Ted Cruz will be the 46th President of the United States

[Sir Mohamed]

Nah, won’t happen. The orange clown will either run again or, should he decline, Pence will get the nomination. Cruz has no chance to beat Pence as sitting VP head-to-head in a GOP primary. I doubt he would even challenge Pence (but maybe eying for the VP slot under him). Let alone the possibility that the Trumpster could be impeached over the course of his term and Pence ends up as 46th president even before 2021. In the case that Trump wins a second term, Pence is still favored for the nod, while the GE is probably lean Dem. 2016 would have been Cruz’ best chance, I think. A GE would also be tough for Cruz because he’s so far right. Also no working-class appeal, particularly in the Rust Belt.

[SWE]

Who's going to be the 45th president in this scenario?

[Shadows]

Are we talking about the same Ted Cruz who phone banked for the Republican nominee who suggested that Cruz's father is a demented presidential assassin and that Cruz's wife is an unstable, frigid hag?



Yeah, that's a national leader if I've ever seen one.

And Nick-named him "Lyin' Ted" & called that out multiple times in debates with millions watching, mocked his religion, called him a pus*y !

[Stranger in a strange land]

Much as I despise Ted Cruz, Trumps conduct towards him was reprehensible and disqualifying (in addition to the many other disqualifying things he did). Also, Ted Cruz will never be able to shake the "Lyin' Ted" nickname, and I fully expect his Democratic opponent to make use of it in 2018 (they'd be stupid not to, and it sticks because it fits so perfectly).

[ReaganLimbaugh]

Medal-Thanks for the great post.  Let's hope your prediction comes to pass.  I can't help but think about the scores of infantile liberals and how they falsely swore Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump had no chance of becoming President.

[Kingpoleon]

Hillary would have definitely beat Cruz... Many Trump voters in NC... who despise Hillary... said they would still vote for her over Cruz (females esp seemed to be of this mindset).

Any chance he could have a tough re-election fight?

Republican women love Ted Cruz but they hate Trump sure liberal women also hate Cruz but most of the women in North Caronlina are Republicans and Republican women came out in droves for Ted Cruz during the primaries he also was only 4 point behind Trump in North Carolina

Looking at the polls, it seems a majority of NC women were Obama 2008/Obama 2012/Clinton 2016 voters.

[SATW]

Cruz is just too divisive to win the presidency, I think. He needs to work on being more likable on a personal level before he could convince people to agree with him.

[President Johnson]

Cruz is just too divisive to win the presidency, I think. He needs to work on being more likable on a personal level before he could convince people to agree with him.

Agreed. He also doesn't get along with anybody.

[The_Doctor]

I don't think Cruz is gonna become President at all unless Trump loses re-election and the 46th President is a Democrat. I think Pence is most likely the 46th President, through Trump's resignation and the 47th President a Democrat.

I think Cruz's shot was 2016 (ditto Rubio, ditto Walker, etc). The 8 years a Democratic White House will most likely have after Trump/Pence means that a new generation of GOP pols will dominate the stage.

[Person Man]

I'm sure you were laughing at the idea of Trump becoming president as well

Sorry, that's not how logic works.

https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/the-gamblers-fallacy

[JustinTimeCuber]

Maybe Donald Trump will be the 46th President
http://observer.com/2017/01/joe-biden-next-president-ruin-trump-merchandise/

[TomC]

Correction: Mike Pence will be the 46th President after Orange Führer gets his ass impeached. Can't tell you when but could happen anytime.

[Kringla Heimsins]

I'm sure you were laughing at the idea of Trump becoming president as well

I'm still laughing.

[Young Conservative]

He would be one of the greatest President's ever because he would be consistently conservative and honorable.

[Kringla Heimsins]

Honestly, he is brilliant. "Off-the-chart brilliant", to quote Alan Dershowitz (himself an absolutely brilliant lawyer).

But I can't imagine him having enough appeal in the whole country. He is widely seen as a robotic, even weird person. The twitter rants of his former roommate was also devastating, especially in the younger segment of the population.

I think he will end up Attorney General of the next Republican President. He will doubtlessly run again, but if he manages to win the primary, he would be crushed in the general. To put it simply : he is really weird. Even if he was ideologically 100% similar to me, he would still made me raise an eyebrow. It would not surprise me if he was on the autism spectrum, to be honest. He seems sincerely lost with human interaction. The complete opposite of Bill Clinton.

He should have taken that SCOTUS seat he was reportedly offered by Trump. He would have ended Chief Justice.

[RFayette]

He would be one of the greatest President's ever because he would be consistently conservative and honorable.

This.  I would be absolutely elated if God would bless America with as great a President as Ted Cruz, though I admit it's unlikely.

[Shadows]

Please use his real name "Lyin' Ted" while making any prediction

[Fuzzy Bear]

Much as I despise Ted Cruz, Trumps conduct towards him was reprehensible and disqualifying (in addition to the many other disqualifying things he did). Also, Ted Cruz will never be able to shake the "Lyin' Ted" nickname, and I fully expect his Democratic opponent to make use of it in 2018 (they'd be stupid not to, and it sticks because it fits so perfectly).

From a political perspective, Ted Cruz would have been the perfect choice for Trump to fill Scalia's seat with.  Cruz, however, allowed the "Lyin' Ted" nickname to stick.  This nickname has, IMO, devastated Cruz's image in ways that folks haven't fully comprehended.  It's a nickname that would have been an issue (however unjust it may be) in any nomination hearings.  Democrats would have a field day with it and Republicans who didn't like Cruz (and they are legion) would sit back and allow Cruz's reputation to be diminished by the process just to the point of where they could ram through the nomination anyway.  It's a nickname that would affect historians evaluating the body of work of a Mr. Justice Cruz.  

Cruz is a guy with a commanding intellect, in a Dick Nixon kind of way.  Like Nixon, Cruz has the capacity over time to reinvent himself.  Nixon reinvented himself in 1960, and while he almost blew it by losing it at his "last press conference" in 1962, he was able to overcome that performance over time by workmanlike support of other Republicans that he helped win.  By 1968, the Tricky Dick image had faded, and Nixon was seen as the grown-up in the race.  His sore loser press conference of 1962 became a plus; most Republicans at that time had come to believe that the press was shafting their candidates and they were glad that one of their faves had the stones to tell them off.

Can Cruz follow a path of becoming workmanlike, lower his profile, become a substantive Senator, mend fences, and reduce his alienating personality to the point where folks will look at him and say, "This is the Republican most qualified to be our next President!"?  That depends on whether or not there can be a New Cruz in the way there was a New Nixon.  But that will take time.  And, unlike Nixon, Cruz will have a respected Vice President as a rival.  I'm not saying he can't do it, and Cruz, IMO, is intellectually superior to most of the GOP field.  But I don't know how much he can change, and I believe it will be harder for him to change his image than it was for Nixon, if only because of the intensity of media scrutiny in this day and age.

[andrew_c]

Unless Cruz somehow becomes Trump's VP, this seems to be extremely unlikely. In all likelihood, the 46th president will either be Mike Pence or a Democrat.

[Medal506]

Much as I despise Ted Cruz, Trumps conduct towards him was reprehensible and disqualifying (in addition to the many other disqualifying things he did). Also, Ted Cruz will never be able to shake the "Lyin' Ted" nickname, and I fully expect his Democratic opponent to make use of it in 2018 (they'd be stupid not to, and it sticks because it fits so perfectly).

From a political perspective, Ted Cruz would have been the perfect choice for Trump to fill Scalia's seat with.  Cruz, however, allowed the "Lyin' Ted" nickname to stick.  This nickname has, IMO, devastated Cruz's image in ways that folks haven't fully comprehended.  It's a nickname that would have been an issue (however unjust it may be) in any nomination hearings.  Democrats would have a field day with it and Republicans who didn't like Cruz (and they are legion) would sit back and allow Cruz's reputation to be diminished by the process just to the point of where they could ram through the nomination anyway.  It's a nickname that would affect historians evaluating the body of work of a Mr. Justice Cruz.  

Cruz is a guy with a commanding intellect, in a Dick Nixon kind of way.  Like Nixon, Cruz has the capacity over time to reinvent himself.  Nixon reinvented himself in 1960, and while he almost blew it by losing it at his "last press conference" in 1962, he was able to overcome that performance over time by workmanlike support of other Republicans that he helped win.  By 1968, the Tricky Dick image had faded, and Nixon was seen as the grown-up in the race.  His sore loser press conference of 1962 became a plus; most Republicans at that time had come to believe that the press was shafting their candidates and they were glad that one of their faves had the stones to tell them off.

Can Cruz follow a path of becoming workmanlike, lower his profile, become a substantive Senator, mend fences, and reduce his alienating personality to the point where folks will look at him and say, "This is the Republican most qualified to be our next President!"?  That depends on whether or not there can be a New Cruz in the way there was a New Nixon.  But that will take time.  And, unlike Nixon, Cruz will have a respected Vice President as a rival.  I'm not saying he can't do it, and Cruz, IMO, is intellectually superior to most of the GOP field.  But I don't know how much he can change, and I believe it will be harder for him to change his image than it was for Nixon, if only because of the intensity of media scrutiny in this day and age.

The thing is with names like "Lyin Ted" or "Little Marco" or "Crooked Hillary" only works when Trump uses those names.

[Rjjr77]

Why do we count Cleveland twice? We've really only had 44 presidents.

[Tartarus Sauce]

The problem for Cruz is that the hardcore Trump supporters hate him enough that they'd vote for a Democrat before they'd vote for him, and Cruz is already one of the most reviled figures among the left. He has literally no way to expand his appeal outside a bubble of hardcore conservatives.

[mgop]

if trump make america great again after 2 terms, cruz could easily win in 2024. like bush senior did in 1988 after 2 successful reagan terms.

[Medal506]

The problem for Cruz is that the hardcore Trump supporters hate him enough that they'd vote for a Democrat before they'd vote for him, and Cruz is already one of the most reviled figures among the left. He has literally no way to expand his appeal outside a bubble of hardcore conservatives.

Yeah hardcore Trump supporters don't hate him anymore since Trump doesn't hate him anymore so they would most likely vote for him over a democrat

[The Govanah Jake]

No. His whole appearance was destroyed by trump. He probably run for the senate again and win. Then Run for president in 2024/28 and lose then disappear