Ted Cruz praises Trump as 'instinctual genius' for branding him a liar

Senator Ted Cruz has praised Donald Trump's "instinctual genius" for branding him "Lyin' Ted" during their bitter 2016 GOP primary battle. Trump repeatedly used the nickname throughout the campaign, while also linking Cruz's father to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The New York Post's Miranda Devine raised the nickname with Cruz on a Wednesday episode of her podcast, Pod Force One. "The man has an instinctual genius," Cruz said. "What was so effective about it was my single strongest attribute was that the voters trusted me, that they trusted that I said what I believed and did what I said." "And so the jiu-jitsu of Trump was to take my greatest strength and make an attack that goes right at it," he said. "And I think he does that instinctually in a very effective way." Cruz also predicted a "fundamental debate" within the GOP over the party's future heading into 2028. Asked whether Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio might simply inherit Trump's mantle, Cruz said he expects a full primary contest instead. "I think we are going to have a full and vigorous primary and discussion," he said. "I think the voters are going to decide who are we and what do we believe, and that matters." "President Trump is a unique historical figure," Cruz added. "I'm going to say right now, there is no Donald Trump on the horizon to succeed him." Cruz declined to weigh in further on any potential clash with Vance or Rubio, saying he'd rather focus on the midterms for now. "There will be plenty of time to have these conversations," he told Devine. "We are less than two months out from the midterm election. This is the most consequential midterm I've ever seen in my life." Cruz has previously stated his ambitions to run for president, and it seems those plans haven't changed. Washington Examiner White House reporter Naomi Lim discussed Cruz's ambitions with News24 last month, describing him as a more traditional conservative, but one not universally liked within the party. "There's an old adage here that every time a senator looks in the mirror, they see a president. And I think that's very true when it comes to Ted Cruz," Lim told News24 host James Morrow.