Texas Sen. Ted Cruz ripped open old wounds from a contentious primary in a fiery speech Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, and he was booed off the stage as he began a civil war within the Republican Party that he continued Thursday morning. Cruz upstaged Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, the final speaker of the night who GOP nominee Donald Trump picked as his running mate in the interest of “party unity.”
In a dramatic moment, Cruz told the delegates and the country to “vote your conscience,” a phrase anti-Trump forces had been using all week as a rallying cry. Cruz refused to endorse the party’s nominee after a bitter and bruising primary campaign where his wife and father were subject to personal attacks from Trump. Echoing Nelson Rockefeller’s stand against Barry Goldwater in 1964, a keynote speaker went rogue.
Cruz’s wife was escorted out of the arena for fear of her safety, and a state party chair was restrained to prevent the dispute from escalating. Some delegates loudly cheered Cruz while others, including the South Carolina delegation, spewed vitriol at the firebrand.
“I appreciate the enthusiasm of the New York delegation,” Cruz said witheringly to the delegates of Trump’s home state as boos rained down upon him.
Trump supporters struggled to contain the fallout. Trump himself entered the arena early to step on the end of Cruz’s speech, floor sergeants whipped up the crowd into an angry frenzy, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich tried to do some damage control from the stage.
“I think you misunderstood,” Gingrich said, deviating from the praise of Cruz loaded in the teleprompter. “To paraphrase Ted Cruz, if you want to protect the constitution of the United States, the only possible candidate this fall is the Trump-Pence Republican ticket.”
Pence, who endorsed Cruz during the primary before switching to Trump, took the stage and cast Trump as a man out to revive America. “This week, with this united party, he’s got backup,” Pence said, despite Cruz’s earlier speech.
Pence’s fellow Republican from Indiana, Sen. Dan Coats, had some harsh words for his colleague from Texas in an interview with Roll Call.
“Sen. Cruz tried to destroy the Republican Party tonight,” Coats said.
After the prime time program was over, Trump responded on Twitter.
“Wow, Ted Cruz got booed off the stage, didn't honor the pledge!” Trump tweeted, referencing the pledge all Republican candidates signed to support the eventual GOP nominee. “I saw his speech two hours early but let him speak anyway. No big deal!”
Hillary Clinton responded by adopting Cruz’s line as a slogan, tweeting “vote your conscience” to her followers.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, another one of Trump’s primary rivals, responded via Facebook. “Trump trusted Ted and was rewarded with a betrayal,” Huckabee posted Wednesday night.
South Carolina delegate Roxanne Wilson gave her opinion on Cruz’s actions to The Post and Courier. “Ted Cruz is a poor loser,” Wilson said.
Undercurrents of division flowed throughout the day Wednesday in Cleveland as they foreshadowed the drama of the prime time program.
The day began with Trump firing back at Republican pundits who criticized his campaign’s handling of a plagiarism scandal involving his wife.
“The media is spending more time doing a forensic analysis of Melania's speech than the FBI spent on Hillary's emails,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.
The Secret Service opened an investigation Wednesday after reports suggested that a New Hampshire delegate took the previous night’s trend of united attacks against Hillary Clinton to the extreme. The Trump campaign disavowed comments from Trump adviser and New Hampshire State Rep. Al Baldasaro suggesting Clinton “should be put in the firing line and shot for treason.”
Caitlyn Jenner arrived in Cleveland and reaffirmed she is a Republican only to attack the North Carolina GOP for the so-called “bathroom bill.”
Trump rebutted rumors that Ohio Gov. John Kasich, boycotting his own party’s convention in his home state, was offered a spot on Trump’s ticket and turned it down.
The signs Cruz would not go quietly into the night were on full display at an afternoon rally as Cruz supporters booed Trump’s plane as it flew over during Cruz’s remarks and chanted “2020” in reference to the next presidential election year.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley took her seat for the prime time program and was peppered with questions from the press.
“Governor, are you going to support Donald Trump?” MSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff asked.
“It’s great to be in Cleveland,” Haley replied, only committing to voting for Trump after being asked three times.
Radio host Laura Ingraham, the opening act of the night, took a veiled shot at Cruz from the stage as the media began to report he would not endorse Trump during his speech.
“All you boys with wounded feelings and bruised egos, we love you, but you must honor your pledge to support Donald Trump now. Do it tonight,” she said.
Former astronaut Col. Eileen Collins skipped over the praise of Trump on the teleprompter as she ended her speech.
Trump’s primary rival Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker endorsed Trump and did a call and response attack on Democrats with the crowd with the phrase, “America deserves better,” after only last month slamming Trump and Clinton as “poor choices” for president.
But Cruz, who finished second to Trump in the primaries, stole the show Wednesday night. Cruz defended his actions to the Texas delegation in a speech Thursday morning after members pointed out his previous pledge to support the GOP nominee regardless of whether he lost the primary.
"I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my family," said Cruz, who told the delegates he would not be a "servile puppy dog."