Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump will both appear together at a rally against the Iranian nuclear deal on Capitol Hill in September, according to reports on Thursday.
The rally, organized with help from Cruz’s office and Tea Party activists, is expected to draw Jewish, Christian Zionist, and national security groups from around the country. Cruz reportedly reached out to Trump to ask him to attend:
Trump, the Republican front-runner by far, announced the event during a 45-minute speech in South Carolina. Cruz aides said the Texas senator extended the invitation to the billionaire developer ahead of Congress' vote on the accord in mid-September.
Cruz's campaign statement said the event is sponsored by Tea Party Patriots, the Center for Security Policy and the Zionist Organization of America.
The rally is scheduled for Sept. 9. It will follow another protest next Tuesday against the Iran deal in New York City in front of Democratic Sen. Kirsen Gillibrand’s office, which will feature speeches from Republican presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), former Sen. Joe Lieberman, historian and scholar Michael Ledeen, and former CIA director James Woolsey.
Gillibrand recently announced her support for the Iran deal, breaking with fellow New York Democratic colleague Sen. Chuck Schumer, who said he opposes it. An estimated 10,000 protesters flooded Times Square in July to call on Schumer to come out against the nuclear agreement.