HOUSTON - US President Donald Trump set aside his old feud with Senator Ted Cruz on Monday and headlined a packed rally to help the fellow Republican in his tight race in Texas with rising Democratic star Beto O'Rourke just two weeks before the Nov. 6 elections.
During the 2016 campaign when both were competing for the Republican presidential nomination, the race grew bitter at times, with Trump dubbing Cruz "Lyin' Ted" and Cruz calling Trump a "sniveling coward."
Monday's rally in Houston was the first time Trump threw all his muscle into helping Cruz fend off O'Rourke, even though Cruz has opened a lead in opinion polls on O'Rourke.
"God bless Texas, and God bless President Donald Trump," Cruz said in opening remarks at a jammed Toyota Center arena.