Ted Cruz is trying to rebrand, mostly by being a whole lot nicer

Ted Cruz.
(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

With his state devastated from Hurricane Harvey and a re-election race on the horizon next year, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is rethinking his brand, The New York Times reported Friday. The man who once voted against a relief measure after 2012's Hurricane Sandy is now talking about "unity," "love," and "compassion"; helping families tear drywall out of their flood-ruined homes; and standing in awe at the Coast Guard's strength:

"Almost every one of them ripped," he marveled on the Senate floor, holding for dramatic pauses pregnant enough to require bed rest. "These are guys that know their way around a weight room."He has served chili to the suddenly homeless inside a Houston convention center, wearing a hairnet that aides quickly insisted he cover with a baseball cap. He has embraced congregants at a black church in Port Arthur. He has hugged liberally. [The New York Times]

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