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Opinion
Francis Wilkinson

Cruz Invests in Trump's Bankruptcy

Detesting his party's nominee. And clinging to him.
Tribalism trumps principle.

Tribalism trumps principle.

Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Senator Ted Cruz's humiliating capitulation last week to the Republican presidential nominee raises anew the question of what exactly the Republican Party is -- and what it will be after November.

Cruz had initially bet he could command the support of the party's reactionary base and ride it to the nomination. When Donald Trump claimed the base instead, Cruz withheld his support, calculating that Trump's buffoonery would make opposition to him appear principled, serious and conservative.