AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump ripped Democratic Senate hopeful Beto O’Rourke ahead of a trip to Texas to stump for O’Rourke’s Republican opponent, incumbent Ted Cruz.
Trump tweeted Wednesday “Beto is a flake” and that Cruz “has done so much for Texas,” including creating jobs and cutting taxes, but that “O’Rourke would blow it.”
That follows O’Rourke appropriating a Trump nickname for Cruz from when the two were 2016 Republican presidential rivals, calling the senator “Lyin’ Ted” during a debate Tuesday night in San Antonio.
Trump is traveling to Houston on Monday to rally for Cruz as O’Rourke has kept the race reasonably close, even in deeply conservative Texas.
O’Rourke sharply criticized Cruz during the debate. On Wednesday, he unveiled negative attack ads, further breaking with his usual bipartisan and feelgood image.