Ted Cruz's former running mate says he's been corrupted by Trump
She said money, power and influence changed the senator
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.US Senator Ted Cruz's former running-mate can barley recognise the Texan lawmaker anymore.
During the Senator's 2016 presidential primary bid, he took the unorthodox move of naming a running-mate prior to securing the nomination.
That running-mate was a California businesswoman named Carly Fiorina, the CEO of Helwett-Packard from 1999 to 2005.
Ultimately, Mr Cruz lost to Donald Trump, a man who insinuated the senator's wife was ugly, who intimated his father was involved in the assassination of John F Kennedy, and who made sexist remarks about Ms Fiorina.
The senator initially loathed Mr Trump, calling him a "pathological liar," a "narcissist," and a "serial philanderer" during the 2016 primary.
But somewhere along the way, Mr Cruz gave up on pushing back against the insults, mockery and insinuations, and decided to just join the bullies rather than stand up to them.
Ms Fiorina - also a critic of Mr Trump - lamented during a CNN interview that the former president became everything she expected he would. But she did not anticipate that Mr Cruz would be dragged along as well.
"Turns out I was right about Donald Trump," she said, "and sadly, it appears, I was wrong about Ted Cruz."
In his latest stunt to show just how close he is with the former president, Mr Cruz traveled to Mar-a-Lago to dine with Mr Trump. The senator then posted a photo of the men together at a table in Mar-a-Lago, claiming the duo were discussing strategies for taking back the House and the Senate in 2022.
Ms Fiorina said she was "disappointed in Ted," and that she has been for "some time now."
She also said one of the reasons she joined Mr Cruz in 2016 was because she thought it would be "tragic and terrible" if Mr Trump won.
When asked what she thought had changed in the senator, Ms Fiornia named the classic corruptive forces that plague human endeavor; "It's an age old siren's song ... access to power and money and influence," she said.
"The trouble is a lot of politicians care mostly about winning and they're willing to abandon their principles in order to win," she said.
Ms Fiorina followed through on her disdain for Mr Trump and voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
“I don’t always agree with Joe Biden’s policies, but I do think character counts. I think leadership matters,” she said during a CNBC interview.
The businesswoman said that in her line of work, people "focus on results, and I think [Mr Trump's] results do not earn him a second term."
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments