Senator Ted Cruz revealed Friday that he would “vote his conscience” by endorsing Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump. For the small but vocal group remaining in the “Never Trump” crowd, the news was devastating.
It all started with the endorsement from Senator Cruz, citing the threat that Hillary Clinton poses to the future of America and to the conservative movement:
#NeverHillary: https://t.co/hl1xip6Cgv
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 23, 2016
Trump welcomed the endorsement and praised Cruz:
.@realDonaldTrump: "I am greatly honored by the endorsement of Senator Cruz." #SpecialReport pic.twitter.com/AU8eTM3DwY
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 23, 2016
Glenn Beck called on people to pray and fast in support of Ted Cruz during the Republican primary and then became one of #NeverTrump’s loudest voices. He was “profoundly sad” after Cruz’s endorsement:
GLENN BECK: "Profoundly sad day for me. Disappointment does not begin to describe. Maybe it is time to go to the mountains for a while." pic.twitter.com/20NYyB6Oea
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) September 23, 2016
Dana Loesch, who works for Beck at The Blaze, took a shot at Cruz’s manhood:
https://twitter.com/DLoesch/status/779406297393344513
… and RedState’s Ben Howe got a bit more direct:
Ted Cruz: Cuck https://t.co/IIvdjyhNtr
— Ben (@BenHowe) September 23, 2016
Howe also claimed to be considering returning money Cruz paid him for a video:
Here’s a video we made for him a few years ago. Thinking about returning the pay. https://t.co/jiX47LZcw6
— Ben (@BenHowe) September 23, 2016
Jeb Bush supporter and CNN contributor Ana Navarro also mocked Cruz for not being a “man”:
If after saying he was standing up for my honor, my man endorsed a guy who called me ugly…he'd be sleeping on the damn couch for months.
— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) September 23, 2016
Cruz’s former Communication Director declared the conservative movement leaderless:
Cruz's former comms guy, @rickwtyler, to me just now: "It's mourning in America for conservatives. We lost our leader today."
— Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) September 23, 2016
Blogger Erick Erickson joined a chorus of conservatives claiming that Ted Cruz is no longer “principled”:
https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/779390106553688064
An apocalyptic Steve Deace called for the swift return of Jesus:
Another promising, talented politician is gonna learn the lesson of misspent political capital the hard way.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) September 23, 2016
… and declared Cruz’s move the worst political mistake ever:
I hope I'm wrong, but I think a man I admire will today make the worst political miscalculation I've ever witnessed.
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) September 23, 2016
Former Breitbart employee Ben Shapiro lamented Trump’s takeover of the Republican party:
One by one, the free thinkers of the Republican Party fell to the power of the Trump.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 23, 2016
… and broke out some puns:
Mildly disappoinTED, but this was not unexpecTED
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 23, 2016
… and even had the audacity to exploit the memory of Harambe, the noble gorilla slain by the Cincinnati Zoo.
Harambe never would have let Cruz endorse.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 23, 2016
Former Cruz staffer and creator of the #NeverTrump blacklist of Trump supports Amanda Carpenter has yet to weigh in. She told Politico, in a story published Thursday, that she did not believe Cruz had a good enough reason to endorse Trump.
.@amandacarpenter sees no "evidence that Trump has changed his behavior to allow Cruz's conscience to support Trump" https://t.co/Mt5vhrRo8B
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) September 22, 2016
#NeverTrump sacrificial candidate Evan McMullin positioned himself as much more principled than Cruz:
A shocking abandonment of principle by @tedcruz today. Clinton & Trump remain unacceptable threats to our constitutional liberties. https://t.co/E1umv4wN3K
— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) September 23, 2016
And Rick Wilson, the consultant pushing hardest to make McMullin relevant to the national conversation, was also salty.
"Vote Your Conscience" apparently only lasted until the check cleared for someone. (Not Ted, by YKWYA)
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) September 23, 2016
Dustin Stockton is a political reporter for Breitbart News, a community liaison for Gun Owners of America, and a political strategist. Follow him on Twitter @DustinStockton or Facebook.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.