President Barack Obama 'Fights For His Principles': US Sen Ted Cruz

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz may be one of President Barack Obama’s biggest detractors, but he is also an admirer of the president. The Texas Republican is a staunch opponent of anything Obama-related, but even he admitted the nation's chief executive is an admirable man.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Cruz did not hold back on his views about recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions on same-sex marriage and the Affordable Care Act, both of which he called “an assault on democracy.” He claimed that the court justices involved in both majority opinions had “put on an Obama jersey” and forced their rulings on 320 million Americans.

Unsurprisingly, Cruz -- who has declared his candidacy for the GOP's presidential nomination in 2016, infamously spearheaded a nationwide campaign to discredit Obamacare and played a key role in leading a government shutdown in 2013 -- criticized the incumbent administration’s policies. He said Obama’s ideas are “profoundly dangerous,” and are taking away jobs and opportunities from millions of Americans.

“But I admire that he stands and fights for his principles,” Cruz conceded. He admitted that although he doesn’t believe in Obama’s programs, he respects the president for his determination. “I think he believes in all of his heart in his principles. I think he fights for them relentlessly, and if I were a leftist, I would love Barack Obama because he has advanced the left-wing progressive agenda more than any president in history.”

In addition to running for president, the 44-year-old Cruz is promoting his new book “A Time for Truth.” In the same interview, he confessed he was an “arrogant little snob” when he was young and applying for a position on George W. Bush’s presidential campaign in 2000.

He wanted to be like Canadian actor Michael J. Fox in the 1995 political drama “The American President,” but it became clear that he wasn’t going to realize his dreams because he had burned too many bridges at that time. Fox played an assistant to the president (Michael Douglas) in the critically lauded film.

At the moment, Cruz’s presidential chances appear to be slim. According to a Huffington Post poll of GOP candidates, he is in eighth place with support from 4.7 percent of likely voters, behind former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Businessman Donald Trump leads the Republican field, followed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Cruz is also behind in CNN’s poll, averaging support from just 3 percent of voters.