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Former GE CEO Jack Welch says he's a Ted Cruz guy.
"Love him," the retired businessman said Thursday on FOX and Friends about Sen. Cruz (R-Texas).
"He says what he's going to do, he does it, he's highly principled. He's a guy you can trust."
Welch, 79, added that Cruz is "as smart as a whip and he's a good bet on right now," in another interview Thursday with FOX News host Neil Cavuto.
Welch weighed in on players in the 2016 presidential race on Thursday as he promoted his new book, "The Real-Life MBA," which was co-authored with his wife Suzy Welch.
She joined her husband in the Cavuto interview but sounded less enthusiastic about jumping on the Cruz bandwagon.
"I've met Ted Cruz and I like him. I actually want to see more, I want to see the debates, I want to learn more, I want to learn more about Rubio. I'm not yet where Jack is," she told Cavuto.
The former GE head, who supported Mitt Romney in 2012, did offer Cruz some advice as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination.
"I want Ted Cruz to smile more because he's a hell of a good guy. He's a great guy .... Ronald Reagan had that touch and Ted Cruz is going to develop it, hopefully."
Here's what Jack Welch had to say about the declared presidential candidates on FOX and Friends:
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida): "I don't know a lot. I like his ability to articulate issues. I don't know what his position is on, in the book we talk about truth and trust as a leadership issue, people who say what they're going to do and then do it and so, I have some concerns about where he is on immigration and how he feels about it."
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D): "Again I don't know her well. I don't know her leadership style. I'm not going to vote for her. I leave the Democratic party to decide whether she qualifies for the truth and trust issue."
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky): "Again I don't like the fact that he was one way with the wind on foreign policy and now he's back the other way."
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas): "Love him. He says what he's going to do, he does it, he's highly principled. He's a guy you can trust."