Earlier this Thursday, Ted Cruz let go of a pledge of his endorsement to Donald Trump amid the Republican National Convention.
“That pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you go and slander and attack Heidi, that I’m going to nonetheless come like a servile puppy dog and say thank you very much for maligning my wife and maligning my father,” Cruz stated at a speech with the members of the Texas delegation.
According to CNN, politicians and delegates swarmed Cruz in his hotel to convince him of backing up Trump, to which he gave some explanations of why he was not ready at the moment. Cruz referred to the fact that the presidential race is not “a team sport,” but rather an event to see who is more apt to lead the country. Ted Cruz considers that the pledge that the whole Republican party signed to provide their support to Trump’s campaign was “abrogated,” after Trump decided to attack Cruz’s family.
Many of Cruz’s Republican colleagues have claimed that he turned his back on the party, aiming for a future presidential race. That includes Donald Trump Jr., who claimed that his father does not need Cruz’s endorsement whatsoever.
“I don’t care. We don’t need it. We got it de facto from the people that matter,” Trump Jr. stated to CNN.
It’s not only Cruz
But it seems that Donald Trump Jr., and perhaps also his father, forget that it is not a matter of needing more numbers or not. Although what will drive a candidate to victory is the number of votes, politics depend on the people that support each actor at hand. Cruz had a stern stance defending his family honor, and behind him, others may follow. Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich already refused to Trump’s VP offer. It is not a coincidence that both events occurred amid the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Donald Trump Jr. referred to the “voters that my father has been speaking to directly,” trying to highlight the fact that they have lots of support among the “hardworking people in this country that have been left in the dust.” Then again, Cruz also has people who voted for him and have supported him, many of which are currently supporting Donald Trump. Whenever politicians perceive how important actors refrain from supporting an idea or, in this case, a candidate, it is a pretty significant indicator of what the voter sentiment will be at the time of the election.
The elections are in November, and in just a week Trump has received some of his worst criticism as of yet. In the early months of the campaign, people became fascinated by his antics. As time went by, voters have started to realize that they must choose whether they do something against the real estate mogul. On Wednesday, it was John Kasich: on Thursday, it is Ted Cruz. Thursday 21 is the last day of the RNC, but voters and politicians become more aware each day of the factors that allowed Trump to reach his current position.
Trump will deliver his most famous speech as of yet this Thursday night.
You can watch Cruz’s full heartfelt speech here:
Source: CNN