{"id":41,"date":"2025-09-15T17:01:33","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T17:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/?p=41"},"modified":"2025-10-18T14:58:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T14:58:12","slug":"what-the-hell-happened-to-ted-cruz-%f0%9f%a4%b7%e2%99%82%ef%b8%8f","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/?p=41","title":{"rendered":"What the hell happened to Ted Cruz? \ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2642\ufe0f"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1. Rafael Edward Cruz, explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(Ted Cruz\/ Getty Images\/ Kevin Diestch)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I still remember the day Ted Cruz took a real stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the third night of the 2016 Republican National Convention. Cruz, who had finished as the runner-up to Donald Trump for the presidential nomination, was given a primetime speaking slot \u2014 under the assumption that he would use it to endorse the billionaire businessman and tell his supporters to unite the party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He did no such thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Trump in the arena, Cruz said this: \u201cI congratulate Donald Trump on winning the nomination last night\u2026.Don\u2019t stay home in November. Stand and speak and vote your conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crowd erupted in boos. Trump and his entourage were clearly pissed. But Cruz stood his ground, telling reporters the following day: \u201cI am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember thinking to myself: Good on you, Ted. Way to stand up for what\u2019s right \u2014 even if it\u2019s bad for your political future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was almost 9 years ago. And in those intervening years, Cruz has become something else entirely \u2014 a fact I was reminded of while watching him flop around<\/a> Tuesday under questioning from Tucker Carlson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of which raises a question for me: What the hell happened to Cruz?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think I know the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#### Not yet an investor in what I am building? Here\u2019s your shot to see what you\u2019ve been missing. I\u2019m testing something new:<\/strong> pay once, only for the stories you choose to read <\/strong>\u2014 no subscription, no commitment. Just this article. That\u2019s it. If you like what you read (and I think you will), maybe you\u2019ll want to stick around. Maybe even become a full subscriber.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Let me skip to the conclusion \u2014 and then explain how I got there. The conclusion is this: Ted Cruz has always<\/em> been driven by pure political calculus and a desire for access and power. Period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now let\u2019s reverse back to that refusal to endorse Trump back in July 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I took to be a principled stand \u2014 I mean, Trump had called Cruz\u2019s wife ugly and suggested his dad might have played a role in the JFK assassination! \u2014 was not, in fact, a principled stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a bet. A gamble that Trump was never going to be president. And not just that \u2014 that he would flame out in spectacular fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Cruz did eventually endorse Trump in the race, it was decidedly lukewarm; \u201cAfter many months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump,\u201d Cruz said in late September 2016<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What he hoping was that he could get the best of both worlds: 1) He would get credit for being a team player and endorsing the party\u2019s nominee and 2) He would be the main beneficiary of well-now-we-know-better Republican voters who had watched Trump crash and burn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am sure Cruz had it all planned out. He would rally the buyer\u2019s remorse Republicans behind him \u2014 and emerge as the leading GOP foil to President Hillary Clinton. Then, in 2020, he would be the de facto nominee. Beat Clinton. Become president. Easy peesy lemon squeezy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cruz\u2019s true nature and his real plan, however, got exposed when Trump won. Because he \u2014 more than almost anyone else in the GOP \u2014 had a totally defensible case to say that Trump didn\u2019t represent him and his version of conservatism. And that he, therefore couldn\u2019t support Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But remember: Cruz was (and is) focused only on access, power and political advantage. And he is no dummy. He saw that the only path to get what he wanted was to cozy up to Trump \u2014 to go from one of his biggest critics in the party to one of his biggest defenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which is exactly what he did. During Trump\u2019s first impeachment trial in the Senate, Cruz played a starring role<\/a> in helping to secure the president\u2019s acquittal. After the 2020 election, Cruz was one of a handful of Republican Senators to vote against the certification<\/a> of the election results in certain swing states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Trump rewarded Cruz\u2019s loyalty. He endorsed<\/a> the Texas Republican \u2014 and campaigned for him \u2014 in Cruz\u2019s competitive 2018 and 2024 reelection races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how I now think about Cruz: He\u2019s Lindsey Graham with a beard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graham, the Republican Senator from South Carolina, has, uh, evolved from a compatriot of the late John McCain to a high-profile critic of Trump in the 2016 race to now one of the president\u2019s staunchest allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a 2019 profile of Graham, Mark Leibovich, then at the New York Times, wrote this<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did happen to Lindsey Graham? I raised the question directly to him the following afternoon in his Senate office in Washington. Graham was collapsed behind a cluttered desk, sipping a Coke Zero and complaining of exhaustion.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, O.K., from my point of view, if you know anything about me, it\u2019d be odd not to do this,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I asked what \u201cthis\u201d was. \u201c\u2009\u2018This,\u2019\u2009\u201d Graham said, \u201cis to try to be relevant.\u201d Politics, he explained, was the art of what works and what brings desired outcomes. \u201cI\u2019ve got an opportunity up here working with the president to get some really good outcomes for the country,\u201d he told me.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2009\u201c\u2018This\u2019 is to try to be relevant.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That, I believe, is what explains Cruz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is that Cruz never really changed. He was \u2014 and is \u2014 always solving for power and access. It was never about principle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That doesn\u2019t make him unique among modern-day politicians. But it does tell me that I badly misread him that night nine years ago in Cleveland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Barack is worried<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\ud83d\ude1f\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(Barack Obama\/ Getty Images\/ Meg Oliphant)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weeks after Mark Leibovich wrote a piece in The Atlantic<\/a> wondering where the hell Barack Obama is, the 44th president emerged \u2014 in Connecticut of all places. (I am from Connecticut, which allows me to badmouth it. It\u2019s just a rule.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obama was in the Nutmeg State for a conversation with Substack OG Heather Cox Richardson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he made some news!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you follow regularly what is said by those who are in charge of the federal government right now, there is a weak commitment to what we understood \u2014 and not just my generation, at least since World War II \u2014 our understanding of how a liberal democracy is supposed to work,\u201d Obama said<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He then cited the autocratic rule of Viktor Orban in Hungary, noting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re not there yet completely, but I think that we are dangerously close to normalizing behavior like that. And we need people both outside government and inside government saying, \u2018Let\u2019s not go over that cliff because it\u2019s hard to recover.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not clear \u2014 at least to me \u2014 whether this is the start of Obama taking a more public role as a critic of the current president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If past is prologue, it\u2019s not. Much to the chagrin of many Democrats, Obama has generally steered clear of engaging on a day to day or even month to month basis with Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which is unfortunate for his party \u2014 because Obama is quite clearly the best liked of the five living ex-presidents. Here\u2019s Gallup on that<\/a>:<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But Obama seems largely disinterested in getting back into the political game. He has been working on the second volume of his memoir<\/a>. He and his wife, Michelle, continue to operate a production studio called Higher Ground<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My guess is Obama will do what he has done since leaving office; after Labor Day 2026 (and 2028) he will headline a few fundraisers for Democrats and do a handful of appearances with the eventual nominee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But jumping back into politics fully? I don\u2019t see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. That time Tucker dunked on Ted<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\ud83c\udfc0\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Social media was aflame last night with an exchange<\/a> between Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz in which the Texas Republican Senator appeared to not know the population of Iran or its ethnic makeup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the joy people take in dunking on Cruz, however, there is a real lesson here: The MAGA coalition is fighting amongst itself. That\u2019s not something we have seen much of over the last decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I broke down the MAGA rift in a video for my YouTube channel today. Subscribe \u2014 for FREE \u2014 get updated any time I post new content over there<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTABLE QUOTABLE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are blowing through money like my fellow cadets and I did in our first liberty after basic camp. Luckily I didn’t end up with a questionable tattoo … you’re just an unqualified yes man who can’t tell the president how to keep Americans safe.\u201d \u2014 Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth<\/a> to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today on Capitol Hill<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ONE GOOD CHART<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Supreme Court ruling Wednesday upholding<\/a> Tennessee\u2019s law banning transgender youths from using puberty blockers and hormone treatments is likely to open the door for a series of other states\u2019 bans to go into effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which states already have bans? This map \u2014 via the New York Times<\/a> \u2014 lays it out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SONG OF THE DAY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trailer for the Bruce Springsteen biopic<\/a> dropped today. I was already<\/em> excited about this movie. Now I am ecstatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere | Official Trailer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. Rafael Edward Cruz, explained (Ted Cruz\/ Getty Images\/ Kevin Diestch) I still remember the day Ted Cruz took a real stand. It was the third night of the 2016 Republican National Convention. Cruz, who had finished as the runner-up to Donald Trump for the presidential nomination, was given a primetime speaking slot \u2014 under…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ledewire_sync_enabled":true,"_ledewire_price_cents":50,"_ledewire_teaser":"I still remember the day Ted Cruz took a real stand.\r\n\r\nIt was the third night of the 2016 Republican National Convention. Cruz, who had finished as the runner-up to Donald Trump for the presidential nomination, was given a primetime speaking slot \u2014 under the assumption that he would use it to endorse the billionaire businessman and tell his supporters to unite the party.\r\n\r\nHe did no such thing.","_ledewire_use_excerpt":true,"_ledewire_paywall_enabled":true,"_ledewire_content_id":"1a7f9822-76bf-40d8-a7bd-cacca979ff77","_ledewire_sync_status":"synced","_ledewire_last_sync":"2025-10-18 14:58:14","_ledewire_error_message":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-analysis"],"ledewire_meta":{"sync_enabled":"1","price_cents":"50","teaser":"I still remember the day Ted Cruz took a real stand.\r\n\r\nIt was the third night of the 2016 Republican National Convention. Cruz, who had finished as the runner-up to Donald Trump for the presidential nomination, was given a primetime speaking slot \u2014 under the assumption that he would use it to endorse the billionaire businessman and tell his supporters to unite the party.\r\n\r\nHe did no such thing.","use_excerpt":"1","paywall_enabled":"1","content_id":"1a7f9822-76bf-40d8-a7bd-cacca979ff77","sync_status":"synced","last_sync":"2025-10-18 14:58:14","error_message":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions\/47"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}