In January, National Review dedicated an entire edition of its signature publication to bashing Republican Party presidential front-runner Donald Trump.
On Friday, it announced it was endorsing U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) as part of its “anybody but Trump” campaign. The publication, long considered the journal of American conservatism has previously endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and President George W. Bush.
In their endorsement, National Review‘s editors said the Texas senator was “a brilliant and articulate exponent of our views on the full spectrum of issues.” They also lauded his record of defending the Constitution, which they said was the “animating passion” of his political career.
He is a strong believer in the liberating power of free markets, including free trade (notwithstanding the usual rhetorical hedges). His skepticism about “comprehensive immigration reform” is leading him to a realism about the impact of immigration that has been missing from our policymaking and debate. He favors a foreign policy based on a hard-headed assessment of American interests, one that seeks to strengthen our power but is mindful of its limits. He forthrightly defends religious liberty, the right to life of unborn children, and the role of marriage in connecting children to their parents—causes that reduce too many other Republicans to mumbling.
The endorsement is yet another sign the Republican Party establishment is now pinning its hopes of stopping a Donald Trump nomination by backing Cruz. The Texas senator has been imploring conservatives to “coalesce” behind his campaign since his Iowa Caucus win on Feb. 1.
