President Trump was asked about a report stating Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential run. A reporter questioned Trump on whether he would support the Texas Republican, prompting him to respond: “Well, he’s a friend of mine. I mean, no I haven’t spoken to him about it. It’s a little early. It’s three and a quarter years, it’s a long time. But he’s a very good guy. He’s a very good friend of mine.” Trump continued, “You remember, we had quite a campaign against Ted and it worked out quite nicely. Well see, where are we? Oh, we’re in the Oval Office. But I’m not that surprised to hear that.”
Cruz has been criticized for targeting political commentator Tucker Carlson, accusing him of antisemitism and opposing his isolationist foreign policy positions. This maneuvering is believed to potentially position Cruz on a path to face Vice President J.D. Vance, who is viewed as the 2028 GOP frontrunner. On the campaign trail during their 2016 fight for the Republican presidential nomination, Trump referred to Cruz as “Lyin’ Ted,” later amending it to “Beautiful Ted” and campaigning on his behalf.
Cruz has been critical of Carlson and other purveyors of anti-Semitic ideas in the Republican Party, while Vance counts Carlson as an ally. “This poison of anti-Semitism on the right, it is spreading with young people. It is gaining traction,” Cruz declared in a speech last month. “But I will tell you, there is a movement among Christians, particularly young Christians. The public polling numbers of support for Israel among young Christians is plummeting. And they’re being spread lies. They’re being spread lies, isolationist lies that we should withdraw from the world because nobody wants to hurt us. But they’re also being spread theological lies.”
Cruz was asked to respond to the report during an interview on Fox News’s “The Faulkner Focus.” “Reporters are going to write headlines that get clicks and get eyeballs. I got a job. It’s representing 31 million Texans, and it it’s fighting every day for 31 million Texans,” Cruz responded. He discussed legislative accomplishments during President Trump’s second term, noting: “The wins we are getting are historic. The ‘one big, beautiful bill’ you were talking about just a minute ago, I was blessed to write major portions of that bill.” Cruz said he “authored and passed into law” a school-choice provision and personal investment accounts for children.
“I’ll tell you right now, the victories we are winning are a big deal. That’s where my focus is,” he added. Cruz said one of his focuses right now is addressing Christian persecution in Nigeria. Faulkner noted that Cruz did not deny the reporting. The issue of interventionism has divided figures in the GOP for months as pundits, candidates, and sitting lawmakers weigh how the U.S. should navigate its international relationships. Vance, like many other voices in Trump’s orbit, has called for the U.S. to pull back from engagements in Ukraine and the Middle East to focus on domestic issues.
Cruz has gone against the grain of the party, maintaining that the country’s security — and the security of the international community — depends on strong leadership from the White House. Most recently, Cruz said he believed American attention was needed in Nigeria, where Christians have faced intense persecution in recent years. “It’s why my focus right now is on the Christians in Nigeria,” Cruz said on Monday after deflecting questions about 2028. “I was at the White House last week with the president, thanking him for standing up for the Christians in Nigeria.”