--- title: Ted Cruz Endorses Donald Trump for President description: Ted Cruz on Friday endorsed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, his former rival whom he previously refused to endorse canonical: https://time.com/4506301/ted-cruz-donald-trump-endorsement/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-23T19:47:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T18:50:18.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ted Cruz Endorses Donald Trump Despite Bitter Rivalry og:description: Cruz had withheld his endorsement until now og:url: https://time.com/4506301/ted-cruz-donald-trump-endorsement/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0804413e535c12f7/6988a7520b72e30cd76eb1a7/ted-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Sen. Ted Cruz og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ted Cruz Endorses Donald Trump Despite Bitter Rivalry twitter:description: Cruz had withheld his endorsement until now twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0804413e535c12f7/6988a7520b72e30cd76eb1a7/ted-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ted Cruz Endorses Donald Trump Despite Bitter Rivalry ## Video: Ted Cruz Makes a Big Gamble With Convention Speech [Watch (HLS stream): Ted Cruz Makes a Big Gamble With Convention Speech](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ySSWXNI2.m3u8) (1:03)  _Published 2016-07-21. Ted Cruz wanted to leave Republican delegates with a case of buyer’s remorse._  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:50 PM UTCPublished: Sep 23, 2016 7:47 PM UTC  Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during the press conference on military aid to Israel on Sept. 20, 2016. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during the press conference on military aid to Israel on Sept. 20, 2016.Bill Clark—CQ Roll Call/AP  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:50 PM UTCPublished: Sep 23, 2016 7:47 PM UTC Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday endorsed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, his [former opponent](http://time.com/4419216/donald-trump-cruz-booed/) whom he [declined to endorse](http://time.com/4416396/republican-convention-ted-cruz-donald-trump-endorsement-speech-transcript-video/) in his [speech at the Republican convention](http://time.com/4416260/republican-convention-ted-cruz-speech/), which prompted boos from Trump supporters and underscored the bitter rivalry between the two. Cruz cited Trump’s [new list](http://time.com/4505960/donald-trump-supreme-court-list-names/) of potential Supreme Court nominees in explaining his change of heart. “For some time, I have been seeking greater specificity on this issue, and today the Trump campaign provided that, releasing a very strong list of potential Supreme Court nominees — including Sen. Mike Lee, who would make an extraordinary justice — and making an explicit commitment to nominate only from that list,” Cruz wrote in a [Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/tedcruzpage/posts/10154476728267464). “This commitment matters, and it provides a serious reason for voters to choose to support Trump.” Cruz also argued that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is “manifestly unfit to be president.” “Donald Trump is the only thing standing in her way,” he said. During the Republican primary fight, few rivalries were as personal and acidic as that between Trump and Cruz. Trump repeatedly referred to Cruz as “Lyin’ Ted,” and falsely implied that his father was somehow involved in President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. All that was seemingly forgotten Friday. Trump responded to Cruz’s endorsement by telling [CNN](https://twitter.com/DanaBashCNN/status/779411149762748416) he was “greatly honored,” and he called Cruz “a tough and brilliant opponent.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4506301/ted-cruz-donald-trump-endorsement/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4506301/ted-cruz-donald-trump-endorsement/"},"headline":"Ted Cruz Endorses Donald Trump Despite Bitter Rivalry","datePublished":"2016-09-23T19:47:08.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T18:50:18.000Z","description":"Cruz had withheld his endorsement until now","url":"https://time.com/4506301/ted-cruz-donald-trump-endorsement/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","ted cruz","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0804413e535c12f7/6988a7520b72e30cd76eb1a7/ted-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0804413e535c12f7/6988a7520b72e30cd76eb1a7/ted-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Sen. 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