The morning after Ted Cruz was booed during a speech in which he declined to endorse Donald Trump, the Texas senator is addressing his home-state delegation and has drawn significant media attention. Trump insulted the appearance of Cruz’s wife, Heidi.
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“And that pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you go and slander and attack Heidi, I’m going to nonetheless come like a servile puppy dog and say thank you very much for maligning my wife and my father”, he added.
It took GOP presidential runner-up Ted Cruz only a few moments to mention the man who beat him.
But Cruz delegate Dalton Glasscock of Wichita texted that the Texas senator showed “True leadership”. That included tweeting an unflattering photo of Cruz’s wife and alleging without any firm basis that Cruz’s father, Rafael, was involved in the plot to assassinate President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
“I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father”, he said Thursday morning when asked if he planned to honour a pledge to support the GOP nominee, which will officially become Trump on Thursday night.
As he appeared on stage on Wednesday night, Cruz basked in a minute-long standing ovation. Sure, both individuals like to sing at inopportune times, but at least Cruz isn’t willing to sing on Trump’s command.
Cruz didn’t tell the convention crowd that he plans to vote for Trump. He endorsed Florida Sen.
Interrupted by chants of “Trump, Trump, Trump”, Cruz paused and said with a smile, “I appreciate the enthusiasm of the NY delegation”.
“Cruz not endorsing amounts to political suicide”, said Keith Best, an alternate delegate attending the convention from Brantwood. “People understand this. That’s why they came out in unprecedented numbers all across America and voted for Mr. Trump”. “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”.
Trump’s speech will close out a four-day conclave in Cleveland that exposed continuing divisions among Republicans over their nominee at a time when they need to unite for a looming battle against Democrat Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the November 8 election. “I don’t intend to say negative things about Donald Trump”, said Cruz. He said Republican voters across the nation have spoken.
Republican candidates had pledged during the primary contests to support the party’s eventual nominee.
Alternate delegate Sue Lynch called Cruz a “sore loser” who embarrassed the party. “It’s never fun to see a friend have a mixed reaction or get booed but I think he did what he needed to do”.
“If we’re not going to do that, why do we have elections?” Paul Krugman, economist and Nobel laureate, claimed that Ted Cruz was the only “major Republican figure whose dignity is still intact”.
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“This is the type of person Cruz is”, Macy said.
