Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Thursday faced a blowtorch of criticism after he first spoke at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland Wednesday night and did not endorse the party’s nominee, Donald Trump, then doubled down in a meeting with the Texas delegation.
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Huckabee also said it was a mistake for the Trump campaign to allow Cruz to speak, when it knew he would not offer his support.
He said Cruz missed an opportunity to be diplomatic. “Susan doesn’t mince words”, said Olga Farnham, an alternate delegate from Snohomish, who said she was surprised by Cruz’s speech.
During the primary season, Cruz, along with every GOP candidate, pledged to support the party’s eventual nominee.
Some of the delegates there yesterday, incidentally, told me that they would support Trump in the general, even though they had supported Cruz in the primary; some may have been taken aback by his remarks last night, but most warmly applauded his very similar remarks yesterday afternoon.
“In the end, each individual has a duty to the nation that transcends the duty to yourself, and that’s where I think he failed”, Black told CNN. “I don’t intend to say negative things about Donald Trump”, said Cruz.
Both the Trump campaign and GOP establishment figures have rebuked Cruz for his speech.
Cruz said he had been very clear about his intention to the Trump campaign, even telling Trump he would not endorse him in a conversation before the convention and letting the campaign read his speech hours before. Ted Cruz’s refusal to endorse Donald Trump a political faux pas.
“He’s a chicken”, said Eugene Delgaudio, a delegate from Sterling, Virginia, who clucked like a chicken when asked about Cruz’s decision.
Hutchison’s comments could prove awkward, as many in Washington’s delegation to the RNC are ardent backers of Cruz.
Campbell, who has written the upcoming book “Polarized: Making Sense of a Divided America”, said Trump’s speech tonight “must do what he can to undo the damage of his nomination campaign”.
“Stand, and speak, and vote your conscience”, he said. “I can tell you I am not going to vote for Hillary”, he replied.
“Anybody that has any brain power at all is gonna get behind the Trump train”, said the member of the Texas delegation.
Behind Ted Cruz’s ultimate snub.
“I appreciate the enthusiasm of the NY delegation”, Cruz responded.
But comments by Trump to the New York Times raised fresh questions about his commitment to automatically defend fellow North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members if they were attacked. “I promise you, I was not eager to do this”, Cruz said.
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Walker said Thursday during an interview on WTMJ-AM that he hopes Trump’s camp will stop criticizing fellow Republicans – such as Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who won’t endorse Trump and did not attend the convention – and instead focus on Clinton.
