Ted Cruz Booed and Heckled for Refusing to Endorse Donald Trump

Undercutting calls for Republican unity, Texas Sen.

In a surreal moment, Trump unexpectedly walked into the arena just as Cruz was wrapping up his remarks. Many delegates, including loud exhortations from the NY delegation, began chanting, “Endorse Trump!”

“I’m watching, I am listening”, he said, adding that he’ll vote for the candidate he trusts to “defend our freedom” and protect the Constitution.

Earlier in his speech, Cruz drew cheers when he embraced Trump’s call to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The plagiarism charges threatened to overshadow Trump’s official ascent to the standard-bearer of a major USA political party and came just hours after the Trump campaign fiercely denied the overlap.

Pence may shore up support among white conservatives, but he may not easily connect with non-white voters, and numerous elected Republicans who could play that role aren’t Trump allies. “Until now, he has had to do it all by himself, against all odds”, he said.

Trump joined Pence onstage at the end of his speech. He accomplished, more blandly, what any other vice presidential hopeful has traditionally done by stating the case for his standard-bearer’s candidacy and the case against the opposing party’s nominee.

Mr Pence, 57, is considered a favourite among social conservatives and has considerable experience as a former congressman.

When the vice presidential nominee spoke later in the night, he opened by admitting he didn’t have the same flash as the billionaire businessman. Ted Cruz said you can vote your conscience for anyone who will uphold the Constitution. “In this election there is only one candidate who will uphold the Constitution”.

Pence said he never thought he’d be standing on the stage at his party’s national convention and even joked that running mate Donald Trump is charismatic and must have been looking for balance in choosing him.

The belated clarification prompted both fresh infighting among Trump loyalists and additional questions about his campaign’s competency.

All speakers will focus on the theme “Make America First Again”. “No big deal!” Trump wrote. “Stand, and speak, and vote your conscience up and down the ticket”.

Indeed, when one considers McIver’s statement within the wider context of the Trump campaign’s response to accusations that Melania’s speech had been at least partially cribbed from Michelle Obama’s, the intended effect of her apology becomes less certain. Still, Walker suggested he was driven as much by a desire to keep Clinton out of the White House as admiration for his party’s nominee. “But I have seen this good man up close, his utter lack of pretense, his respect for the people who work for him and his devotion to his family”, Pence told the crowd, accusing Democrats of preparing to nominate the exact opposite of a truth teller in Clinton.

After two nights of mostly low-energy speeches, the crowd packed into the arena was noticeably more energetic Wednesday night, dancing in the aisles and waving signs reading, “America Deserves Better Than Hillary”. I am also a longtime friend and admirer of the Trump family. The campaign said she would not be fired.

After that first slight – done via retweet – Cruz labeled Trump a “sniveling coward”.

But as Trump rattled off primary wins, tensions rose between the candidates. Cruz criticized Trump as a “pathological liar” and “utterly amoral”.

“Wow, Ted Cruz got booed off the stage, didn’t honour the pledge!” Anti-Trump delegates, meanwhile, were still urging backers Wednesday to show their support for Cruz on the floor. While Clinton has been a target of GOP ire for decades, the harshness of the attacks has been striking. Though anti-Clinton sentiment is an easy way to bring Republicans together, the negativity crossed the line for some in the party.

“Certainly races can be won based on focusing on the opponent”, said Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee.

Michael Barnett, who is black and leads Florida’s Palm Beach County GOP, said Republicans must “reach out to those who (we) historically have not been accustomed to talking to”.