Sen. Ted Cruz says he would consider re-entering the GOP presidential nominating contest if, against his assumptions, he wins Nebraska’s primary today.
The Texas senator suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential one week ago after a loss in Indiana.
“We came up short in this election, I would have preferred it otherwise. The movement still continues and that’s what gives me encouragement,” said Cruz in a Tuesday morning interview on the Glenn Beck radio program on SiriusXM.
Later in the interview Cruz expressed a desire to see a “President we can trust.” He spoke of temperament saying, “we need to watch and see what the candidates say and do.”
That spurred the question to Cruz from Beck sidekick Pat Gray: would the Texas senator consider getting back in the Republican primary race if Nebraskans “miraculously” voted Cruz the winner in the state’s primary election that same day.
“I am not holding my breath. My assumption is that that will not happen,” replied Cruz.
But listen, let’s be very clear, if there is a path to victory, we launched this campaign intending to win. The reason we suspended the race last week is with Indiana’s loss I didn’t see a viable path to victory. If that changes, we will certainly respond accordingly.
Earlier in the interview Cruz said that while the result of the Republican nomination process was not what he had hoped for he and wife Heidi were thankful for the opportunity to be a “part of what was just an incredible grassroots movement.”
The suspended 2016 presidential candidate hit hard on the role of the media.
This election will be studied for the role of the media and in particular network executives, that they made in terms of promoting the candidate that they had chosen, they wanted to win.
Trump has received now over $3 billion in free airtime. Strikingly, ya know that last 30 days, he had $500 billion dollars in free airtime, 90 percent of which was positive. To put that in perspective in the entire 13 months of the campaign, the aggregate coverage of my campaign was about $500 billion dollars worth.
That has a dramatic effect on the polls when every network becomes effectively the SuperPAC for the candidate they want to win the nomination and we’re about to see that same ferocious fury now turn against Donald in an effort to elect Hillary. And there’s now doubt we need to think hard about what is the role of a handful of network executives in manipulating and trying to deceive the voters because I think it’s a very dangerous dynamic we have right now.
Beck also told Cruz that his organization has been inundated with people either wanting Cruz to run third party (Beck said he didn’t think Cruz would do that), or wanting Cruz to support Trump. Beck commented, “we can’t do that.”
He asked Cruz what the senator thinks his supporters should do.
This is a choice every voter is going to have to make and I would note that it’s not a choice that we as the voters have to make today. The Republican convention isn’t for another two and a half months. The election isn’t for another six months. You and I both want to support a conservative. We want to support someone who will get the burden of Washington off of small businesses and bring back jobs and economic growth. We want to support someone who will defend the Constitution, defend the Bill of Rights, religious liberty, the second amendment. We want to defend someone who will stand by our friends and allies including especially the nation of Israel. We want to defend someone who will be a strong, serious Commander In Chief.
Cruz indicated that the conservative movement was divided during the election. “I think the conservative movement remains strong and vibrant,” said Cruz, who said that when conservatives are divided they are less effective.
This fight was about a lot more than one campaign or one candidate. This fight is about principles that are eternal. The free market principles that built America, that allowed millions of small businesses to lift hundreds of millions out of poverty and to prosperity. Those principles are as true today as they were every day of our country’s history. The constitutional liberties in the Bill of Rights that protect our God-given rights from being violated by the federal government. Those rights are true and as valid today as they have been throughout history. And so the movement continues. What my energy is directed at, what my focus is directed at is continuing to strengthen and speak for that movement.
Cruz was asked about a celebrity factor in this election and the possibility of a Will Smith-Angelina Jolie-type ticket in the future. Cruz replied, “One of the disturbing things of this election, and there are many, is it opens the door potentially for what comes next and what comes next is not likely to be sound, stable leaders with good judgement and the understanding of the problems facing this country, our economy and the challenges and threats facing us across the world.”
Cruz said his next step is heading back to Washington to go back to the U.S. Senate and fight for the jobs, freedom and security platform he ran on during his presidential campaign.
When asked about the possibility of a third party run for those that “think like” him, Cruz said, “I don’t think that’s very likely.” He said he does think that it’s imperative to get the burden of Washington off of the back of small businesses. “I’m very dismayed that the odds are increasing that we simply keep going down the same road, we don’t fix those problems and people end up hurting even more.” He said that is where is focus is going to be in returning to the Senate. “I believe we’re going to accomplish that, but it just may take more time.”
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