The below CSPAN chart shows that Trump’s speech was 11 minutes longer than Clinton’s 1996 speech and 13 minutes longer than President George W. Bush’s speech in 2004.
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“The day that was abdicated was the day this became personal”, Cruz said.
Trump skeptics have cited empty stands at the venue, a sporting arena in Cleveland, as proof of the nominee’s continued lack of support among sections of the party. Trump threatened to start a super PAC to oppose Cruz if the Texas senator ran for president, asking Pence whether that was legally permitted.
The delegates said they are looking forward to Trump’s Thursday speech.
Trump, who called himself “the law and order candidate”, went on to touch on his plans to “put America first”, his plans to cut taxes (“America is one of the highest-taxed nations in the world”, he said – a blatant lie), and how he wants to give up on worldwide treaties, which he says have lost America respect in the global scene.
Also speaking on the final night of the RNC, Silicon Valley venture capitalist and co-founder of PayPal Peter Thiel, who is expected to discuss his identity as a gay man, but then move on to reveal why he supports Donald Trump.
That Cruz did not endorse Trump is no great surprise – there was no way he could maintain his image as the insurgent leader of the hard-right faction in American politics if he lined up with the party establishment behind Trumpism. “Last night, many of us were standing up, yelling and screaming and clapping our hands for the Republican Party, including Trump”. Ted Cruz was essentially booed off the stage when he failed to endorse Trump. “Ted, stay home. Relax”. He urged backers to turn out in November to defeat Hillary Clinton.
He referred to Trump attacking his relatives during the primaries: he shared a social-media post insulting Cruz’s wife’s looks, spread a National Enquirer article about marital infidelity, and insinuated Cruz’s father may have been linked to JFK’s assassination.
“He’s a chicken”, said Eugene Delgaudio, a delegate from Sterling, Virginia, who clucked like a chicken when asked about Cruz’s decision. But Republican nominees didn’t always speak this way.
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“If we’re not going to do that, why do we have elections?” Because Ted Cruz has decided that he knows better? “He said exactly the right thing in exactly the right way”.
