Trump’s speech on Thursday followed Ted Cruz’s Wednesday speech, in which the Texas senator refused to endorse Trump – a fact that only slowly dawned on the Republican convention audience, but produced a firestorm of boos and jeers, especially when Cruz told viewers to vote their conscience in November.
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“He’ll come and endorse, but I don’t want his endorsement”, Trump said Friday as he thanked supporters in a downtown Cleveland hotel.
By refusing to endorse him, Trump said Friday, Cruz “may have ruined his political career”.
The Republican nominee also rehashed some of the more divisive battles of the primary campaign, resurfacing unsubstantiated claims that Cruz’s father was associated with President Kennedy’s assassin. “I mean, I never thought I would say these words, but Ted Cruz was right”. See, to me, that’s dishonorable. “As I recall, we had a revolution to make sure we didn’t have someone who said, ‘I can fix it alone, ‘” she said. “Not a nice thing to do”.
“So Ted Cruz took his speech that was done, was on the Teleprompter, said ‘Hello, ‘ then made a statement that wasn’t on the speech, then went back to his speech”, Trump said.
Balloons and confetti fell after Trump’s 75-minute speech Thursday night..
“I love children”, he responded at the time.
“Are you allowed to set up a Super PAC if you are the president to fight somebody?” “GQ magazine is not exactly Penthouse”.
The last time Trump drew about even with Clinton was in mid-May, after his last two rivals for the Republican nomination dropped out of the race and party leaders started to get behind his campaign. “I know that there’s a lot of angst about all the changes that are happening in the world – technology, globalization – I understand all that”.
“So they released this picture, which was, you know, to the people of the state of Utah. I think Heidi Cruz is a great person”, he said.
The Republican nominee said Heidi Cruz is a “terrific woman” and blamed the flap on the actions of a political action committee. “I think she’s the best thing he’s got going, (that) and his kids”.
“I don’t know his father”.
When people use that phrase, what era are they referring to? “I know nothing about Lee Harvey Oswald, but there was a picture on the front page of the National Enquirer of them having breakfast”, he repeated.
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Trump also dredged up some of the nastiest moments of the 2016 primary, including incidents in which he retweeted a meme insulting Heidi Cruz and trumpeted a National Enquirer story questioning Cruz’s father’s ties to Lee Harvey Oswald. “At my father’s company, there are more female than male executives”, she continued, “Women are paid equally for the work that we do”.
