Near the end of last year, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) suggested that he all but had the 2024 Presidential wrapped up, assuming former President Trump did not run:
Sen. Ted Cruz on Wednesday argued he is particularly well-positioned to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, citing his second-place finish behind then-candidate Donald Trump in the party’s 2016 primary.
The remarks from Cruz (R-Texas) came in an interview with The Truth Gazette, a conservative news service operated by 15-year-old Brilyn Hollyhand. Asked by Hollyhand whether he would consider launching another bid for the White House, Cruz responded: “Absolutely. In a heartbeat.”
“You know, I ran in 2016. It was the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. We had a very crowded field. We had 17 candidates in the race — a very strong field. And I ended up placing second” Cruz said.
“There’s a reason historically that the runner-up is almost always the next nominee,” Cruz continued. “And that’s been true going back to Nixon or Reagan or McCain or Romney that has played out repeatedly. You come in with just an enormous base of support.” [Politico]
A number of historical events could be argued to be against him winning, from his wilting sycophantic behavior towards the former President, indicating a lack of backbone and morals, to the giant lacunae of personal charisma. But politics is really a What have you done for me lately? profession, and so how has that been going?
First, as of a few days ago, he thinks an impeachment of President Biden is likely:
Sen. Ted Cruz said that a Republican-led House after the 2022 elections likely will consider impeaching President Biden on “multiple grounds.”
In the latest episode of his podcast “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” the Texas Republican said he was extremely confident that his party will win Congressional majorities and that this would open the door for retaliation against the Democrats for impeaching then-President Donald Trump.
“If we take the House, which I said is overwhelmingly likely, then I think we will see serious investigations of the Biden administration,” he told co-hosts Michael Knowles and Liz Wheeler, saying the odds were 90% and “may even be higher.” [The Washington Times]
This is a long range bomb. He can predict impeachment all he wants, but if he wants to be President, he has to appeal to both the independents and an increasingly extremist base that may not find him extreme enough for their own tastes. If the Republicans manage to scale the mountain and take the House, there is no guarantee there’ll be anything more than a theatrical bit of political investigation, complete with BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS and lots of PRESS CONFERENCES. But, barring actual corruption in the Biden Administration, which I think is both unlikely and deeply foolish for anyone on Biden’s team to attempt, it’ll all be a failure, and soon the primary voters will be asking Where did the promised impeachment go? And bringing a fraudulent impeachment charge will not go down well with the independent voters, who don’t want to be bothered with dumb political shit. Only the safest Republican seats can risk such antics.
But that seems like weak tea against this incident, from yesterday:
Ted Cruz on Thursday walked back his use of the word “terrorist” when describing the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol during an intense back and forth with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who repeatedly questioned the validity of the Republican senator’s explanation.
Cruz was lambasted during Carlson’s Wednesday night show for describing Jan. 6 as “a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol.” During his Thursday night appearance, when Carlson asked him why he used the word “terrorist,” Cruz brushed off his previous phrasing as “sloppy” and “frankly dumb.”
But Carlson didn’t accept that answer, arguing that the attack was not terrorism and questioning Cruz’s motivations.
“You told that lie on purpose, and I’m wondering why you did,” Carlson said. [Politico]
Carlson is a point person for the former President, and whether or not he runs in 2024, Trump has little use for Cruz, who he has abused a number of times, and received Cruz’s whimpering agreement in return, including Cruz’s craven leading of the January 6th insurrection in the Senate by objecting to the acceptance of electoral votes.
Maybe Cruz misspoke? His defense:
“What I was referring to are the limited number of people who engaged in violent attacks against police officers. I think you and I both agree that if you assault a police officer, you should go to jail,” Cruz said. “I wasn’t saying the thousands of peaceful protesters supporting Donald Trump are somehow terrorists. I wasn’t saying the millions of patriots across the country supporting Trump are terrorists.”
But Carlson wasn’t buying.
“What you just said doesn’t make sense,” Carlson fired back, accusing the senator of playing into Democrats’ narratives. During the segment, the show’s chyron read: “TUCKER TAKES ON SENATOR TED CRUZ.” (There have been murmurs that Carlson, too, might run in 2024.)
I think Cruz will run in 2024 – and lose. I have no idea who will win the nomination, but Cruz, it appears, has been selected for destruction by the leader of the Republican Party. He’ll continue to be a minor player in the Senate, but his attempts to exert major influence will border on the illicit, such as his recent maneuvers to slow down the diplomatic process.
And will he run for re-election to his Senate seat if he loses the nomination?
