But instead of endorsing Trump by name, Cruz called on voters to not stay home in November.
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“I’m not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father”, Cruz said as applause built.
The political firestorm that Cruz ignited on Wednesday evening grew even hotter here in the downtown Marriott, as speaker after speaker pleaded for Cruz to honor his word and back the Republican nominee.
Paul Manafort told NBC’s “Today” Thursday that Trump invited his primary opponents to address the convention in Cleveland because “he views the primary process as over”.
“It was Hillary Clinton who instigated the president’s disastrous agreement with the radical mullahs in Iran”, Pence said. “Until now, he’s had to do it all by himself against all odds, but this week, with this united party, he’s got backup”.
Pence told Fox News that a Trump administration would tell US allies “the time has come for them and for their citizens to begin to carry the financial costs of these global obligations”.
Manafort added that the Republican Party is coming together, despite the Texas senator’s failure to endorse Trump during his primetime address late Wednesday. Unlike the celebrity businessman, Pence is an experienced politician, favorite of conservatives and ally of party leaders.
“Stand and speak and vote your conscience”, Cruz said.
“Ted Cruz said you can vote your conscience for anyone who will uphold the Constitution”, he said. During the speech, Cruz did not endorse Republican Nominee Donald Trump.
Cruz was met with a prolonged standing ovation while walking on stage to give his speech where he also highlighted the fact Trump has insulted him on multiple occasions, while Cruz has kept it as professional as possible, turning to the crowd he asked if they could see Trump answering questions from the media in a professional light, and the crowd responded with a few boos and claps. “Stand and speak, and vote your conscience”.
Two other failed Republican presidential candidates, Florida Sen. Still, Walker suggested he was driven as much by a desire to keep Clinton out of the White House as admiration for his party’s nominee.
But Trump said later on Twitter that Cruz’s lack of an endorsement was “no big deal!”
Lynne Patton, a longtime Trump employee, spoke movingly about the businessman’s strong family. He said it’s “terrific” that McIver, who is an employee of the Trump Organization, admitted inadvertently lifting the first lady’s phrasing from her 2008 convention speech word-for-word. After 36 hours of denials, the campaign moved to put the matter to rest Wednesday, releasing a statement from a speechwriter who took blame for including lines from a Michelle Obama speech in the remarks.
Trump and Cruz have had a complicated relationship throughout the presidential campaign. He and other Republican delegates want Trump to share details on terrorism, immigration, and jobs.
But as Trump rattled off primary wins, tensions rose between the candidates.
For two days, the Trump campaign tried to brush aside any talk of plagiarism, calling the criticism absurd.
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Some of that support wasn’t exactly felt Wednesday night when Senator Ted Cruz spoke.
