Texas Sen. Ted Cruz advised President Trump to stick to principles when debating former Vice President Joe Biden.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, the Texas Republican and author of One Vote Away: How a Single Supreme Court Seat Can Change History cautioned voters not to dismiss Biden’s performance in Tuesday night’s presidential debate, adding that the Democratic presidential nominee could exceed low expectations.
“I worry that conservatives have convinced themselves that Joe Biden has full-on dementia and that Republicans have defined the standard of success so far low that if Biden manages to get out three coherent sentences, the media will sing hosannas and declare him the victor,” Cruz said. “It is virtually certain the media headlines tomorrow will be ‘Joe Biden wins debate’ even if he falls off the stage and trips on his own shoes.”
Cruz advised the president to stick to “ideas and substances,” noting that voters would like to see a contrasting vision for the country.
“Free enterprise works and socialism doesn’t. Rule of law and the Constitution work, and anarchy and riots in the street endanger our families,” Cruz said. “I think if we focus on the substance, that’s a winning message.”
Cruz said Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court puts the president at an electoral advantage. The Texas conservative said the issue motivates many voters, including himself in 2016, to turn out in Trump’s favor.
“I believe Justice Scalia’s vacancy in 2016 was a critical reason Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton. It was the single most important reason why I voted for Donald Trump instead of Hillary Clinton,” Cruz said, noting his newly released book touches on multiple cases where the Supreme Court protected the rights of U.S. citizens by 5-4 majorities.
The first of three debates between Trump and Biden will be held at 9 p.m. on Tuesday at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic. It will be moderated by Fox News anchor Chris Wallace.
