CLEVELAND – If the night was a shining triumph for the introduction of vice presidential nominee Mike Pence at the Republican National Convention, it was equally as defeating for one-time presidential candidate Ted Cruz.
The senator from Texas was loudly booed off the stage at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday night after failing to formally endorse the Republican nominee, Donald Trump. It was a stark contrast from only minutes earlier, when Cruz received the warmest welcome of the evening.
Cruz began his speech with a solemn remembrance of Sgt. Michael Smith, one of the five officers killed by sniper fire in Dallas. He painted a picture of Smith’s nine-year-old daughter tearfully remembering the last hug she had with her father.
“What if this, right now, is our last time?” Cruz implored, almost ominously. “Our last moment to do something for our families and for our country? Did we live up to the values we say we believe; did we do all we really could?”
Rather than using his time to praise the official Republican nominee, Cruz opted for the delegates to consider the moral implications of their vote this November – whether this vote was for Trump, or not.
“We’re fighting not for one particular candidate or campaign, but each of us wants to tell our children and grandchildren that we did our best for our future and our country,” he said.
Then, things started falling apart.
Near the end of Cruz’s speech, the video screens in Quicken Loans Arena started to flicker, sending murmurs of confusion throughout the delegates. At that exact moment Donald Trump himself stole focus from Cruz by entering the arena, delegates began to realize Cruz was ending his speech without endorsing the nominee.
Instead, Cruz implored Americans to “vote their conscience” – the same outcome the “Never Trump” movement was hoping to achieve earlier this week. Then, enveloped by the chaos of a Trump entrance paired with failing video technology and a crowd that quickly turned on him, Cruz exited with head bowed and thumbs up.
By contrast, the third night of the Republican National Convention ended on a high note with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence formally accepting his nomination as Trump’s vice presidential candidate. He believed the Trump/Pence campaign was headed for “another rendezvous with destiny.”
“I have faith in the boundless capacity of the American people and the faith that God can still heal our land,” Pence said. “But we have a choice to make. This is another time for choosing.”
Pence repeated the praises of Trump that have been said many times before both Wednesday and throughout the week. He claimed as president, Trump would confront “radical Islamic terrorism,” cut taxes while growing the economy, support conservative justices for the Supreme Court, and “upend the status quo in Washington D.C.”
“We have but one choice, and that man is ready,” Pence said. “This team is ready, our party is ready, and when we elect Donald Trump the 45th President of the United States, together we will make America great again.”
An emotional Pence was joined on stage shortly thereafter by his family, as well as the Republican nominee himself. Rather than taking the podium, Trump appeared briefly to shake the hand of his vice presidential nominee and point at him with a smile.
And adding to his already-victorious night, Pence also delivered the convention’s best line.
“When Donald Trump becomes president of the United States of America, the change will be…huge,” he teased.
