Would he or wouldn’t he? There was a lot of buzz earlier Wednesday about whether Sen. Ted Cruz would endorse former rival Donald Trump during his prime time speech. His speech was embargoed, but word leaked early that Cruz would not be endorsing Trump at the RNC.
Ted Cruz will NOT endorse Trump in speech, reports @DanaBashCNN just now.
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) July 21, 2016
JUST IN: Ted Cruz will not endorse Donald Trump for president tonight, source confirms to @DomenicoNPR
— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) July 21, 2016
BREAKING: Sources tell me @tedcruz will not endorse @realDonaldTrump, will only 'congratulate' him. Stay tuned. #RNCinCLE
— BILL HEMMER (@BillHemmer) July 21, 2016
Now this billboard of Cruz and Trump kissing is even more of a slap in the face :/ #RNCinCLE pic.twitter.com/wvsBx7wS0z
— Homa Bash (@HomaBashWEWS) July 21, 2016
Cruz’s speech was very light on mentions of Donald Trump, aside from a quick congratulations to the winner.
So far all he's done is congratulated trump https://t.co/whmI8GuiIP
— (((Kampeas))) (@kampeas) July 21, 2016
A moving speech by Cruz but as expected, no endorsement of Trump. Not even mention of Trump after the initial congratulations #RNCinCLE
— Brooke Wivagg (@BrookeWivagg) July 21, 2016
Ted Cruz congratulated Donald Trump on winning the Republican nomination 10 mins ago and hasn't mentioned him since ..
— lesley clark (@lesleyclark) July 21, 2016
“endorse trump! endorse trump!” chants ringing out at #RNCinCLE
— kelly cohen (@ByKellyCohen) July 21, 2016
Maybe a surprise endorsement would come at the end? Well, no. The speech was well received up until Cruz urged voters not to stay home in November, but to get out and vote Trump their conscience up and down the ticket.
Lots of catcalls now from all around the arena aimed at Cruz – very unsettled feeling suddenly
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) July 21, 2016
Wowsa! Ted Cruz speaks for 20 plus minutes without endorsing Trump…soundly booed. @wkyc #RNCinCLE #ClevelandRising
— Russ Mitchell (@RussWKYC) July 21, 2016
Crowd just booed @SenTedCruz on stage after he did not endorse @realDonaldTrump. #RNCinCLE
— Samah Assad (@SAssadNews) July 21, 2016
Wow. Drowning out Ted Cruz with boos. Failed to endorse Trump. #RNC2016 #RNCinCLE
— Jennifer Picciano (@jenpicciano) July 21, 2016
How the Cruz boos sounded from the floor pic.twitter.com/SJzYoPBQgt
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 21, 2016
This doesn't look like party unity to me.
— Mary Kilpatrick (@_marykilpatrick) July 21, 2016
"But you called him 'Lyin' Ted' for months and months!"
"So what? Put him onstage."
"Okay…"#NeverTrump— ?It's?Almost ⛄️Christmas? (@jtLOL) July 21, 2016
Crowd begins chanting Trump, which is probably not quite the response Cruz was hoping to elicit when he mentioned ISIS
— Megan McArdle (@asymmetricinfo) July 21, 2016
Chaos and shouting continues on RNC floor as Cruz ends speech. Crowds booing. #RNCinCLE
— Newsradio WTAM 1100 (@wtam1100) July 21, 2016
booing during him talking about the 9 yr old daughter of Dallas officer killed…ZERO CLASS
— Tommy Avery (@TomRAvery) July 21, 2016
Headlines wrong. Cruz didn't just refuse to endorse Trump. He said "vote your conscience," giving permission not to vote for Trump. Guts!
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) July 21, 2016
So, who was worse? Those who drowned out Cruz for not endorsing Trump, or Cruz for subtly but surely undercutting the nominee at the national convention?
Men like Ted Cruz, if you call them liars and insult their wives, will stab you right in the front at the right time in front of the nation
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) July 21, 2016
yes and it was glorious
— John Goodie (@JohnG00die) July 21, 2016
@tedcruz walked off the stage bigger than he walked on. Well done.
— stuart stevens (@stuartpstevens) July 21, 2016
Is it a surprise Cruz didn't endorse Trump? Remember Trump accused his father of hanging with JFK assassin. #RNCinCLE #gopconvention
— Matt Wright Fox 8 (@mattwrighttv) July 21, 2016
https://twitter.com/DavidShuster/status/755947000139542528
BREAKING: Sources with the RNC say @Tedcruz speech was 'classless.' Party officials expected him to congratulate @realDonaldTrump.
— BILL HEMMER (@BillHemmer) July 21, 2016
Hated the non-endorsement line. Totally gratuitous.
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) July 21, 2016
You can kinda overstay your welcome round these parts.
— Dana Perino (@DanaPerino) July 21, 2016
#Cruz proved tonight that you can take a crowd, who wanted the best for you and in a moment turn them away.
— Chuck Woolery (@chuckwoolery) July 21, 2016
Biggest mistake of convention has gone from Melania text snafu to letting Cruz speak freely and in such a high-profile slot
— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) July 21, 2016
Cruz is still a self-interested weasel, but that was such a massively bravura act of grand-scale public insult to Trump that I must tip cap.
— The Nats Won The World Series (@EsotericCD) July 21, 2016
Ted Cruz just mega-trolled Donald Trump at his own convention, in PRIMETIME. It will be the only story coming out of tonight.
— The Nats Won The World Series (@EsotericCD) July 21, 2016
So, Cruz 2020?
If Cruz thought endorsing would have helped his 2020 chances, he would have endorsed. This was strategy. It always is.
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) July 21, 2016
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