Two years after a contentious GOP primary battle of name calling and accusations, President Donald Trump will be at Houston's Toyota Center Monday night for a “Make America Great Again”rally in support of Sen.Ted Cruz.
Sure it may sound awkward, given the "Lyin' Ted" attacks, but Cruz and President-elect Trump met just one week after his victory as a way to bury the hatchet early.
“Donald Trump has worked with a fair number of people who were very critical of him during the 2016 campaign, think about Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and Nikki Haley,” says Matthew Wilson,a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.”
Wilson says the MAGA rally benefits both Cruz and Trump.
“Donald Trump needs the support of senators like Ted Cruz in a closely divided Senate, and Ted Cruz needs Trump Republicans to come out and vote enthusiastically in his re-election bid.”
Trump is still the real draw, according to Wilson. Nearly 80,000 had requested tickets as of Friday. The campaign said it had grown to 100,000 by Sunday and planned to host a 'Big Texas Tailgater' for those who cannot get inside Toyota Center.
“The rally will become more about Donald Trump than it is about Ted Cruz,”he says. “But it will probably also help Cruz rally some support toward the end of the race from some Trump-leaning Republicans and definitively bury and lingering animosity from the 2016 campaign.”
Some folks shared video online about lining up early overnight...