The Note: Ted Cruz Crashes Trump’s Party
— -- NOTABLES
--CRUZ DISSES THE DONALD: After getting booed during his address to the Republican National Convention last night, Ted Cruz this morning defended his decision not to endorse Donald Trump after the real estate mogul’s attacks on his family during the primary campaign, ABC’s JORDYN PHELPS reports. “I am not in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and attacks my father,” Cruz told the Texas delegation at a breakfast in Cleveland. He added: “That pledge [to endorse the eventual nominee] was not a blanket commitment that if you go and slander and attack Heidi, that I'm going to nonetheless come like a puppy dog and say thank you very much for maligning my wife and maligning my father." During the primary campaign, Trump retweeted an unflattering photo of Cruz’s wife, Heidi, alongside his supermodel wife, Melania, that read “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Of Cruz’s father, Trump at one point insinuated that Rafael Cruz had been a conspirator in President John Kennedy’s assassination. http://abcn.ws/2abW3p6
--FURTHER DEFENDING HIS RNC SPEECH in which declined to endorse the party’s nominee, Cruz said Trump knew the contents of his speech prior to its delivery, including the absence of an endorsement. "He didn't ask me to endorse and, indeed, three days ago I talked on the phone with him and told him, ‘I'm not going to endorse you,’" Cruz said, defending his non-endorsement speech. Cruz went on to characterize his speech Wednesday night as an “outline” of how to win the election in November and said Republicans won’t win if the "dominant word" Americans hear between now and then is "Trump." http://abcn.ws/2abW3p6
--5 THINGS TO WATCH ON THE FINAL DAY OF RNC: Last night was definitely the most raucous evening of the Republican National Convention, but tonight may prove to be even more dramatic. Why? Trump is set to take the stage for a speech the entire convention has been building towards. ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY has more on the five storylines to watch: http://abcn.ws/29VRwEW
--RNC DAY 4: LIVE UPDATES AND ANALYSIS from ABC’s JULIA JACOBO and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI: http://abcn.ws/29Ph4Vv DAY THREE IN A MINUTE, courtesy of ALI DUKAKIS and KIRK REID: http://abcn.ws/29Xn78h
--HAPPENING TODAY -- TRUMP TO ADDRESS TRADE, BORDERS AND LAW AND ORDER: Donald Trump said he will reiterate the message that the “country has a lot of problems” during his big speech at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland tonight. “Well, I’m talking about trade, I’m talking about law and order, I’m going to be talking about borders. I’m going to be talking about many different things,” Trump told ABC News’ GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS in an interview Wednesday that aired today on “Good Morning America." “Our country has a lot of problems. I’m basically going to be using the same message and giving the same message … that I’ve been talking about for a long time.” When asked specifically about whether he’ll be addressing some of his more controversial proposals, such as the plan to temporarily ban all Muslims or to build a wall between the United States and Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants, Trump replied: “Yeah, you’ll be hearing a lot of things ... I mean, I haven’t spoken yet.” ABC’s MORGAN WINSOR has more. http://abcn.ws/2abRriP
--ANALYSIS -- ABC’s RICK KLEIN: The central, huge personality of the 2016 campaign has set up a larger-than-life contest for the future of the Republican Party, with battle lines etched long before Donald Trump’s fate is decided. Wednesday night laid out the future paths of the GOP in dramatic, boisterous fashion. If Trump wins, Trumpism, along with its angry populism and strains of nativism, prevails. If he doesn’t, the party will have Mike Pence, whose answer to Trump as to join him, while offering a twist of earnestness and conservative commitment. On the opposite side, there’s John Kasich, rejecting it all by not even showing up at the Trump convention in his home state. There’s Paul Ryan, seeking a middle path though leaning in enough to speak twice – and even wield the gavel – at the convention. And then there’s Ted Cruz, who laid down unmistakable markers with three words: “vote your conscience.” Cruz anticipated a backlash, but he couldn’t have anticipated angry delegates yelling “Goldman Sachs” at his wife. However this breaks, Cruz’s gambit figures to have the longest tail. He will have either sounded conservative alarms about Trump – so much so that his wife and father were threatened with physical harm – or he will have rained on a parade that’s marching to a drummer that’s very much not like him. Cruz’s play may prove to be the boldest, since it’s predicated on the assumption that the Trump phenomenon hasn’t changed the Republican Party in any fundamental way.
--GOP WOMEN LOOKING FORWARD TO IVANKA TRUMP’S SPEECH: Trump is undeniably the star of tonight’s final segment of the Republican National Convention but there’s another Trump who is generating interest as well, ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY notes. Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka is slated to introduce her father, which comes as little surprise because she has been a fairly regular presence on the campaign trail. She also has struck a chord with female voters, which has been particularly important given her father’s polling troubles with women at different points in the campaign. http://abcn.ws/29YDK3s
YESTERDAY AT THE RNC with ABC’s VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and PAOLA CHAVEZ
DONALD TRUMP’S GOP RIVALS WRESTLE WITH SUPPORTING HIS NOMINATION. It’s been a rocky road to Cleveland for Donald Trump’s former GOP rivals. One by one, the sixteen politicians who made up the most promising Republican presidential field in a generation, bowed out of the race for the White House, bruised and bullied by a brash New York real estate developer with no political experience. While some endorsed Trump as they exited the race, many actively opposed his insurgent White House bid and campaigned against him until the decisive May primary in Indiana. But faced with the looming prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidency, most of the former GOP presidential candidates have attempted to reconcile their disagreements with Trump with supporting the Republican nominee for president. ABC’s BENJAMIN SIEGEL has more. http://abcn.ws/29OK7qp
RNC FACT CHECK, courtesy of ABC’s CHRIS GOOD, JOHN KRUZEL and NOAH FITZGEREL. ABC News is fact-checking selected speakers at the 2016 Republican National Convention taking place in Cleveland. This page will be updated with new fact checks throughout the week. http://abcn.ws/29ZrP8v
ANALYSIS -- HOW THE ULTIMATE SHOWMAN LOST CONTROL OF THE SHOW -- ABC’s RICK KLEIN: In a night designed to showcase party unity -- with several former rivals endorsing the nominee, and the pick for vice president given the stage -- the Donald Trump convention began to feel like a Trump campaign event. The rival who lasted longest against Trump used his moment not to endorse but to linger. Ted Cruz attempted to fire shots for the 2020 race, but they echoed sooner than he might have calculated. Cruz knew exactly what he was doing when he made the case against Hillary Clinton while not quite making the case for Donald Trump. Delegates got the picture too, when it became apparent that there would be no endorsement. After Cruz wrapped his speech, his wife and father had to be escorted out by a close Cruz ally in the Virginia delegation. “Goldman Sachs!” at least one person on the floor yelled at Heidi Cruz, naming her former employer. Trump himself appeared to make an early entrance onto the convention floor to train attention on himself. Minutes later, Chris Christie blasted Cruz for making a “cute” and “awful, selfish” speech in a live interview minutes later. Things came back on track during Mike Pence’s speech. Pence used the largest audience he’s ever had to talk about his own values, and also to turn some of Trump’s perceived vices into virtues. http://abcn.ws/2a1TeXa
TRUMP BLASTS CRUZ FOR ‘NOT HONORING THE PLEDGE’ AFTER CONVENTION SPEECH. Donald Trump tore into his former Republican rival Ted Cruz after the Texas senator's convention speech Wednesday night -- blasting him for "not honoring the pledge" to endorse the party's nominee. Trump took to Twitter to attack his fellow Republican, whom he lambasted as "Lyin' Ted" throughout the primary contest, ABC’s MICHAEL EDISON HAYDEN reports. Cruz was booed roundly during his speech, during which he congratulated, but failed to endorse Trump, who appeared briefly at the convention Wednesday. Cruz also told voters pointedly to "vote your conscience." The speech provoked a raft of reactions both on and off the convention floor, with Cruz being excoriated by Trump supporters and lauded directly and indirectly by Democrats and Green Party candidate. http://abcn.ws/29Vi915
WALKER THROWS SUPPORT BEHIND TRUMP. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker threw his support behind Donald Trump in his convention speech Wednesday night, ABC’s JORDYN PHELPS notes. “Let me be clear, a vote for anyone other than Donald Trump in November is a vote for Hillary Clinton,” the former 2016 candidate said, recalling the promise he made during a Republican debate in Cleveland last August to support the eventual nominee, regardless of who it was. “Make no mistake, we can't wait four years to get them next time,” he continued. “The consequences are too great.” http://abcn.ws/2ai1LXR
ERIC TRUMP HIGHLIGHTS FATHER’S PASSION FOR HELPING OTHERS. Eric Trump said that his father "shattered the expectations of every political pundit" in his rise to win the Republican nomination in a speech endorsing him for the presidency on Wednesday -- and coming in the wake of a raucous address by Ted Cruz where he failed to endorse the New York billionaire. "It's an honor to be here for a man I love so, so, so much," Eric Trump started in what would be an impassioned endorsement of his father. ABC’s MICHAEL EDISON HAYDEN has more. http://abcn.ws/29V70xk
MELANIA TRUMP’S SPEECHWRITER COMES FORWARD TO APOLOGIZE. An in-house writer and longtime friend of the Trump family has stepped forward with an apology for her involvement in the preparation of Melania Trump's address at the Republican National Convention Monday night, which bore similarities to a 2008 Michelle Obama speech. Staffer Meredith McIver said she submitted her resignation Tuesday but the Trump family rejected it. McIver admitted she never cross checked the text for duplicated lines from the first lady’s speeches. ABC’s JOHN SANTUCCI reports Parts of Melania Trump's speech on the first night of the convention had similarities to one given by Obama during the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Melania Trump, Donald Trump's third wife, worked on her speech for the past several weeks, practicing regularly, and “wanted to tell the American people about the love of her life,” a source close to the campaign told ABC News. http://abcn.ws/2a98Ozk
INSIDE THE ARENA: WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE ON THE GOP CONVENTION FLOOR IN CLEVELAND. Republicans from across the country descended on Cleveland to officially nominate their presidential pick - but also to have some fun. Delegates strutted their best state garb, showcasing their states to the other delegates gathered in the Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland. Other delegates drew their battle lines, trying to topple Donald Trump from the nomination. ABC’s RYAN STRUYK and KATHERINE FAULDERS have more on the ground-level look at the action on the GOP convention floor. http://abcn.ws/29VyeRw
WHY THE NEVER TRUMP MOVEMENT FAILED. After months of back-channel buzz and intra-party bickering, the Never Trump movement to block the Republican nomination for president is over. Donald Trump is officially the Republican presidential nominee. Consistently deemed one of the most divisive candidates in the history of presidential politics, all forces seemed to be in a place to stop Trump. He had a small campaign, and Texas Sen.Ted Cruz’s ability to gain the support of unbound delegates proved he could easily be out-organized. He lacked support from the establishment, failing to gain endorsements from the likes of the Bushes and Mitt Romney. But none of that seemed to matter in the end. So, what went wrong? ABC’s ALANA ABRAMSON and JOHN PARKINSON have more on why the Never Trump movement failed. http://abcn.ws/29Vhg8H
RNC TAKING CUES FROM ‘THE APPRENTICE’ AND TRUMP’S REALITY TV PAST. Years before he officially became the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump was known best by people outside New York as host of "The Apprentice." Now he’s showing that he can bring elements of the showmanship on display in the hit reality series to political conventions, ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY writes. Just as would-be authors are urged to “write what you know,” it appears that Trump’s planning team followed a similar maxim in arranging some of the speaker lineup and candidate appearances at the convention. On the convention’s first night alone, six former reality TV stars appeared on stage to show support for Trump. http://abcn.ws/2a9oXWR
WHAT WE’RE READING
‘DESPERATE’ FOR CASH, GOP FUNDRAISERS PURSUE SHELDON ADELSON IN CLEVELAND. Aside from Donald Trump himself, casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson may be the most sought-after man in Cleveland this week. Republicans seeking to help finance Trump’s presidential bid have been eager to see if Adelson will give Trump the kind of enormous donation that has become a trademark of past election cycles. He gave close to $100 million in 2012, according to one analysis, and The New York Times reported in May that Adelson was poised to do the same for Trump. Organizers of two so-called super PACs, which are legally allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts to support a presidential candidate, told ABC News they are “desperate” to attract large-dollar donors like Adelson while in Cleveland, now that Trump seems to have moved beyond the assertion that he would self-finance his entire campaign. ABC’s MATTHEW MOSK, BRIAN ROSS, MEGAN CHRISTIE and RHONDA SCHWARTZ have more. http://abcn.ws/2ackSmq