Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump addressed supporters in Cleveland Friday morning with VP pick Mike Pence by his side. His remarks — which were ostensibly meant to thank Republican National Convention volunteers — quickly veered off course. Trump was apparently not ready to stop basking in the glow of Ted Cruz’s disastrous speech Wednesday night. “What happened?” Trump asked. “Somebody got boo’d the hell out of a place by thousands and thousands of people,” he said to applause and laughter.
Trump went on to predict that the Texas Senator’s comments would spell the end for his political ambitions. Claiming he doesn’t want Cruz’s endorsement, Trump also recommended that his former opponent “stay home.”
“Honestly, he may have ruined his political career. I feel so bad. I feel so bad. And you know he’ll come and endorse over the next little while. He’ll come and endorse cause he has no choice. But I don’t want his endorsement. What difference does it make? I don’t want his endorsement. I have such great endor … I don’t want his endorsement. Just … Ted, stay home. Relax. Enjoy yourself.”
Trump assured the crowd that he “saw exactly what [Cruz’s] speech was” before the Senator took the stage, but that Cruz added an unapproved sentence at the beginning. “Ted Cruz took a speech that was done, was on the teleprompter, said hello, then made a statement that wasn’t on the speech, and then went back to his speech,” Trump said. “See to me, that’s dishonorable.” Trump also referenced how Cruz broke a pledge he had made during the primary campaign to support the eventual Republican nominee.
“To me, not signing a pledge is dishonorable, okay? It’s dishonorable. Not a nice thing to do,” Trump said. “And I talk this way because we’re all together. We created one of the most successful conventions in the history of conventions.” Yuge.
(Via Mediaite)