Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on Sunday that he admires GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump for his outspokenness on immigration.
“I salute Donald Trump for focusing on the need to address illegal immigration,” Cruz told host Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” “I like Donald Trump. He is bold, he is brash.”
“He has a colorful way of speaking, and it’s not my way of speaking, but I salute him,” the fellow Republican White House hopeful added.
{mosads}Cruz also said on Sunday that he dislikes Republican infighting over issues of national importance.
“The favorite sport of some in Washington is to get Republicans to attack other Republicans,” he said. “I am not going to engage in the media’s game of throwing rocks at other Republicans. I’m not going to do it.”
Trump sparked outrage in June 16 remarks about Mexico and border security.
“They’re sending people who have a lot of problems,” he said during his 2016 campaign launch. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Cruz said on Sunday that he agrees with Trump’s calls for improved border security.
“First, we secure the borders and then we can discuss what to do with all the people who are already here,” he said of America’s undocumented immigrant population.
“I am a passionate advocate for legal immigrants,” added Cruz, whose father is a Cuban immigrant.
Cruz argued that the political establishment in both parties are against his position on immigration reform.
“The Washington cartel supports amnesty,” he said. “The Washington cartel does not support securing our borders.”
“Here’s the sad truth: A lot of Republicans in the Washington cartel are in favor of amnesty, too.”