After stealing the show Wednesday night, Ted Cruz faced a sharply divided Texas delegation Thursday morning at a question-and-answer session that grew heated at times. And as Bobby Cuza explains, the backlash from other delegates, including those from New York, has been fierce.
With the words "vote your conscience," Ted Cruz ignited a firestorm Wednesday night, one that showed no signs of cooling off Thursday morning.
"I recognize there’s some folks here, and elsewhere at the convention, who are not happy with me," Cruz said.
After brief remarks, Cruz took some at-times hostile questions from Texas delegates. While he said he wasn’t voting for Hillary Clinton, he dug in on his refusal to endorse Trump.
"I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father," Cruz said.
Cruz did draw some cheers and support from Texas delegates with his remarks, but his home state appears to be the exception. Cruz seemingly earned universal scorn from Republicans here in Cleveland, including the New York delegation, which helped lead the jeers while he was onstage.
"You don’t have the decency and the manners and just the common decency and goodness to endorse a man who has given you the opportunity to speak on national television in primetime, then that shows he’s a fraud, he’s a liar, he’s the guy we’ve come to hate in Washington," said Rep. Peter King of Long Island.
That line drew a standing ovation from New York delegates, many of whom repeated similar sentiments.
"There were 17 people who ran for president in the Republican party, and one person won. And I would expect that everyone else would find a way to act like adults and support the person who’s going to be the standard-bearer for the party," said state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan.
Others, including New York's party chairman, predicted the demise of Cruz’s political career.
"Ted Cruz had a choice. His choice was either to be a hero of the convention and to endorse, or to commit political suicide," said Ed Cox, chairman of the New York Republican Party.
"He had a great career ahead of him. He had a great future. And I think if he continues down this path, I don’t know how that works for him," said Rep. Tom Reed of western New York.
Cruz clearly has a different view, seemingly having bet his move will pay off in the event of a Trump loss in November, a scenario those here in Cleveland don’t even want to contemplate.