Ted Cruz formally
named Carly Fiorina as his vice presidential running mate Wednesday -- a
last-ditch move to regain momentum after being mathematically eliminated from
winning the GOP presidential nomination outright.
"After a great deal of
consideration and prayer, I have come to the conclusion that if I am nominated
to be president of the United States that I will run on a ticket with my vice
presidential nominee Carly Fiorina," Cruz said during a rally in
Indianapolis.
Fiorina joined the Texas senator on
stage, and Cruz's staff changed the podium in between Cruz and Fiorina's
remarks to display a new logo featuring both their names.
"Ted could not be more right in
what he said: There is a lot at stake, and in fact, this is a fight, this is a
fight for the soul of our party and the future of our nation," Fiorina
said. "I've had tough fights all my life. Tough fights don't worry me a
bit."
Fiorina told CNN in an interview the
"real formal final conversation" between the two of them regarding
the vice presidential decision happened Tuesday.
"Everything
about this campaign, everything about this election, is unprecedented,"
Fiorina said. "Let's face it, these are unprecedented times, we face
unprecedented challenges and dangers. I think this is a confident leader who
knows what he wants to do for this nation and who wants the nation to
understand who he is, what he believes and who he wants by his side to fight
this fight on behalf of the American people."
Cruz is trying to
recapture the narrative and keep himself relevant after Trump seized momentum
in the 2016 race with a sweep of all five East Coast states on Tuesday, which
puts him closer to having enough delegates to win the Republican nomination.
The unusual move from the Cruz campaign also comes just hours after the
billionaire businessman, who is trying to look like the presumptive nominee,
gave a high-profile
scripted speech on foreign policy.
Indiana votes
Tuesday in the next GOP contest. Cruz must have a strong showing in the Hoosier
State to help block Trump from securing the 1,237 delegates necessary to win
the nomination, and keep alive his hopes of a
contested Republican National Convention.
During her remarks
Wednesday, Fiorina described how she had grown close to the Cruz family since
endorsing his presidential bid, including singing a few bars from an original
song describing her affection for Cruz's daughters.
"I have
watched Ted and Heidi: They are partners, they're a couple that rely on each
other," Fiorina said.
Trump responded to
the news of Fiorina's selection in typical fashion -- using a tweet, which featured a clip of Fiorina
criticizing Cruz on CNN earlier this year.
"Ted Cruz is
just like any other politician; he says whatever he needs to say to get
elected," Fiorina says in the four-second clip. Trump's tweet included the
caption, "Agreed!"
Agreed! pic.twitter.com/biyldP3CIw
— Donald J. Trump
(@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2016
Trump later called
the pick "a desperate attempt to save a failing campaign by an all talk,
no action politician."
"The people of
Indiana are very smart -- they will see through this just like they saw through
the already failed Kasich alliance," Trump said in a statement. "Cruz
has no path to victory -- he is only trying to stay relevant."
Fiorina built her
ill-fated presidential bid around her business experience as former president of
Hewlett-Packard, a company she led from 1999 to 2005. She also ran for Senate
in California in 2010 against Democrat Barbara Boxer. But during her tenure at
HP, she led a divisive merger with Compaq and criticism of her leadership of
the company was a key focus of Boxer's effective campaign against Fiorina.
Fiorina frequently
sparred with Trump during the primary. Trump was quoted in a Rolling Stone
profile as complaining about Fiorina's looks when she appeared on the
television he was watching, saying, "Look at that face!"
Trump later argued
he was referring to her "persona."
She turned the
attack into an asset, calmly responding to Trump during a CNN Republican
debate, that she believed "every woman" in America knew what Trump
was referring to in his Rolling Stone comments.
Cruz referenced the
incident during his comments Wednesday.
"I have seen
her day in, day out, on the campaign bus, going from stop to stop to stop that
she is careful, she is measured, she is serious, she doesn't get overly
excited, she doesn't get rattled by whatever is thrown at her," Cruz said.
"And you know, we all saw that when in one of the earliest debates, Carly
confronted Donald Trump, a man who in his characteristic understatement said of
her: 'Look at that face.'"
Fiorina revived her
attack of Trump in her interview with CNN, referencing comments the billionaire
said Tuesday night claiming Hillary Clinton would not be doing as well if she
were not a woman.
"Look, I
disagree with Hillary Clinton on every issue," Fiorina said. "That is
why she cannot be president of the United States. I am very proud to be a
woman. But I would never ask people to vote for me because I'm a woman. Ted
Cruz didn't pick me because I'm a woman, Ted Cruz picked me because I'm a
capable individual. Donald Trump's comments on women are frequently things I
find either irrelevant or offensive."
Typically,
candidates do not name vice presidential picks until after they are the
presumptive nominee and soon before the convention. But Cruz is pinning his
hopes on a contested GOP convention -- and after a disastrous two weeks of
Northeast contests where Cruz netted just five delegates.
Fiorina also spent
much of her time on the trail attacking Democratic front-runner Clinton,
drawing a contrast with the former secretary of state as the only woman on the
Republican side. Cruz has highlighted that tactic on the trail with Fiorina,
saying Clinton would be terrified of Fiorina.
Fiorina has
been a regular -- and popular -- presence on the Cruz campaign trail in recent
weeks since she
endorsed the Texas senator in early March. And the Cruz campaign may
see her California roots as an asset ahead of that state's primary on June 7.
Vice presidential
speculation heated up this week after Cruz confirmed his campaign was vetting
Fiorina as a running mate. Fiorina is well-liked by Cruz's staff and has
campaigned with him more than any other surrogate, and has spoken for him with
reporters.
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