CLEVELAND, Ohio — Anger erupted at Heidi Cruz, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s wife, and Rafael Cruz, Cruz’s father, after the senator did not endorse Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during his remarks at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night.
“During the course of the speech, more and more people were coming down closer and closer to Heidi and yelling at her and Rafael. I’m not too sure if people realized Rafael was there,” Ken Cuccinelli, Cruz’s former delegate wrangler, told The Daily Caller.
Cucinelli, who was with Sen. Cruz’s wife and father at the time of the incident explained, “When the speech ended, obviously Cruz people were cheering. It was an ugly crowd right behind us. There were a few people. I didn’t bother to turn around and look. I could feel it. And so thankfully the staffer I saw said, ‘You don’t want to talk to the media?’ And I gave my opinion very quickly. ‘No way.’”
“And the media was getting in front and [Heidi] was trying to leave. And we moved them out of the way. And once she moved by the first batch of people, it was clear that she was getting verbally assaulted from my delegation here — the Trump people in my delegation, including physically advancing. So, I take that pretty seriously,” Cuccinelli said.
One Trump supporter, a delegate from Texas, told TheDC he felt “betrayed” by Cruz.
“It’s absolutely outrageous. I can’t believe that Ted Cruz had the nerve to do that. Everyone, even hard-core Trump supporters like myself respect Ted Cruz. We respect what he’s done for the Republican Party. We respect his race,” Texas delegate Sean Ireland said.
He added, “But for him at this with barely 100 days left in this administration, for him to come out and give his acceptance speech for the Republican nomination and at the end not endorse Donald trump is absolutely a betrayal of everything we have worked for.”
New Hampshire Trump supporter and state representative Al Baldassaro holds no ill will towards Cruz but says that Trump supporters are simply aggravated by Cruz for not giving an endorsement to Trump.
“Ted Cruz is a great guy. I like Ted Cruz. I’m just surprised he didn’t endorse. So a Lot of people are unhappy. We still are united. And I think they’re just aggravated hoping he’d endorse. That’s all,” he said.
Cuccinelli, however, disagrees, saying that Cruz just walked a line in his speech and the themes in Cruz’s remarks supported Trump’s campaign.
“They have it our for Ted. He outlasted everybody else and he did well and came in second and they’re still fired up about it. But if you want unity you don’t demand it. You achieve it. And I didn’t see that effort here,” he said.
