Friday, March 29, 2024

Recap: Day Three at the GOP Convention (VIDEO)

There’s so much to talk about. So much. Where do I start?

Ted Cruz

Last night, Ted Cruz gave the most memorable political speech in recent memory. He took the stage to a standing ovation . . . and he left to an overwhelming chorus of boos.

What happened? Watch below:

The key moment comes at 19:00 in that video.

We deserve leaders who stand for principle. Who unite us all behind shared values. Who cast aside anger for love. That is the standard we should expect, from everybody.

And to those listening, please, don’t stay home in November. If you love our country, and love your children as much as I know that you do, stand, and speak, and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution.

At that point, the boos rained down as delegates and convention attendees realized the speech was a non-endorsement. Cruz attempted to make light of it:

I appreciate the enthusiasm of the New York delegation.

But it wasn’t just the New York delegation. The boos drowned out Cruz for the remainder of his speech. Reading the text of the speech, it doesn’t read nearly as badly as it felt at the time in Quicken Loans Arena. Many people were very angry and disappointed. And some, I’m sure, were thrilled that he refused to endorse Trump, but I didn’t see very many of them in my section.

The speech was certainly historic. Has a high-profile political figure ever entered an arena to a standing ovation and left to boos? And all of this happened on national television! Wow.

Marco Rubio

Rubio chose not to attend the convention, but he did deliver a brief video address where he castigated Hillary Clinton and (basically) endorsed Donald Trump.

Unlike Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump is committed to cut taxes, curb spending, and get our national debt under control. Unlike Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump takes seriously the threats from Islamic radicals, and is committed to rebuilding our military. And unlike Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, he is committed to appointing constitutionalist judges who will respect the proper role of the judiciary.

After a long and spirited primary, the time for fighting each other is over. It’s time to come together and fight for a new direction for America. It’s time to win in November.

Laura Ingraham

One criticism of the Republican convention so far has been that it has lacked energy. It has been a bit sleepy. That changed the second Laura Ingraham got on stage.

She went after #NeverTrump. She savaged the media. She made the case against Hillary Clinton. That speech had everything.

State Sen. Ralph Alvarado

It seems like every convention we look for a young politician to give a breakout speech that propels his or her career. The model for this, of course, is Barack Obama’s keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, which led to him becoming president in 2008.

State Senator Ralph Alvarado of Kentucky isn’t getting the headlines Obama did in ’04, but he definitely deserves them. Watch his speech:

I would love to see him replace Sen. Mitch McConnell, assuming he retires, in 2020.

Mike Pence

Day three was supposed to culminate with vice presidential nominee Mike Pence’s speech . . . but that’s not really how it went. The headlines this morning are solely focused on Ted Cruz’s WWE-style heel turn.

That being said, Pence gave a great speech last night and reminded the crowd why he was a great pick. One of my favorite lines of the night: “I’m a Christian, I’m a conservative, and I’m a Republican, in that order.” Pence was self-effacing, likable, and persuasive. He made the case for Trump, and proved that he will be an asset on the campaign trail.

Watch below:

Tonight, as we head into the last night of the convention, we look forward to Donald Trump’s acceptance speech. It’s going to be wild. Be sure to tune in to one of the networks tonight at 8:30 EST. We’ll be sure to provide more live coverage here at The Pulse 2016.

Jon Schweppe is the Communications Director for American Principles Project. Follow him on Twitter @JonSchweppe.

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