Trump, a NY businessman who has never held public office, is expected to face off in the November 8 presidential election against Clinton, 68, a former secretary of state who is expected to secure the Democratic nomination at a party convention next week in Philadelphia. For the third night in a row, contrary to precedent, Donald Trump appeared at the convention before he formally accepts his party’s nomination on the fourth night.
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But by the end, delegates were booing him, booing the Texas delegation, and shouting out for Trump. “And like each of you, I want to see the principles that our party believes prevail in November”, Cruz said. Instead he urged everyone to vote their conscience. “Stand, and speak, and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution”. The crowd seemed to fall under his spell, and Cruz threatened to capture the evening.
Earlier in the day, just as Cruz admitted that the Republican Party “now has a nominee” that was not himself, Trump’s plane did a flyover of his event, silencing the booing crowd. Cruz powered through, but much of the crowd wasn’t listening. Increasingly, there were boos.
Cruz quipped in response.
“The media is spending more time doing a forensic analysis of Melania’s speech than the Federal Bureau of Investigation spent on Hillary’s emails”, Trump said in a tweet.
She said Melania Trump had read passages from Michelle Obama’s speech to the 2008 Democratic National Convention over the phone to her as examples. Many of his own own backers, however, remain uneasy about Trump.
But as it was clear Cruz was wrapping up his speech without endorsing Trump, delegates began to boo and some chanted “We want Trump!”
And really, it should all be no surprise. There were seriously hard feelings during and after the GOP primary. Trump insulted the appearance of Cruz’s wife, threatened to “spill the beans” on her and even referenced a tabloid report that Cruz’s father might have been involved in the Kennedy assassination.
He refrained from mentioning Trump’s name.
“There’s a lot of talk about unity”, the ultra-conservative told his loyalists. “Leave Heidi the hell alone”. “I’m sorry you can’t make a mistake like that and then lie about it and then lie about lying about it”. “They may have different personalities but they have similar visions”, he told reporters on Wednesday.
Cruz is eager to be seen as the face of the modern conservative movement should Trump lose in November and create an open GOP field in four years.
The Texas senator tried his best to ignore the chanting, and at one point ad-libbed that he “appreciated the enthusiasm” of delegates from Trump’s home state of NY.
Though it’s unclear if Mr Cruz will endorse Mr Trump in his address, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson – two former presidential candidates – have called on Mr Cruz to endorse the billionaire. And Cruz stuck to his prepared text which was released by the RNC under embargo well ahead of his speech.
Police quickly extinguished the fires, including at least one started by a woman whom officers grabbed from behind and kept on the ground.
However, he added, “we’re going to unite the party with or without Ted Cruz”.
Trump has reviewed previous presidential convention speeches and found the speech Richard Nixon delivered at the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami Beach to be relevant to today, Manafort said.
But Cruz had to know how his words could be interpreted. “2020!” – when, if all goes as Trump hopes, the Manhattan business mogul would be seeking a second White House term.
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It was a stunning bit of political theater – and in a convention filled with plenty of distractions, it threatens to be a definitive one.
