After withholding an endorsement of Donald Trump in his convention address Wednesday night, Texas Sen.
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While Cruz remained steadfast in his decision not to endorse Trump, he emphasized that he did not attack the nominee either.
“I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father”, Cruz said.
During their vicious contest, Trump re-tweeted an unflattering picture of Cruz’s wife Heidi Cruz and even suggested that the senator’s dad was somehow involved in JFK’s assassination. He explained how the United States could flourish once Democrats, such as current U.S. President Barack Obama and Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton, stepped down.
“It’s just probably unfortunate timing, because Secret Service sort of herds the president, and he got there and they tried to get him into his seat as quick as possible”, said Texas delegate Brian McAuliffe. If we don’t honor freedom and if we don’t honor the Constitution, if we can’t convince the American people that our candidate can be trusted to defend the Constitution, then we will lose and we will deserve to lose.
Instead, what he sought to do Wednesday evening was “lay out the principles I believe we should stand for as Republicans”.
“Sen. Cruz, a strict constitutionalist, chose not to accept the strict terms of the pledge that he signed”, Manafort said Thursday.
Wednesday was supposed to be Mike Pence’s night but Ted Cruz’s lack of endorsement stole the show: He was the top most searched speaker.
Former House Speaker John Boehner of OH, who had compared Cruz to the devil, responded by remarking: “Lucifer is back”, his spokesman said on Twitter. Cruz left the stage to a chorus of boos while his wife Heidi needed security’s help leaving the arena as Trump supporters heckled. “I promise you, I was not eager to do this”, Cruz said.
“He’s very self-absorbed, he’s a narcissist and the rest of America now knows the Ted Cruz we know and I think he’s ended his political career”, said Rep. Chris Collins of NY, a leading Trump backer.
Perhaps in his acceptance speech tonight, Trump will find a way to bind up the wounds of his party after last night’s mini civil war.
Cruz took about a dozen questions here at what was originally scheduled to be a fairly traditional delegation breakfast.
To a heckler who made crying motions at him from the back of the room, Cruz responded that he “hopes you have a similar view if someone attacked your wife and father”.
“I expect to hear Trump build on the messages of the last several days and look towards the general election now”, Grabins said.
And yet some in the Texas delegation, a majority of whom supported Cruz, angrily challenged the senator to publicly get behind Trump. I saw his speech two hours early but let him speak anyway.
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“I recognize there are some folks here and elsewhere at the convention who are not happy with me”, Cruz said, taking the stage.
