 2001, the republican base won’t forget the sheer audacity and arrogance. Worse yet, donors could never trust a candidate willing to expose his own conceited nature on such a large scale.
Senator Ted Cruz ended his political career the same way he came into it, all alone.
January 6, 2021 is a very rare opportunity.