Trump and aides attack Cruz over non-endorsement

Ted Cruz’s address at Republican National Convention last night, where he refused to endorse Donald Trump.

The strongest language came from retiring Indiana Sen. “If he wasn’t going to endorse, he shouldn’t have been anywhere near the podium”.

Interrupted by chants of “Trump, Trump, Trump”, Cruz paused and said with a smile, “I appreciate the enthusiasm of the NY delegation”.

And, Cruz said in his parting words, “Can anyone imagine the nominee standing in front of voters answering questions like this?”

Fisher said there would have been no reason for Cruz to throw is support behind Trump. “Ted!” Cruz was jeered off the stage as Trump entered the hall and gave a thumbs-up. But Ted Cruz wasn’t listening. Nine delegates voted for Trump, six for Rubio, and one for Ohio Gov. John Kasich. “The day that was abrogated was the day this got personal”, Cruz said at the breakfast at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown where the Texas delegation is staying. For many other Republicans, this will finally make plausible what that Washington establishment has been saying for months: that Cruz is an opportunist who is willing to badly hurt his own party for the sake of some imagined political advantage.

After Wednesday night, the best hope for the Republican Party to come together may rest on Clinton, who was frequently vilified at the Cleveland convention. Nor did he ask his supporters, hundreds of whom encouraged him to run for president in four years at an event on Wednesday afternoon, to vote for the newly minted Republican nominee.

Mr Trump later said he knew Mr Cruz would not endorse him but had let him speak anyway. He said his father is the one candidate for president “who does not need this job”.

But the plagiarism scandal over Melania Trump’s speech Monday night still had Google captivated.

“When an American leader says I’ll look at what the situation is after the Russians attack, that is an open invitation to Vladimir Putin, who has already changed borders on the continent of Europe through the use of military force, something we said in 1945 we would never permit again”, Bolton said.

He called presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton the “secretary of the status quo”, referring to her former job as secretary of state. The senator who is believed to be considering another presidential bid in 2020 drew heavy boos from Trump delegates and undermined the efforts of convention planners to project Republican unity in the wake of Trump’s primary victory.

But he also exhorted people to vote in the November election “for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution”.

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Trump, well known to Americans as a reality TV star, has upset many in the Republican establishment with his free-wheeling style, frequent insults to rivals and controversial policy proposals such as imposing a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country and building a wall along the border with Mexico.

Democrats will host their convention next week in Philadelphia, with an announcement of Clinton’s vice presidential pick expected as soon as Friday.