Trump has come up with a new nickname for Ted Cruz, and it's not what you'd expect

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have a chequered past, to put it mildly. Now, the president has come up with a catchy new nickname for his one-time rival: 'Beautiful Ted'.

Trump shared his new nickname for the Texas senator with reporters as he headed to Houston to support the Republican in his efforts of re-election in the midterms.

Speaking to ABC News chief Jonathan Carl, he said:

To me, he's not 'Lyin' Ted' anymore—he's 'Beautiful Ted '.

He then added:

I call him 'Texas Ted'.

These affectionate epithets are a far cry from the nickname 'Lyin' Ted' that Trump used against Cruz in the 2016 elections.

During the campaign trail, Trump referred to Cruz as a 'nasty guy', 'the single biggest liar' and 'so dishonest'. He also threatened to 'spill the beans' on Cruz's wife Heidi, without ever clarifying what exactly that meant, as well as re-tweeting an unflattering photograph of her alongside a photograph of his own wife Melania, a former model.

Cruz didn't hold back in response. In the same year, he called Trump 'a snivelling coward', a 'pathological liar', and a 'big, loud, New York bully' among other less than flattering things, reports The Guardian.

As well as these jibes, Trump also suggested that Cruz's father may have assassinated JFK, which, he told reporters, he doesn't regret.

Speaking to the reporters, he said:

I don't regret anything, honestly. It all worked out, very nicely.

Now, Cruz desperately needs Trump to quell the threat of charismatic Democrat Beto O'Rouke from El Paso, described as a 'rising star' on the political scene, with a strong basis of grassroots support.

Many people on social media were quick to pick up on the strange change of nickname.

Meeting at the Houston rally on Monday, the two former rivals sealed their newly-formed alliance with a hug, and a somewhat sycophantic line from Cruz, reports The Guardian:

In 2020, Donald Trump will be overwhelmingly re-elected as president of the United States.

Who ever mentioned 'fake news'?

HT Mashable

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