Posted on 07/21/2016 8:18:20 AM PDT by Drango
Less than 12 hours after he was booed for not endorsing GOP nominee Donald Trump during his late-night speech before the Republican National Convention, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz isn't backing down.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, the Republican vice presidential nominee, headlined Wednesday's event. But all eyes were on Ted Cruz earlier in the evening for his refusal to endorse Donald Trump. POLITICS Pence Makes The Case For Trump After Cruz Is Booed At an emotional event with the Texas RNC delegation Thursday morning, Cruz defended his decision to withhold his endorsement at a time when Republicans are trying to rally around their nominee ahead of the general election.
Sen. Ted Cruz leaves the stage after speaking during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday. POLITICS Trump-Cruz Feud Flares Anew On Third Night Of Convention "I am doing what millions of Americans are doing. I am watching and I am listening. The standard that I apply is, which candidate do I trust to defend the Constitution?" said Cruz.
"I can tell you I am not voting for Hillary," said Cruz, who also said he was "watching" other candidates.
As the GOP primary came down to the two candidates this spring, Trump and his surrogates attacked Cruz's family. That including tweeting an unflattering photo of Cruz's wife and alleging without any firm basis that Cruz's father, Rafael, was involved in the plot to assassinate President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
"I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my family," said Cruz, who added he would not be "a servile puppy dog" to the Trump campaign.
Vanquished Republican presidential hopefuls, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, also addressed the convention's third night, delivering lukewarm endorsements of Trump.
Cruz said Trump should not have been surprised by the content of his Wednesday night address because the campaign "knew exactly what I was going to say." A preview copy of Cruz's remarks was released to reporters earlier in the evening.
He said it was "dismaying" that Trump supporters booed him from the floor when he encouraged Republicans to "vote their conscience" in November.
The first-term senator emphasized that he has no plans to campaign against Trump this fall. "I don't intend to say negative things about Donald Trump," said Cruz.
Meanwhile on Twitter, Trump criticized Cruz implying that he's encouraging people to vote for Democrats:
Follow Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump Ted Cruz talks about the Constitution but doesn't say that if the Dems win the Presidency, the new JUSTICES appointed will destroy us all! 8:12 AM - 21 Jul 2016 3,349 3,349 Retweets 9,324 9,324 likes Wednesday night Trump wasn't so harsh, tweeting that he let Cruz speak even after seeing his remarks and that it was "No big deal!"
Follow Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump Wow, Ted Cruz got booed off the stage, didn't honor the pledge! I saw his speech two hours early but let him speak anyway. No big deal! 9:45 PM - 20 Jul 2016 17,801 17,801 Retweets 50,522 50,522 likes Cruz is already positioning himself to run again for the White House in 2020 and discouraged supporters from casting a vote for him this fall. "I am not encouraging anyone to write my name in."
[he seems to think voters will run to him in 2020 against an incumbent Hillary.]
TED CRUZ is the 2016 MITT ROMNEY. Loser.
Bernie never endorsed Hillary.
Never mentioned her by name.
But media are democrats.
Anyone want to clarify fo me at Rush just now said Trump knew what Cruz was gonna say ...so Rush is blaming Trump. ugh
He should of stayed out of it then...
This is Rush, the not-so-closeted Cruzbot. Of course, he’d blame Trump.
Then again, there are others who’ve suggested that Cruz went off script. Please see my earlier post about this.
Who knows for sure.
But...Trump’s absorbed a number of punches and attacks, and now, with Cruz heckling/accusing Trump supporters (again), he’s made plain that he’s against us, too.
Country be damned, right, Cruz?
Makes you wonder what 0bama promised him on AF1.
When I said “we”, I guess I didn’t mean just FR.
But now Pence has been overshadowed by Ted for two days.
I thought Pence knocked it out of the park but who is talking about it today?
Ted? Go. Away.
Cruz is once again lying. All Cruz ever does is lie, lie, lie. He will not be reelected here in Texas.
As for the JFK stuff I never heard Trump or the Trump campaign say anything about that. I think that came form the National Enquirer which has no connection to the Trump campaign.
Chief Justice?.............is John Roberts ill?..................
Cruz would have dropped his stink bomb at the RNC today if Trump hadn’t given him a speaking slot. He’s 100% on campaigning for Hillary and trying to get Gary Johnson up to 15% in the polls. That gets Johnson on the debate stage.
It’s Gary Johnson the never Trumpers are trying to push. Romney and Jeb have already contacted him. Johnson is sitting at 11% in one poll. He needs to get up to 15% to get on the debate stage.
I think odds are that Hillary would beat any conventional GOP candidate in 2016. Cruz is very conventional. This might be news to him, but it’s true.
Trump has a chance by being an unconventional candidate running an unconventional campaign. Roll the dice. A Cruz or Rubio would have played his part and just lost in November.
At least with Trump, there’s a chance. Small, but a chance.
Those that Ted Cruz has stabbed in the back and those who have just been stabbed in the back by Ted Cruz.
Consider yourself promoted from club one to club two
Dont feel too bad, club two is not a very exclusive club - You and I just joined it along with a couple million other pissed off voters
Donald Trump has done this country a great service by exposing Cruz for the power hungry, dangerously ambitious man Cruz truly is
Cruz's actions have nothing to do with principal or lofty ideals and have everything to do with getting Hillary Clinton elected so Cruz could run against her in 2020.
The primary season is not yet over and there are news reports that Cruz is already moving full steam ahead at expanding his presidential campaign organization and setting up PACs for his anticipated 2020 run
So Cruz is helping Clinton get elected by sabotaging Trump so Ted Cruz can have shot at beating Clinton in 2020
Cruz comes off as a sore loser and may have ended his political career. The latter will be decided by Texas voters.
Doesn’t matter if Cruz is looking for Trump to lose. Cruz is still a dual citizen at birth of a father who had no loyalties to the United States.
I thought Pence knocked it out of the park but who is talking about it today?
I thought he did very well also - was impressive. The MSM controls the spotlight and you and I both know that they are going to put it on anything and everything other than the effective attacks on Hillary.
I am still disappointed in the juvenile antics of the primary campaign - it was embarrassing and it should not have happened. This is what happens when desperate candidates like Cruz listen to their campaign advisors and make desperate moves to stir up the race. However, the appropriate response would have been to publicly bury the hatchet and bring out the olive branches. Trump’s reaction to the whole thing and participation certainly did not make me proud of him either. Taking things so personal (by both of them) was not the appropriate response.
However, Cruz made a very poor decision yesterday and Trump has been pretty mature about it in response - will see if that continues.
Cruz made his bed last night and we will all have to lie in it now - it’s all about him. I supported Cruz until it was obvious he was not going to win and he went full on weird with Beck. I am done with him. He arrogantly thinks he made some principled point last night. I think he just pissed all over us because of my tagline.
I think in the end most of Cruz’s supporters will vote for Trump because the alternative is too ugly. To those who won’t or don’t I say they may live with the results.
But he didn't.
I want to thank Ted Cruz for uniting the Republican Party last night. Those "Boos" were not from a section here, or a section there. It was from the entire floor.
Your own state delegates wanted you to support the rightful nominee, you didn't and will have to pay for that later.
My final comments to Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, why don't you grab Jeb, & Kasich, get a bottle of Jack Daniels and cry yourselves silly.
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