Former Candidates Step Back Into the Spotlight With Hints and Regrets

Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Marco Rubio have all spoken out this week.

ByABC News
May 17, 2016, 2:58 PM

— -- Just two weeks ago, there was an active fight going on for the Republican presidential nomination.

Then the next day, two of the three candidates dropped out and effectively left Donald Trump as the presumptive nominee.

Now those two men, Gov. John Kasich and Sen. Ted Cruz, have made their first forays back into the public eye.

Cruz Teases His Next Steps

The Texas senator released a nearly five-and-a-half minute video, which starts out with Cruz's campaign manager, Jeff Roe, giving something similar to the speech a coach would give to a losing team after a tough defeat.

"Ted Cruz didn't lose — our campaign for president lost," Roe says, in footage that was recorded at campaign staffers' last meeting before Cruz suspended his bid.

The video's combination of inspirational words and mellow instrumental soundtrack makes the video seem straight out of the "Friday Night Lights" playbook. (Earlier in his campaign, the band responsible for much of the TV show's soundtrack, Explosions in the Sky, had issues when Cruz used its music for his commercials without permission.)

Cruz later takes over the Coach Taylor role.

"At the end of the day, you will look at the mirror and be proud of having been part of this team," Cruz says.

PHOTO: The end of video put out by former Republican Presidential candidate Ted Cruz, states "To Be Continued."
The end of video put out by former Republican Presidential candidate Ted Cruz, states "To Be Continued" and is titled, "No Regrets."

As the music crescendoes, the video closes with footage of Cruz's bus driving away, and then the screen goes black, with the words "To be continued."

Cruz has filed paperwork to run for re-election to the Senate in 2018. His remarks during that final campaign meeting, however, could show that he still has his eye on a bigger prize: Cruz referred to how Ronald Reagan "in 1976 came up short" in the presidential primaries against Gerald Ford, then ran again in 1980 and won.

Kasich Passes on Both Third Party Run and VP

The Ohio governor sat down for a televised interview with CNN on Monday and opened up about how he is still uncertain whether he will be able to support Trump.

Asked about the speculation that he could be on Trump's vice presidential shortlist, Kaisch said that he is "not inclined" to run with Trump. "It would be very hard for me — unless he were to change all of his views and become a uniter — for me to get in the middle of this thing," Kasich said.

He also said he doesn't plan to re-enter the race as a third-party candidate, saying that such a move "would be viewed as kind of a silly thing ... and I don't think it's appropriate."

Marco Rubio Reappears

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has remained largely mum since leaving the race after losing the Florida primary to Trump on March 15, but that changed Tuesday night.

Rubio posted a series of tweets blasting "unnamed sources" quoted in various recent articles speaking about his plans for the future even though, Rubio said, there was no truth to their claims.

During the evening Twitter tirade, Rubio reiterated that he does not plan to run for Senate again (his term is up in January 2017), but he didn't quell speculation beyond that.

ABC News' Jessica Hopper contributed to this story.