Cruz Gets Boos, Trump Gets a Bump
It’s official. Donald Trump is no longer the presumptive Republican nominee for President, he’s the official nominee. The winners of the GOP Convention (aside from the Donald), are Rudy Giuliani, Chris Christie, and Newt Gingrich.
The losers were Ted Cruz and establishment RINOs, such as John Kasich, Mitt Romney, the entire Bush family, and John McCain who sat this one out, preferring to pout out of principle. Reportedly, nineteen GOP senators also declined to attend. They just came across as sore losers, or worse, skunks at a garden party. They made themselves irrelevant.
Paul Ryan at least gave Trump lip service, even if he didn’t exactly blow him kisses. Mitch McConnell dutifully assaulted Hillary verbally. And Bob Dole happily made it to the festivities, even though he needed some help.
Rudy Giuliani gave a rousing speech and was heartily cheered. After his own failed presidential bid, Giuliani has been largely invisible in the political world, though he lukewarmly endorsed Trump earlier.
His overriding legacy is, of course, the heroic response of New York’s bravest on 9/11, but the Mayor was also responsible for reviving the city before that, and he reminded the delegates:
“I did it by changing New York City from “the crime capital of America” to according to the FBI the safest large city in America. What I did for New York City, Donald Trump will do for America…”
He expressed his respect for the nominee’s compassion and charity, adding, “Every time New York City suffered a tragedy, Donald Trump was there to help. And he did it anonymously.”
Giuliani stated the attacks against Americans, including the Benghazi tragedy, are directly attributable to Obama/Clinton, and concluded Trump was the candidate to finally put a halt to terrorism.
This is the transcript.
Chris Christie was Trump’s pit bull, yapping loudly about Hillary and sniping at her pantsuited heels. Given his Bridge-gate problem and sinking approval ratings in NJ, his unbridled loyalty to Trump is probably his best political play. He’s Trump’s likely AG pick, and just to drive the point home, he held a mini-mock trial of the as-yet unindicted former Secretary:
“Tonight, as a former federal prosecutor, I welcome the opportunity to hold [Hillary] accountable for her performance and her character. We must present those facts to you, a jury of her peers, both in this hall and in living rooms around our nation.”
He stirred the crowd who chanted, “Lock her up! Lock her up!” When he polled the audience over whether Clinton was guilty or not guilty, they shouted back, “Guilty!” It was quite riveting.
He recounted the Benghazi and private email server scandals, and foreign policy failures of the Obama/Clinton regime, citing Cuba, Russia, and Syria among the examples.
In case anyone wasn’t sure, Christie clarified we are at war with radical Islamist extremists. He didn’t denigrate the entire population of the faith, just those who intent on waging a jihad. But even the small percentage of Muslims who are radicalized pose a significant threat, he maintained, and Hillary cannot be trusted to even recognize, let alone protect the nation from this danger.
The speech recited the litany of recent worldwide terrorist attacks under Obama/Clinton.
The big loser of the convention, Ted Cruz, made clear he would not be voting for Hillary. He paid homage to family, patriotism, and conscious. He aptly identified key differences between the parties and chastised the failed policies of Obama/Clinton. He even saluted the idea of Trump’s wall. He emphasized his commitment to constitutional principles.
Cruz’s was a good speech, except for the fact he fell short of endorsing Trump, and accordingly, he was booed. His wife was escorted from the arena for her own safety.
Perhaps he just didn’t like being called “Lyin’ Ted,” or was still peeved at having his wife badmouthed by Trump. It’s hard to blame him, but he needed to put his big boy pants on.
Perhaps he thought he’d have the backing of some of those who wanted to change the rules or the #NeverTrump conscientious objectors to Trump’s candidacy. Maybe he thought he’d gain friends in the Senate by an ambivalent speech. But this was the wrong venue to snivel.
Some commentators have prematurely suggested this was the death knell for Cruz’s political career, but the bell has yet to toll. Trump needs to win first. Otherwise, Cruz will appear prescient, or even messianic.
A full transcript of Cruz’s speech is here.
Newt Gingrich’s speech followed. Not missing a beat, he said:
“Now I think you misunderstood one paragraph that Ted Cruz, who is a superb orator, said, and I just want to point it out to you, Ted Cruz said you can vote your conscience for anyone who will uphold the Constitution. In this election, there is only one candidate who will uphold the Constitution. (APPLAUSE) So to paraphrase Ted Cruz, if you want to protect the Constitution of United States, the only possible candidate this fall is the Trump-Pence Republican ticket.”
Gingrich concluded by noting, “[E]very American should be terrified at the prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidency.”
A full transcript is here.
What these men’s roles in a Trump administration might be remains to be seen, but their loyalty will undoubtedly be rewarded.
Overall, it was a solid convention and Trump should see a bump from it.
But now it’s time for him to barrage the airwaves with anti-Hillary ads, as her attack ads against Trump are potentially impactful.
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July 21, 2016
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