Ted Cruz's last chance to ingratiate himself to Trump blew up in his face: Texas columnist

According to Dallas Morning News columnist Gromer Jeffers Jr., Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) did irreparable damage to whatever hopes he might have had about rising above being a U.S. senator when he tried to ingratiate himself to Donald Trump and inherit his following by making the case that the president was denied re-election due to voter fraud.

Cruz, along with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), has come under withering criticism for attempting to subvert the Congressional certification of the Electoral College votes on Jan. 6th prior to a pro-Trump mob storming the U.S. Capitol.

While the president, his son Don. Jr. and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani have been accused of inciting a riot with their words that day, Cruz has been swept up in the criticism and seen the collapse of his political fortune as critics call for his resignation.

According to Jeffers, Cruz's relationship with the president has been a series of missteps for four years and the events at the Capitol after his comments will haunt him for the rest of his career.

"Cruz, Texas' junior senator, has made major miscalculations involving Donald Trump. He underestimated the New York businessman and reality television star as a presidential contender. Then he misread his own popularity with the GOP base by not immediately endorsing the victorious Trump. Afterward he became too cozy with the president, clearly an effort to inherit Trump's formidable political base," the columnist wrote before adding, "Last week Trump burned Cruz — again."

Noting that Cruz's election stunt -- combined with the attack on lawmakers that led to five deaths backfired, Jeffers suggested Cruz is now tainted by the insurrection that will haunt him if he runs for president in 2024.

"Whether he's running for the White House or reelection, the events of last week will make it hard for Cruz to sell himself to a general election audience that includes Democrats, soft Republicans and independents," the columnist predicted. "As Cruz moves forward, he should consider that he built his political base before Trump burst on the political scene. Though he's always been a polarizing figure, constitutional and Christian conservatives have powered Cruz's success. He didn't need to take extraordinary steps to woo Trump loyalists to improve his popularity with GOP base voters."

According to Jeffers, Cruz can now expect to be "linked to the president in the worst way, and history won't reflect kindly on his role."

You can read the whole piece here.