Ted Cruz told Newsmax TV on Wednesday that he endorsed Donald Trump last week because "I gave my word" and because "it is abundantly clear that Hillary Clinton is manifestly unfit to be president."
"What I decided and what I announced last week is what my conscience leads me to in November," the Texas senator told "The Joe Pags Show" in an interview. "I'm going to vote for the Republican nominee, for Donald Trump.
"I stood on stage, I raised my hand and said I would support the Republican nominee. My conscience tells me I need to honor my word, so I'm doing that.
"Although I have had significant disagreements with Donald that I have outlined in great detail in the past, at the end of the day one of two people are going to be president either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.
"It is abundantly clear that Hillary Clinton is manifestly unfit to be president," Cruz said.
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He also told Pags that he was surprised at the reaction from delegates to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in August, where he was booed off the stage for refusing to endorse Trump.
"I was surprised by the reaction because the speech was very much designed — my hope was that it would bring people together," Cruz said. "That it would lay out a path for this is how we unite after a very tough primary and this is how we win in November.
"I addressed conservatives directly — and I said please do not stay home in November. Come out and vote.
"Vote your conscience. Look up and down the ticket for candidates you trust to defend freedom and defend the Constitution.
"That is very much the test that I'm applying.
"You focus on issues and substance that matters to us," Cruz said. "That's what I was trying to do in Cleveland — and that's what I've been trying to do since then."