My support of Donald Trump as a presidential candidate was not an immediate 
decision but rather an odyssey. Part of that odyssey concerns my evolving disillusionment with the Ted Cruz candidacy.
At the start of the 2016 Republican presidential primary campaign I was a committed “Cruzer”.
Ted Cruz, a brilliant student, a Constitutional scholar, an advocate for 2nd Amendment rights, a senator willing to confront Washington power brokers, someone even willing to call out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for lying, seemed to be a man who stood firm on principle, kept his promises to voters and was willing to battle the Republican establishment. Ted Cruz was the strong leader I wanted in the White House.
As the campaign progressed Donald Trump evolved from the candidate who wasn’t really running, to the candidate the media couldn’t ignore, to the candidate who was attracting thousands of people to his rallies, and finally to the candidate who was drawing supporters from across the demographic spectrum – men, women, Hispanics, blacks, and even Democrats and union members. I liked Trump’s stands on the major issues and my goal was “never Hillary” so I decided to shift my support to Trump because I thought he had the best chance of beating Hillary in November. I still admired Sen. Cruz; my shift in allegiance was purely pragmatic.
Meanwhile Trump was a breath of fresh air in the world of politics. He was speaking out on issues which were dear to my political heart: building a wall on the southern border to keep out illegal immigrants; enforcing the immigration laws, including those which penalized businesses who hire illegals; repealing ObamaCare and instituting health care savings accounts; equalizing international trade agreements; supporting 2nd Amendment rights; restoring the middle class by helping to create real jobs in our country. He attacked the politically correct culture and was not afraid to point out its hypocrisy; he publically exposed members of the Congress for their duplicity – saying one thing when begging for Republican votes and doing something else when caving to the political will of the Democrats. Trump was clearly not a political theorist. It was plain that he didn’t even understand the political game and certainly didn’t plan to play by the rules set by the Washington elite. This self made braggadocio, billionaire, with a flair for gaudy excess, spoke the language of ordinary Americans – he spoke my language.
When the field of candidates was reduced to Trump and Cruz I could not have been happier as I could fully support either one of them as the GOP nominee. The nasty verbal exchanges between Trump and Cruz intensified but that was, in my view, just politics as usual.
*** Barbara Landers *** is a Conservative activist, author and business woman
