Ted Cruz endorsed Donald Trump for president in lieu of a “commitment of something meaningful on the Supreme Court,” despite not getting an apology for Trump’s insults on the Texas Senator’s family during the primary season.
“It's not about me; it's not about my family; it's about the country,” Cruz told The Texas Tribune.
“My faith teaches to forgive with or without an apology.”
Trump referenced an unsubstantiated supermarket tabloid claim that Cruz's father associated with John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald before JFK’s 1963 shooting. Also, Trump once threatened to "spill the beans" on Cruz’s wife.
Despite the insults and having held a stance against endorsing Trump earlier in the week, Cruz delivered his endorsement for Trump on his Facebook account Friday.
Cruz’s change of heart came after a discussion with his family, he told The Tribune.
“Heidi and my dad and I, we talked about it and we made a decision together — that we are going to choose to forgive him,” he said.
Trump called Cruz to thank him for his endorsement and still “has not” apologized for the insults, Cruz said.
“When I sat down with [GOP vice presidential nominee] Mike Pence, when I talked with the campaign, I said, 'If you want my support, what do I care about? I care about the Supreme Court. I care about the Bill of Rights,'" Cruz said. "And so my ask was not a personal ask to apologize to my family. But it was ... 'Give a commitment of something meaningful on the Supreme Court.'"