Cruz says GOP hasn’t coalesced behind Vance for 2028 nomination: ‘Oh, no’

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who ran for president in 2016 and is considered a possible future contender for the White House, says the Republican Party has not coalesced around Vice President Vance as its 2028 nominee and needs to have a broader discussion about its direction after President Trump leaves office.

Asked by MS NOW’s Ali Vitali whether Republicans have settled on Vance as their standard-bearer in 2028, Cruz replied: “Oh, no.”

“There’s going to be a full discussion about who we are and what we believe,” he said, noting earlier in the interview that he was Trump’s strongest rival in 2016 and beat him in primary contests in 12 states that year. He added that Trump has been an “extraordinary president.”

Cruz said there “is no Never Trump lane” in the Republican Party anymore and praised Trump’s willingness to fight for his views.

“Love him or hate him, you’ve got to acknowledge this guy has a backbone — he is fearless. And there are a lot of Republicans that were so tired of lily-livered Republicans who were afraid of their own shadow,” he said. “Trump doesn’t hide in the corner. He is ferocious. I like that.”

But Cruz said he wished Trump showed more “message discipline and focus” and noted that he speaks with Trump on a weekly or daily basis.

“He doesn’t always listen to me but he frequently listens to me, and I’m grateful because he’s got courage,” he said.

Cruz said there needs to be soul-searching over the future of the Republican Party once Trump, who is 80, leaves office in two and a half years.

“Going forward, we’re in the midst of a debate about who our party is and what we believe, and I think economically we’ve got to debate, ‘Are we a small-government, free-market conservative party, are we a big-government, nanny-state party?'” he said.

Asked if he will be part of the discussion, possibly as a future presidential candidate, about what the Republican Party stands for, Cruz said: “There’ll be time to figure that out.”

“I’ll certainly be part of the discussion because I care deeply about — economically, I think we should be a conservative party. And on foreign policy, we’ve got to debate, ‘Are we an isolationist party that withdraws from the world or do we believe in American leadership?’”

“I care about both of those issues and who the party is,” he said.

Cruz called Trump’s rise to power and his reshaping of the Republican Party to embrace his “America First” and MAGA agenda a “Black Swan event,” a term used to describe highly improbable events that have major consequences.

“He is a unique historical figure. There’s never been anyone like him, I don’t think there will be anyone like him going forward,” he said. “And we’re going to have over the next several years a conversation among Republicans” about what comes next.