Ted Cruz's decision to throw in the towel Tuesday night came as a big surprise to both Donald Trump and Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus.
"He was a very tough competitor. I said that last night. I was surprised he left, actually," Trump said during a Wednesday phone interview with Fox News's
"Fox & Friends."
"He did the right thing for himself, his family and the party."
And, extending an olive branch, Trump said of his "Lyin' Ted" nickname for the Texas senator, "We will now put that aside."
Priebus, appearing on CNN's
"New Day" program, said he also didn't expect Cruz to call it a day in the race for the GOP presidential nomination.
"I was surprised, and that's a hard thing to do," Priebus said. "He ran a very, very serious operation, just an incredible ground game, his delegate operation was just unbelievable, and I was surprised."
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