Although Mr Kasich never set foot in the convention hall, the OH delegation was full of supporters – many of whom speech-in-cleveland-5143/”>said they appreciated what their governor was doing.
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Cruz tried to link arms with Republicans at the party’s national convention Wednesday but was booed lustily by delegates when he ended his speech without offering Trump his endorsement or even saying he would vote for the NY billionaire.
Cruz drew a building full of boos – led by NY delegates sitting at the front – when he told delegates to “vote their conscience”. In American politics, these gatherings are created to officially nominate the presidential candidate – a foregone conclusion this time around for both the Republicans and the Democrats, who will meet next week – and rally the faithful to get behind that candidate and the party’s contenders for Congress.
But then along came Senator Cruz to settle old scores – remember this is now day three of the four-day convention. Was it the act of a craven careerist, maneuvering for himself against the GOP’s interests as a whole?
Cruz began his first White House bid by very early in the process bear hugging the most loyal elements of the Republican Party, hoping it would solidify their support for him later on.
He did all of that, and more.
He can strike back at Cruz another day. Cruz’s defiance made it impossible to paper over the fact that Trump, on a whole range of issues, simply does not agree with Republican orthodoxy.
I honestly don’t know if it’s because Mrs Clinton is a woman.
The next presidential race is another country. Things will be different there in ways we don’t know today.
Of the Orlando attack on the LGBT community, Trump appeared to comment off-script: “No good, and we’re gonna stop it”. Cruz isn’t playing chess.
But Cruz is who he is. The Texas senator is not known for his ability to smoothly mesh with colleagues and work toward their version of party goals. He has few friends in the Senate and has defied and angered the party leadership ever since he arrived in Washington. So on Wednesday he defied and angered the Trump leadership in Cleveland. But the NY billionaire isn’t any closer to uniting the party because of the man who got the second most votes in the primary: Ted Cruz.
Ted Cruz speaks at the Republican Party National Convention in Cleveland. Security escorted his wife, Heidi, out of the arena after the speech, CNN reported.
And Cruz may have had simple revenge in mind.
If Cruz had endorsed Trump, that would have been fine.
Ultimately, Ivanka Trump said, her father always taught her to aim high, adding that he’ll do the same for the country. They could’ve easily foreseen what Cruz would do, and thus should’ve agreed on what they would all say about a non-endorsement. If he had explained why he couldn’t endorse Trump and explained why, then the crowd might have protested but at least he would have retained some credibility.
“So, to paraphrase Ted Cruz, if you want to protect the Constitution of the United States”, Gingrich continued, “the only possible candidate this fall is Trump“.
Whichever way the presidential and congressional elections in November go, there is bound to be a lot of soul-searching within the Republican party, and across the political spectrum in America, in the years to come.
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Unless the nominee himself delivers a speech worthy of Ronald Reagan or John F. Kennedy, the party seems likely to enter the general election campaign still spinning from its Cleveland experience.
