Sen. Ted Cruz took the stage to huge cheers at the Republican National Convention – and left amidst a chorus of boos after refusing to endorse Donald Trump. The disorder provided fresh reminders of the fissures that remain.
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In a surreal moment, Trump unexpectedly walked into the arena just as Cruz was wrapping up his remarks.
“My father is good with advice, as you might guess, but he keeps it short and the takeaway is usually the same: to help us find our own way and our own gifts”, she said.
Cruz arrived in Cleveland with an eye on his own political future, holding a large rally with hundreds of supporters who greeted him with chants of “2020” – the next presidential election.
The firebrand Texas senator, who was runner-up to Mr Trump in a rancorous Republican primary, was given a rapturous welcome in the convention hall in Cleveland.
But he lost many delegates when he told them: “Don’t stay home in November”.
“Ted Cruz said you can vote your conscience for anyone who will uphold this constitution. Vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution”.
He is expected to try to sell Trump as the new Ronald Reagan, touting his similarities to the former Hollywood star who won the White House as an outsider.
“‘If Donald Trump wins, he will, by definition, have created a new template of success for Republicans, ‘ said Ari Fleischer, Mr. Bush’s first White House press secretary”.
The New York delegation was particularly irate, immediately on their feet chanting “We want Trump!”
Pence framed the November presidential race as crucial to defining the makeup of the Supreme Court for the next 40 years.
Trump’s campaign had hoped that by the convention’s end, voters would look past the gathering’s rough start, including the plagiarism charge involving Melania Trump’s opening address.
The speechwriter, however, made it clear that Melania Trump knew that the passages she read to an enthralled convention Monday night had come from Michelle Obama.
But Trump’s communications adviser insisted Wednesday that, while a call occurred between Donald Trump Jr. and top Kasich adviser John Weaver, a vice presidential offer was never on the table. Sen Marco Rubio of Florida will appear on a video. One anonymous source told the New York Post that as a kid, Tiffany only spent two weeks a year with the Trump clan at their Palm Beach estate. What it has done in the latest instance is further drag down Donald Trump’s chances, with the NYT declaring that Hillary Clinton has a 76 per cent chance now of winning the presidency. He said his father is the one candidate for president “who does not need this job”. Melania’s fault, insiders said, was to borrow from a recent presumptive First Lady’s speech rather than one in time from over 200 years of a tradition of party conventions. Trump said, “She made a mistake, and, you know, people make mistakes”. McIver said she wrote down the passages and later included them in the speech.
For two days, the Trump campaign tried to brush aside any talk of plagiarism, calling the criticism absurd.
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Security forces, including the horse-mounted police which have flooded downtown Cleveland this week, closed ranks and several detained people were seen kneeling with their hands behind their backs.
