Opinion

EXCLUSIVE: Cruz Camp: Trump Campaign Approved Speech, ‘Orchestrated’ RNC Blowback To ‘Make Cruz a Pariah’

   DailyWire.com

Late Wednesday night, a source within the Cruz team informed Daily Wire exclusively that the Trump campaign had sandbagged Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) over his speech at the Republican National Convention. Cruz spoke at the RNC, where he congratulated Trump on his campaign victory, then spoke about the necessity for freedom and finally stated that Americans should “vote your conscience.” He was met with resounding boos on the floor of the convention; his wife Heidi had to be rushed from the room; according to reports, one Republican delegate physically accosted Cruz, and Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson refused to meet with Cruz.

According to the source, the entire Cruz speech was cleared by the Trump campaign. Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign manager, expressly approved the speech at 4:30 PM ET. The source, who was standing on the convention floor at the time of the speech, said that Trump operatives were present, urging the crowd to boo. “This was orchestrated by the Trump campaign to make Senator Cruz a pariah within the party,” said the source.

“We made this arrangement weeks ago regarding the speech,” the source continued. “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.”

In fact, the source added, a few hours before the speech, the Trump campaign had been in negotiations with Cruz for Cruz to play a larger role in the campaign, including advising on Israel policy. Minutes after the speech ended, the source noted, the Trump campaign instantly informed them that the offer had been withdrawn.

“Senator Cruz was a little surprised by the depth of the boos,” the source said. “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.”

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The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  EXCLUSIVE: Cruz Camp: Trump Campaign Approved Speech, ‘Orchestrated’ RNC Blowback To ‘Make Cruz a Pariah’
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