'I punched him in the face': Ted Cruz reveals the unexpected outcome of his Trump feud

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Ted Cruz said his bitter 2016 presidential rivalry with Donald Trump helped turn the two into friends, recalling their fierce exchanges during the Republican primary.

Cruz said he won 12 states during that campaign and repeatedly defeated Trump, who ultimately won the Republican nomination.

He made the comments while speaking with New York Post columnist Miranda Devine on ‘Pod Force One’ in an episode released on Wednesday, September 16.

Ted Cruz says the 2016 rivalry forged their friendship

“I punched him in the face as hard as I could, and he punched me in the face as hard as he could,” Cruz said of the 2016 campaign, describing a contest in which both men kept going.

Cruz said that experience is part of why Trump respects him now, arguing that the president values people with “backbones” who are willing to fight.

“I think President Trump, I think respects someone who has backbones, someone who's a fighter,” Cruz said.

Cruz initially withheld his endorsement after Trump won the nomination but later became a supporter during Trump's first term. 

He also said he has been Trump's “strongest ally” for more than a decade and that they have stood “shoulder to shoulder” in many battles.

Devine described the pair as “very pally” and “very friendly,” saying she believed Trump regarded Cruz as his strongest supporter in the Senate. 

Cruz responded, “I think very much so.”

In 2016, Cruz challenged Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in a bitter primary, initially withheld his endorsement after Trump won, then became a supporter during Trump's first term. 

Cruz is set to become Texas' senior senator when John Cornyn leaves office in 2027.

Ted Cruz contrasts Trump with Biden

Cruz also contrasted his relationship with Trump with his interactions with former President Joe Biden, saying he never spoke with Biden during Biden's four years as president.

“That was not unique to me,” Cruz said, adding that he believed no Republican senator spoke with Biden. 

He said Republicans would discuss over lunch that none of them were talking to the president.

Cruz said his relationship with Trump is different, saying he speaks with Trump “every week, sometimes every day.” 

He also said Trump talks with Democrats, reporters, and others.

“When Obama was President, I spoke with Obama regularly. With Trump as president, I speak to him every week, sometimes every day,” Cruz said.

Cruz said the contrast extended beyond his own experience, describing Trump's willingness to communicate with people across political lines as unusual.

Senator says Democrats will turn out against Trump

Cruz also argued that Democrats will be strongly motivated to vote in the midterms because of their opposition to Trump, even though he acknowledged divisions within their party.

“They hate President Trump with a burning passion, and they're going to crawl over broken glass to vote,” Cruz said. 

He added that he expects “real left-wing turnout” because Democrats are unified by opposition to Trump.

Devine interjected that “their party is not unified,” and Cruz agreed, saying, “their party is not unified except they all hate Trump.”

The interview also touched on Trump's approach to strength, with Cruz saying, “He doesn't respect people who are weak. He respects people who have strength because listen, the guy's got a cast iron backbone.”

Cruz defended Trump's military action against Iran, saying, “When the Ayatollah in Iran says ‘Death to America’, I believe him.” 

He said Trump “acted decisively to save American lives” but rejected the idea that the United States would put “hundreds of thousands of boots on the ground” to try to turn Iran into Switzerland.