Wondering about the rise and fall of the Cruz/Trump bromance? This timeline explains everything

Nine months ago, Ted Cruz called Donald Trump “terrific.” Two weeks ago, he called the real estate mogul “a sniveling coward.”

It’s been an emotional rollercoaster for the two leading candidates for the Republicanpresidential nomination, with Cruz, a U.S. Senator from Texas, initially distinguishing himself last summer as the only candidate to fully embrace Trump’s unexpected bid for the White House.

As other contenders fell by the wayside, the pair’s friendship first fractured and then died, only to be quickly replaced with an intense hostility.

Below, we trace the rise and fall of the Cruz-Trump bromance.

By Jordan Rudner, Madlin Mekelburg and Lauren Flannery, The Texas Tribune