April 19, 2018

Ted Cruz’s Blurb on Trump as One of Time’s Most 100 Influential People Is … Something

Quite the flip flop!

Michael Brochstein/Zumapress

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Since Donald Trump and Ted Cruz first faced off in the Republican presidential primaries in 2016, the president has repeatedly and sometimes viciously attacked the Texas senator. He accused Cruz’s father of assisting in the assassination of JFK, cruelly mocked Cruz’s wife, and, as is the president’s habit, gave Cruz a derogatory nickname, “Lyin’ Ted.”

Cruz, in turn, has not held back in his criticisms of Trump. He’s called him a “narcissist,” “utterly amoral,” and a “pathological liar.” And after dropping out of the the primary, he famously refused to endorse Trump, even during his speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention. From the convention stage, he asked the crowd to “vote your conscience.” 

But that all must be water under the bridge, right? On Thursday Time published its list of the 100 most influential people, and, it turns out, Trump’s one-time foe actually penned the blurb about the president’s inestimable power and influence. Cruz calls Trump “a flash-bang grenade thrown into Washington by the forgotten men and women of America.” He continues, “The fact that his first year as Commander in Chief disoriented and distressed members of the media and political establishment is not a bug but a feature.” 

Twitter had a field day with Cruz’s effusive praise: 

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. The deadline’s almost here. Please help us reach our $150k membership goal by May 31.

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