“A lot of people are talking”, said Artemio “Temo” Muniz, head of the Texas Federation for Hispanic Republicans. Because Ted Cruz has decided that he knows better?
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Ivanka Trump introduced her father, Donald J. Trump, on the final night of the Republican National Convention, referencing his construction experience as credentials for the presidency. Other than being a minor annoyance for Trump, Cruz’s speech was wholly unremarkable, platitudes delivered in his typical male-lead-in-a-high-school-play style.
Isn’t he an example to every fair-minded Republican? “Good news is that Melania’s speech got more publicity than any in the history of politics especially if you believe that all press is good press”, he tweeted on Wednesday, when the controversy over copied portions of his wife’s speech was still swirling.
Former primary opponent John Kasich is in the state, because he’s the governor, and won’t go anywhere near the convention hall. That’s not courage. If it wasn’t clear before Trump took over that the Republican Party lacks leaders, the problem is glaring under the light of the massive plasma screens adorning the stage in Cleveland.
But on Thursday, she heralded his speech as “arguably the most consequential convention speech of any non-winner since Sen”. Cruz not only wants to overturn marriage equality, he proposed federally invalidating existing same-sex marriages. “I think he committed political suicide”. “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”.
So I fear, Trump wins. A voice that will tell the truth rather than subtle lies couched as political correctness.
Eight years ago, Mrs. Obama said: “And Barack and I were raised with so numerous same values: like, you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond, that you do what you say you’re going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect”.
Cruz’s reasons for stinking up the party last night are incredibly petty.
A man badly in need of a big moment, Donald Trump on Thursday faced the most important speech of his presidential campaign, a last chance to make his case to skeptics at a convention marked by divided loyalties and unwanted distractions.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, a reluctant Trump backer, praised NATO’s role in the world and said he hoped the comments were only “a rookie mistake”.
Trump said some bad things during the primary. Cruz spent the entire second half of 2015 obsequiously hyping Trump’s candidacy because he assumed it would collapse and all those Trump supporters would migrate to Team Cruz.
During the campaign, Trump repeatedly mocked Cruz as “Lyin’ Ted”, and took jabs at the appearance of his wife, a Goldman Sachs executive.
The point is, Cruz’s protest is too small to make a difference.
When asked whether he’d bring up some of his more controversial proposals, like his call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the USA and a wall between the US and Mexico, Trump wouldn’t reveal specifics except to say, “You’ll be hearing things tomorrow”.
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The drama is only magnified by the presence of about 15,000 journalists, outnumbering delegates about 6-1, but it does reflect genuine fissures within the party, not just on Cruz’s party but by the shunning of the convention by establishment figures and the past nominee, Mitt Romney.
