❓WHAT HAPPENED: Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is contemplating a run for the presidency in 2028, likely contending against Vice President J.D. Vance.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Ted Cruz, J.D. Vance, and Morton Klein of the Zionist Organization of America.
📍WHEN & WHERE: December 2025, Washington, D.C.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I just don’t understand what the platform would be,” said Hal Lambert, a GOP donor who helped organize Cruz’s 2016 presidential bid, of a potential rerun in 2028.
🎯IMPACT: The potential 2028 GOP primary could become a battleground over the party’s identity, with Cruz challenging the influence of figures like Carlson.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has reportedly told Morton Klein, the president of the Zionist Organization of America, that he is considering a run for the presidency in 2028, after the latter held a meeting with him to discuss “Jew hatred and Israel bashing” on the right. This would likely pit Cruz against Vice President J.D. Vance, who has said he will discuss a potential 2028 run with President Donald J. Trump after the midterms.
Cruz recently clashed publicly with influential conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, who has become increasingly skeptical of Israel since his ouster at Fox News. Cruz has accused Carlson of having “decided Jews are the source of all evil in the world,” and has been pushing the GOP to support Israel more uncritically in general. These moves suggest any 2028 bid may focus on a return to an unconditionally pro-Israel, neoconservative-type foreign policy. Notably, Cruz has faulted Vance, who said he regards Carlson as a friend despite some disagreements over the weekend, as overly isolationist on foreign affairs.
Last month, reports suggested the Trump administration was frustrated with Cruz for using his position in Congress to disrupt aspects of the Trump agenda, such as appointments. “The roadblocks that Ted is putting up in front of the President’s nominee for NASA administrator… only serve as a desperate attempt to relaunch a political career as a protest candidate,” a source said, adding that “Ted has been terribly unserious as of late.”
There is some question as to who Cruz’s 2028 constituency would be, however, with Hal Lambert, a GOP donor who helped to organize his 2016 run, saying, “I just don’t understand what the platform would be.”
Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.