“He has been very supportive, he has not been a sniper like so many of the others have,” Trump said. “And he has been very supportive of the positions I’ve taken, agreed with the wall [on the border] on illegal immigration, he didn’t try to make points by sniping…I always liked him. There’s a very strong mutual respect.”

The relationship has not always been sunny. On the day that Cruz announced for president, Trump — to the chagrin of at least one associate who wanted to keep the Cruz campaign close – was still questioning whether the senator, who was born in Canada to an American-born mother, had sufficiently resolved citizenship issues in order to run for president (Cruz, who at one point had dual citizenship, has formally renounced his Canadian citizenship)…

“This is a campaign for the nomination of president of the United States of America, for the Republican Party,” the adviser said. “The idea that somehow there’s something unseemly about trying to win over other people’s voters — that’s silly. Of course we’re trying to win over their voters, they’re trying to win over our voters, that’s the whole game, that’s the whole process. The idea that this is a sneaky way to win over Trump’s voters is a silly assertion. This is a campaign competing for the same voters.”

Since Trump tends to shed light on issues that are in Cruz’s wheelhouse — like illegal immigration — he attracts the attention of voters who might otherwise be tuning out but who could be receptive to Cruz’s message, the Cruz adviser said. All of those things add up to making the public relationship with Trump beneficial for the senator.