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.
