RNC Erupts As Ted Cruz Refuses To Endorse Trump In Convention Speech

CLEVELAND — Ted Cruz did not endorse Donald Trump in his much-anticipated speech to the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, instead urging Republicans to vote their conscience — to anguished reactions from Trump supporters in the room.

“And to those listening, please, don’t stay home in November,” the prepared text of Cruz’s speech reads. “Stand, and speak, and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution.”

As he delivered those words, after a well-received speech on conservative principles, the crowd erupted into chants and boos. Some delegates chanted at Cruz, “Endorse Trump.” He joked that the New York delegation was enthusiastic, but continued on as the yelling and booing kept up.

Cruz only mentioned Trump by name once in his speech, saying at the beginning “I congratulate Donald Trump on winning the nomination last night.”

On Wednesday, Cruz’s campaign manager Jeff Roe declined to tell reporters whether Cruz was going to endorse Trump, instead saying that Trump was likely to be “pleased.” (On Wednesday night, Trump entered the arena during the last minutes of Cruz’s speech.) Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort told the AP that Cruz would “suggest” that he was endorsing Trump.

And in the final speech text, released to reporters under embargo before Cruz delivered it, it was evident how Manafort could potentially argue that Cruz’s exhortation to go out and vote in November means he also wants people to vote for Trump.

But Cruz’s words fell far short of a real endorsement, and he specifically told his audience to vote their conscience and emphasized voting for down-ballot candidates. And the response from the crowd on Wednesday night was clear. Cruz’s wife, Heidi, left the arena floor during the speech amid the reaction.

After dropping out of the race in May, Cruz did not endorse Trump, and for a long time emphasized the conservative principles that he wanted to see the nominee embody. Cruz’s endorsement would be a significant one for Trump, who has failed to unify the party after becoming the presumptive nominee in May following a bitter primary battle. Earlier on Wednesday, Cruz spoke to his delegates in Cleveland, telling them something similar. “There’s a lot of talk about unity,” Cruz said. “I want to see unity and the way to see unity is for us to unite behind shared principles, us to unite in defense of liberty, and for us to empower the grassroots.”

Following his event, an RNC official told Yahoo News that Cruz was likely to run for president again in 2020 — even if Trump is president.

Even up until the hours before Cruz’s speech, Republicans were urging him to back Trump; RNC spokesman Sean Spicer told him to “do the right thing,” and talk radio host Laura Ingraham sent a shot across the bow to Cruz and other holdouts in her speech to the convention, saying, “You must honor your pledge to support Donald Trump. Now.”