Republican Senator Ted Cruz has suggested that Barack and Michelle Obama would beat Donald Trump in a race for the White House, were they eligible to run.
Cruz, who backed former President Trump as the Republican nominee, said that he disagreed with Barack Obama “on virtually every issue” but that the former two-term president was a “talented communicator”.
The constitution means that Barack Obama could not run for the presidency even if he wanted to, while there is no evidence that Michelle Obama sought the nomination.
“Thank God for the 22nd amendment”, the Texas senator said on his podcast Verdict.
Cruz, who previously predicted that Michelle would usurp President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee in the 2024 election, said that had she been on the ticket, “their odds of winning would be very, very high.”
“If I were a Democrat, I’d have been all in on Michelle because Michelle would have been an incredibly formidable candidate,” he said.
Cruz claimed that Michelle did not seek nomination because she “likes to take more than she needs … she likes to fly in a G5 … she likes to party with Oprah Winfrey and George Clooney. She lives the life of a movie star and so decided not to do that [run for office]”.
He added: “She would have been an incredibly dangerous candidate.”
Newsweek reached out to the Obamas’ press office via email for comment on Sunday.
Mandel NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Cruz’ comments come against a backdrop of a recent national poll that shows Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, leading Trump by a 7-point margin.
However, a survey, conducted by Navigator Research between July 31 and August 8, showed Harris and Trump are tied in Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin, while Harris is behind in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Bookmakers Paddypower, Betfair, William Hill and 888.sport are suggesting Trump is the odds-on favorite,
Cruz said that Republicans are fortunate that Michelle did not seek the nomination.
“I’m grateful for America that she did [not run]. She would have been an incredibly dangerous candidate.
“Listening to Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, they may be the two most dangerous demagogues in our country,” he said.
At this year’s Republican convention Cruz emphatically endorsed Trump, insisting only he could “fix” illegal immigration.
Meanwhile Democrats are aiming to unseat Cruz, who narrowly won re-election in Texas in 2018.
He faces stiff opposition from Colin Allred, a rising star of the Democratic party. A poll by YouGov, the University of Houston and the Texas Southern University, suggested Cruz had a narrow 2-point lead over Allred.
“Ted Cruz is a follower trying to feed off the scraps of his leader … he doesn’t get things done. He was one of the architects of the architects of the effort to overturn the 2020 election. He’s dangerous,” Allred told MSNBC Friday.