CLEVELAND (AP) – Texas Sen.
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As he appeared on stage Wednesday night, Cruz basked in a minute-long standing ovation. And almost every speaker that yelled at their senator implored him to endorse Trump, with Cruz repeatedly declining to give an inch.
When it came time for Cruz to speak on Wednesday evening, things quickly descended into chaos, exposing just how rotten the entire Republican party has become. The implication: those who don’t support Trump shouldn’t vote for him.
“It sounded like he was building up to the endorsement” of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, said Wiegert, a Trump delegate from St. Louis.
“I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father”, he told a meeting of the Texas delegation in Cleveland.
Cruz vowed not to say anything negative against Trump going forward. “Cruz did including in his home state of Texas”, Manafort said. The line that caused the most trouble for him was, “If you love our country and love your children as much as I know that you do, stand and speak and vote your conscience”.
Trump, who will represent the party in the 8 November 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. Party leaders who support Trump called Cruz a “traitor ” and a “disgrace”.
“Instead of trying to rile up the thousands of delegates in the convention hall, Trump needs to give a speech that appeals to the millions of viewers across the county”, said Ryan Williams, a strategist with Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Asked to preview his father’s speech tonight, Eric Trump said it would “blow people away”.
Members of the Arkansas delegation applauded when U.S. Sen.
Trump and Cruz have had a complicated relationship throughout the presidential campaign.
The crowd roared and rumbled, yet Cruz did not endorse Trump, nor did he say he would vote for the nominee. “Cruz took a different path”, Manafort said.
“If we’re not going to do that, why do we have elections?” Heidi Cruz, Ted’s wife, had to be escorted from the floor of Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
The first-term senator emphasized that he has no plans to campaign against Trump this fall.
At one point, a delegate emotionally told Cruz that he could unify the party, and encouraged Cruz to recognize the consequences of his decision.
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