Ironically, three days into the convention, even party unity still remains elusive despite Republican presidential nominee for 2016 US election Donald Trump’s effort to put on a unity show. “To those listening, please, don’t stay home in November”, he said. “If you love your country, 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”.
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Ted Cruz got booed off the stage Wednesday night.
Trump created his own distraction toward the end of Cruz’s speech by entering the family box as the Texas senator wrapped up.
Pence is heartily on board the Trump bandwagon; Cruz isn’t yet, nor are many of his supporters in Cleveland.
Trump announced Governor Pence as his vice presidential choice during a rally in New York City last week.
Don’t expect such magnanimity from Cruz on Wednesday, Jones said. The efforts were in vain, as Donald Trump was formally nominated as the Republican Party’s nominee on Monday. He also upstaged (and help push out of prime time) Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence.
Cruz’s convention stage speech – a passive-aggressive almost half-hour long non-endorsement of his party’s newly crowned nominee – wasn’t the only tepid cheerleading of the night. His surrogates had spent large parts of the week sparring with OH governor John Kasich, another former opponent. GOP leaders say that while the United States has always been an exceptional nation, but eight years of bad policies and poor leadership under President Barack Obama have weakened America overseas and limited opportunities at home. And inexplicably, Trump, the NY businessman who prides himself on making shrewd deals, gave Cruz a prime time speaking slot without the promise of an endorsement. Riled up, the crowd yelled “Lock her up!”
It was a dramatic turn of events for Cruz, who took the stage at the Republican National Convention to a standing ovation as delegates brimmed with excitement that he might reverse course and back the party’s presidential nominee in a show of unity. Some delegates chanted at Cruz, “Endorse Trump”.
At one point, Cruz appeared to try to pass it off as parochialism, saying, “I appreciate the enthusiasm of the NY delegation”.
“That’s how we feel”, he said.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called Cruz’s decision “totally selfish”. “And I thought it was terrific the way she came forward and said look, it was a mistake that I made”. “I was angry, everybody was angry”. But he didn’t and they booed him offstage. “We were astounded at what he did”.
She’s listed as a co-author in his 2004 book “Trump: How to Get Rich“.
Also after the speech, Cruz was turned away from megadonor Sheldon Adelson’s suite in the arena, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
Trump’s children have so far appeared to be his best surrogates, and perhaps his son, Eric, will deliver yet another impassioned speech on his father’s behalf tonight. We walked to the suite and were told it was full. “I don’t know if that happens in this election cycle or not”.
Trump arrived at a convention that was unusually split even before the Cruz address.
Alex Willette, a delegate from Lewiston, has been a Trump supporter and was disappointed that Cruz avoided endorsing Trump’s presidential bid. “There’s a lot of talk about unity”, Cruz said. Iowa delegate Cecil Stinemetz said he continues to believe Trump is “the worst nominee that we have put forward for the Republican Party in the history of the Republican Party”.
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The Times reported in their story that “Neither Donald Jr. nor other representatives of the Trump campaign replied to multiple requests for comment for this article on Tuesday”.
