After refusing to formally endorse Donald Trump in his speech at the Republican National Convention, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was accosted backstage by one particularly angry Republican delegate, who went “bananas” on Cruz, who she branded a “traitor to the party.”
In his much-anticipated speech, Cruz exhorted the packed out arena to “vote your conscience,” refusing to stick to his pledge and endorse Trump. Many in the audience, reportedly led by Trump staffers, booed Cruz loudly. Things got worse off stage, Cruz’s wife and his father having to be escorted out of the venue by security for fear of backlash from angry Trump supporters, and Cruz being blasted by delegates and boxed out by megadonors.
According to BuzzFeed’s Rosie Gray, a witness claims that Washington State Republican Party Chair Susan Hutchison went “bananas” on the Texas Senator, who she called a “traitor to the party,” near the arena’s bottom level suites outside the elevators. The source told BuzzFeed that the encounter was heated enough that “security kind of stepped in,” and the “the Cruz folks dragged him and Heidi into an elevator and security kind of pushed her the other way.”
“Wasn’t like anyone got arrested, it was just really dramatic,” added the source.
When asked about the heated encounter, Hutchison confirmed to BuzzFeed that she had indeed confronted Cruz.
“I just told him I thought his speech was inexcusable, and I was so disappointed in him,” said Hutchison said. “I was angry, everybody was angry. You heard everybody booing him. We were astounded at what he did.”
Hutchison said she did not remember what Cruz said in response nor did she notice security getting involved.
Cruz was also reportedly turned away from the suite of megadonor Sheldon Adelson after the event, being barred from entrance and told the room was “full.”
Despite having told Trump that he was not going to formally endorse him and his speech having been fully vetted and approved by the campaign, Team Trump has responded in faux outrage to Cruz’s “vote your conscience” speech, a response a Cruz campaign source told The Daily Wire that was part of Trump’s revenge strategy to “make Cruz a pariah.”
“This was orchestrated by the Trump campaign to make Senator Cruz a pariah within the party,” the source told The Daily Wire. “We made this arrangement weeks ago regarding the speech. We said we wouldn’t cause trouble with the delegates, that Senator Cruz would give a speech, that Senator Cruz would not endorse. They agreed to that. That was always the deal. They saw the speech beforehand and knew what Senator Cruz would be saying. They offered no pushback on the speech whatsoever.”
The source explained that just hours before the speech which the Trump campaign had already seen, they were in negotiations with Cruz about playing a larger role in the campaign. But minutes after the speech, Team Trump informed Cruz that they were withdrawing the offer.
“Senator Cruz was a little surprised by the depth of the boos,” said the source. “Donors have been emailing, declaring that he’s dead, that it’s the end of his political career. But I don’t think this is all going to play out the way Donald Trump thinks it will.”