In a dramatic development, as Cruz wrapped up his speech, Trump suddenly appeared in the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, walking to join his family in a VIP area, in a gesture that transmitted clear anger at the Texas senator’s behavior.
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Cruz stuck very closely to his prepared remarks, and much of his speech stuck very closely to the party’s post-2012 “autopsy report” that analysed where Republicans went wrong the year Mitt Romney lost the election.
As Cruz sought to finish his speech without an endorsement, the crowd erupted in fury in an extraordinary scene on the floor. Ted Cruz said at the top of his speech on Day 3 of the RNC. He named the NY real estate mogul only once in his entire speech, and that was to say only “I congratulate Donald Trump on winning the nomination”.
As if to punctuate his own bitter whining over losing, Cruz actually told conventioneers that NY is different from Iowa, reviving the major theme of his losing campaign against Trump.
The New York businessman denigrated the looks of Heidi Cruz and appeared to endorse a conspiracy theory that implicated Cruz’s father in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He said Trump builds giant buildings on which he puts his name because of a “yawning cavern of insecurity”. He says Hillary Clinton is a crooked liar and needs to be in prison. In a show of unity, he is being introduced by House Speaker Paul Ryan, a lukewarm Trump supporter, and lay out his reasons for partnering with the celebrity businessman who is in many ways his opposite.
[Photo by Mark J. Terrill/AP Images] It is being called a move by Trump that was anything but a coincidence. Instead, Cruz appeared to leave his options open without directly endorsing Trump.
On Wednesday, Trump arrived to the Cleveland hall via helicopter.
Heading into the night, Trump’s campaign was still hoping to overshadow the controversy surrounding Melania Trump’s plagiarized speech from her Monday night address.
McIver said she offered her resignation to Trump and his family, and they rejected it.
The campaign recovered somewhat from its rocky start on Tuesday night, after a strong performance by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who fired up the crowd with a mock trial of Hillary Clinton.
But divisions carved in the GOP by Trump’s barnstorming primary run are still apparent.
It was the last time he mentioned the GOP nominee.
Sources also told CNN’s Dana Bash that a state Republican Party chairman reacted to Cruz so angrily after the speech, that he had to be physically restrained. It was unclear whether or not Cruz would formally endorse Trump, now the official GOP nominee, during his speech. Whatever the point, Trump did nothing to earn Cruz’s support. Many of his own own backers, however, remain uneasy about Trump.
It would have been humiliating for the Texas Senator if he had been listening.
“That was pretty well orchestrated”, Cruz quipped.
Later, former House speaker Newt Gingrich tried to calm down delegates by saying that some had “misunderstood” Cruz. But it is still possible that he could come up with some kind of rhetorical formulation that allows him to maintain his balance on the political tightrope that the evening represents.
Several arrests were also made Wednesday afternoon right outside the convention. Two of Trump’s other vanquished primary rivals – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Florida Sen.
Trump’s son Eric Trump was next to take the stage.
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Trump’s children are playing an increasingly important role in shaping their father’s image in public and are potent forces in his political operation behind the scenes. “And quite frankly friends, vote for the one candidate that does not need this job”. Of course, even if these two scenarios come to pass, Republicans might never forgive him for refusing to endorse Trump and will pass him by for some other savior.
