Two years and five months ago, on the day of the Indiana Republican primary that ended his presidential campaign, Ted Cruz unloaded on Donald Trump. It was more than an unloading — Cruz disgorged months of resentment against the man who defeated him and attacked his wife, his father, and his character. Trump was a "pathological liar," Cruz told reporters, a "bully," a "narcissist," an "utterly amoral" man who acted from "a deep yawning cavern of insecurity." Cruz took his anger at Trump to the Republican National Convention and beyond.

By Election Day 2016, Cruz had come to an uneasy support of his party's presidential nominee. And then Trump won. So on Monday night, at the Toyota Center in Houston, there was Cruz, introducing Trump with fulsome praise.

"I'm proud to have worked with President Trump on the biggest tax cut in a generation," Cruz said.

"I'm proud to have worked hand-in-hand with President Trump to repeal job-killing regulations."

"I'm honored that President Trump is here endorsing and supporting my campaign," Cruz declared, "and I look forward to campaigning alongside him in 2020 for his re-election as president of the United States."

Was it hypocrisy? A lack of principles? Plenty of observers would be happy to charge Cruz with those sins and more. But that's not what was going on. Say what you will about Cruz, and Trump, but there could be no greater tribute to the overwhelming power of voters in the American political system than what took place in Houston Monday.

The voters changed Cruz's mind. He represents the voters of Texas, and wants to keep doing so, so he supports the president they support, regardless of the past. It doesn't matter whether Cruz believes what he says deep down. What's more important is his signal that he will do what the voters of Texas want.

Trump recognizes a fellow transactional politician when he sees one. Onstage in Houston, Trump gave a brief history of his relationship with Cruz that was the distilled essence of it's-just-business politics.

"In just 15 days the people of Texas are going to re-elect a man who has become a really good friend of mine," Trump said. "You know, we had our little difficulties."

"But actually, if you remember, in the beginning, it was a love fest," Trump continued, referring to the days in which Cruz chose to wrap his rival Trump in a "bear hug."

Trump recalled that the press saw hypocrisy at work at the time. "Remember, they kept saying, 'Well, when is it going to break up?' I said, 'Don't worry, it'll break up...' And then we said, 'You know, it's time — that's what has to happen.'"

"And it got nasty," Trump said. "And then it ended."

It would be hard to find a more concise telling of the story. In the end, it was just business.

Now, Trump said, he and Cruz get along famously. "Nobody has helped me more with your tax cuts, with your regulations, all of the things we've been doing with your military and your vets than Sen. Ted Cruz," Trump told the crowd.

"He defended your jobs, he defended your borders," Trump said of Cruz. "He defends your families, he defends your faith, and we are defending together, with a lot of other Republicans, your freedom."

Earlier in the day, on the way to Texas, Trump rejected the nickname he gave Cruz during the campaign. "He's not Lyin' Ted anymore," Trump said. "He's Beautiful Ted. I call him Texas Ted."

After a brief scare, Cruz seems to be in control of his re-election race. Cruz has led Democratic rival Beto O'Rourke in all 17 of the polls in the RealClearPolitics average of polls dating back to April. But in August, things got a little close, and the White House made plans for the president to visit Texas on Cruz's behalf.

Lately, Cruz has been back up. In the last three surveys, by CNN, the New York Times, and Quinnipiac, Cruz has led O'Rourke by seven, eight, and nine points, respectively.

The man who came up with "Lyin' Ted" turned his sights on O'Rourke Monday night. "Ted's opponent in this race is a stone-cold phony named Robert Francis O'Rourke, sometimes referred to as 'Beto,'" Trump told the crowd. "He pretends to be a moderate, but he's actually a radical, open-borders left-winger."

Does anyone think the phrase "stone-cold phony" might occasionally reappear in the campaign between now and election day, courtesy of the president?

Monday night's rally marked another stage in the relationship between Trump and Cruz. They have been through a lot, openly loathed each other, and are now virtually composing love songs for each other. Who cares what they really think? The voters made it happen.