CLEVELAND, Ohio—The build up of boos and hisses toward Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz began with a small section of the New York delegation when it appeared Sen. Cruz would not endorse GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
One individual who was part of that section, which is located front and center of the stage at the Quicken Loans Arena, is New York Republican Rep. Pete King.
King told The Daily Caller Thursday night at the Republican National Convention that New York co-chair of Trump’s campaign Carl Paladino began heckling Cruz to endorse Trump at one point. When that endorsement did not happen the chorus of boos began.
Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort told The Washington Post that the campaign did not coordinate the boos. It was simply “organic.”
“I would say actually I would refer to my friend Carl Paladino. He was first. I was probably second. It was really spontaneous. Carl was pretty boisterous. I was ready something,” King said. “This was the whole delegation, seriously.
“Everybody gave him a standing ovation before it started, so they weren’t out to give him a hard time. Next thing was, like, ‘What happened?’ I was happy to join in, but I’m not taking credit for it,” Rep. King explained.
He added, “If I would say it was anybody, it was Carl [who started it].”
What does Paladino have to say about instigating the reaction of the New York delegation?
“I was yelling at him, ‘C’mon do it. Do it. Do it. Endorse him for America and then he said something about the New York delegation. And then we were all waiting for the high point and didn’t come and he was sort of smirking and we just all let go at the same time,” Paladino told The DC on the convention floor Thursday night.
“It was sort of spontaneous. It was Peter, [Rep.]Lee Zeldin, me and Nick Langworthy. And we just, like all, boom,” he added.