Ted Cruz’s Word of the Day: ‘Imagine’
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Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call(LYNCHBURG, Va.) — Speaking before thousands of students packed into a sports arena Monday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz formally announced his presidential campaign in a speech that amounted to a political sermon of sorts.
“I believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives rising up to reignite the promise of America, and that is why today I am announcing that I’m running for president of the United States,” Cruz said at Liberty University Monday.
The word of the day for Cruz was “imagine” — using the word 38 times to paint a picture of the president he would be.
“I want to ask each of you to imagine, imagine millions of courageous conservatives, all across America, rising up together to say in unison ‘we demand our liberty,’” he said.
Cruz, 44, asked students to “imagine” a president that would repeal the Affordable Care Act and halt President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. But the biggest applause line of the day at the Christian university came when the Republican talked about his support for Israel.
“Instead of a president who boycotts Prime Minister Netanyahu, imagine a president who stands unapologetically with the nation of Israel,” Cruz said, prompting the crowd to chant “USA, USA.”
Sitting just off stage was Cruz’s family — his wife Heidi and two daughters Catherine and Caroline. He was also joined by his mother and his father, Rafael Cruz, who fled Cuba in the 1950s.
Cruz’s entrance in the race makes him the first major candidate to officially declare for 2016.
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