Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who met with fellow 2016 GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump Wednesday, said that unlike other Republicans, he’s not going to be bashing Mr. Trump in the wake of the real estate mogul’s comments on Mexico and illegal immigration.
“Donald and I are friends — we’ve gotten together a number of times before he was a candidate for president; we got together and visited today,” Mr. Cruz said Wednesday evening on Fox News’ “The Kelly File.” “You know, I like Donald because he’s brash, he’s bold, and he speaks the truth — he stands up to Washington. It’s what I’ve tried to do in my time in public office.”
“People are fed up with politicians; they’re fed up with what I call the Washington cartel — career politicians, Republicans and Democrats, who get in bed with the lobbyists and special interests, and I, in particular, salute Donald Trump for focusing on the problem of illegal immigration,” Mr. Cruz said.
Mr. Cruz allowed that Mr. Trump “speaks in colorful terms — he doesn’t speak the way you or I speak.”
“But an awful lot of Republican 2016 candidates went out of their way to beat him with a stick,” Mr. Cruz said, saying that he’s not going to join them. “Because I salute him for shining a light on the problem of illegal immigration, on the safety issues, on sanctuary cities.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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