The remarkable moment upended what was shaping up to be the convention’s most successful night, and overshadowed Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s national convention debut as Trump’s running mate.
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Ted Cruz, R-Tex., speaks during the third day session of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Wednesday, July 20, 2016.
Trump, who will represent the party in the November 8 election against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, made his entrance to the convention hall near the end of Cruz’s speech, applauding Cruz’s remarks but, by his appearance, distracting the crowd from his former rival. With an eye toward 2020, Cruz’s team drafted a convention speech focusing on adherence to the Constitution, a calling card for conservatives and a perceived contrast with Trump.
A former Republican nominee hopeful, Senator Ted Cruz, will address the delegates, and Senator Marco Rubio will appear via video.
Paul Manafort, the chairman of the Trump campaign, said earlier in the night that Cruz was suggesting an endorsement with his speech.
The campaign had hoped Pence’s address would quiet Republican doubts about Trump.
“You know, he doesn’t come out and endorse, which obviously was what everyone in the room was looking for him to do and quite frankly what would have been the right thing for him to do”, Trump said. About half of the crowd stood up and gave him ovations whenever he defended his decision as principled and not personal to Trump. “The only choice is a Trump-Pence Republican ticket”.
The Trump campaign released a statement on the speech after the similarities were uncovered, but the statement did not mention the plagiarism charge.
Ted Cruz, the US senator from Texas, proved with his speech that, like the Republican presidential nominee, he knows how to grab the spotlight by breaking form.
“I’m hopeful it’s a speech that rings so true and so motivating that we think of 1976 and Ronald Reagan”, said Iowa Rep. Steve King, a Cruz supporter. He stood up there in front of thousands of Trump supporters and refused to explicitly endorse Donald Trump.
“It’s either gonna be Hillary Clinton [presumptive Democratic nominee] or it’s gonna be Donald Trump, and we have to decide who we want it to be”, he told Talking Points Memo. “I’m not going to get into criticizing or attacking Donald Trump”.
“Is this going to be a Ted Cruz saying, “Thank you to all my delegates, and by the way, I hate Hillary Clinton”?” said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. It focused on her immigration to the United States and her love for her husband.
Trump and Cruz have had a complicated relationship throughout the presidential campaign.
The Texas senator praised his father at length during his convention speech.
Republicans kept up their harsh attacks on Clinton, painting an apocalyptic vision of America if she should win and aggressively challenged her character.
Trump’s family also kept up their efforts to rebrand the brash candidate as a warm husband and father.
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“From a young age, my parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise, that you treat people with respect”.
