July 21, 2016
CLEVELAND — Facing jeers even from many of his own constituents, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas on Thursday defended his non-endorsement ofDonald J. Trump, talking down hecklers at a fractious breakfast forum the morning after his performance onstage upended the Republican National Convention.
In an extraordinary display of party division — at a typically staid Texas state delegation breakfast that is held with the intentions of exemplifying convention-week harmony — Mr. Cruz strained to manage the vitriol directed his way, stressing that he had not said a cross word about Mr. Trump.
“I addressed the convention because Donald Trump asked me to,” he said. “And when Donald Trump asked me to, he didn’t ask me to endorse.”
“We don’t just put on red jerseys and blue jerseys,” he added. “This is about principles and ideals.”
Repeatedly, the taunts rained down on him.
“Sit down!” one man said, before a “Clinton-Cruz 2020” sign was raised.
“You need to do it now!” shouted another.
“Do it!” yelled a third. “Do it now!”
The episode supplied another vivid demonstration of a party sharply at odds during a moment historically reserved for unity, a snapshot of a convention hurtling into chaos in what was intended to be a celebratory week.
When attendees pointed out Mr. Cruz’s past pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee, Mr. Cruz, under duress throughout 25 minutes of heated questioning, suggested that any agreement was “abrogated” when Mr. Trump attacked the senator’s family.
“I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father,” he said, adding that he was not a “servile puppy dog.”
A man in the back hollered at the stage: “You’ve got to get over it. This is politics.”
“No, this is not politics,” Mr. Cruz said sharply. “I will tell the truth.”
Mr. Cruz said the response of Trump supporters was troubling.
“What does it say when you stand up and say ‘vote your conscience,’” he began, “and rabid supporters of our nominee begin screaming, ‘What a horrible thing to say!’”
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