Getty Opinion Donald Trump Isn’t the Biggest Narcissist in the GOP Field. Ted Cruz Is. I know a televangelist candidate when I see one.

Curt Anderson is a partner at OMI, a Republican consulting firm. He was an aide in the Reagan White House, former RNC political director, and strategist for Gov. Jindal’s presidential campaign.

To hear the pundits and experts in Washington tell it, the problem with Ted Cruz is that he doesn’t play well with others in the Senate, he’s too hardheaded and he doesn’t compromise. In other words, he’s exactly what the Republican primary voters want.

On this score, I side with the Republican primary voters. If Cruz’s problem is that he is a conservative who has no regard for senatorial decorum and fights too hard for the right things, I’m all in.


But there is a far bigger problem with Cruz: Donald Trump is not the most self-absorbed Republican running for president—Cruz is. Whether you like Trump or not (and I don’t), at least Trump makes no effort to hide his narcissism. In that sense, Trump is oddly genuine.

Cruz, on the other hand, takes great pains to be whatever he thinks you want him to be. And the troubling thing is he’s really good at it.

Occasionally, he offers a glimpse of his vanity and his need to be loved—such as the hilariously painful 15 hours of B-roll footage his campaign put on the Web for use by his super PACs. My favorite part of that footage is the multiple times he and his family practiced the prayer scene before a meal … once more, with feeling. There is nothing quite as genuine and humble as a rehearsed, made-for-TV prayer.

The other revealing scene is when Cruz is sitting on the couch with his mom and he says, “Not a day goes by that my mom is not lifting me up in prayer.” Then mom agrees saying, “It’s true.” But then, Cruz can’t help himself and he adds, “for hours at a time,” after which mom can’t take it anymore and very tellingly gives us a roll of the eyes that says it all.

My dad was a preacher for 40 years—a great one I might add. He gave me some sage advice: “Never trust a preacher who wears makeup.” There it is. Cruz is the televangelist candidate. (To be clear, not all televangelists are phony, just most of ’em.)

There is no denying that Cruz is a smart and gifted orator. But if you listen closely you will find that he sells everything with the exact same level of zeal. Whether he is condemning the Islamic State or ordering a ham sandwich, the invective is identical. When a speaker oversells everything, it calls everything he says into question, and it begs questions regarding authenticity and genuineness.

And when it comes down to it, Cruz does not stand by all that he so dramatically defends. For example, he proclaims he’s always faithful to the most conservative positions. Yet he found himself in 2013, when the political winds on immigration seemed to be blowing toward a softer approach, including legalization, earnestly advocating for a pathway to legal status for illegal immigrants already in the country.

Similarly, just this week a recording from a private fundraiser in Manhattan reveals Cruz assuring gay rights supporters that he won’t really be a pest on gay marriage.

But Cruz will never tell you he made a mistake or changed his mind. We never see an authentic Cruz because we never see a vulnerable Cruz. He’s perfect—just ask him. He’s pure—just ask him.

Cruz’s view of himself was on full display in the CNBC debate in Colorado in October. All candidates were asked to show some vulnerability by sharing a few thoughts on their biggest weakness. Cruz answered first with a joke by saying, “I’m too agreeable, easygoing.” The crowd chuckled. So far, so good. But then Cruz got down to business, telling the watching nation about his biggest weakness—“You know, I think my biggest weakness is exactly the opposite. I’m a fighter. I am passionate about what I believe. I’ve been passionate my whole life about the Constitution.” There you have it. His biggest weakness is that he is wonderful. Oh, and in that 30-word riff, he managed to use the “I” word five times and “my” twice.

In fact, Cruz has failed in every cause he has championed—and it is never his fault. Failure to defund Planned Parenthood, failure to repeal Obamacare, failure to stop the Iran deal—and the list goes on. That is his Senate career. Of course, all conservatives want these battles to be fought, even if we lose. But it’s not really the issue or the cause that Cruz is championing. No, he just wants to be the one leading the cause—and wants you to see him doing it. Cruz is a perpetual martyr.

To be clear, I have many friends across the country who are conservatives, many of whom are evangelical Christians, as am I. Many of them are either supporting or considering supporting Cruz. Will they and other conservative Republicans fall for the Cruz shtick and propel him to the nomination? I hope not, but they might.

Here’s the problem—our country is in real trouble, this is no time for contrivance and theater, we need authenticity and results. We do not need a leader who loves to play the martyr, because the thing about martyrs is that they always die.