In the third night of the convention , Senator Ted Cruz of Texas gave a speech in which he did not endorse Trump for president , and instead urged listeners to " 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 . " Pro-Trump delegates were enraged at Cruz 's speech , shouting him down and booing him off the stage , in what was described by the '' New York Times '' as " the most electric moment of the convention . " Convention security personnel and Cruz advisor Ken Cuccinelli escorted Cruz 's wife Heidi out of the hall , fearing for her safety . Newt Gingrich spoke after Cruz and said : " I had the text of what Ted Cruz was gon na say , and I thought it was funny , " Gingrich said . " I mean , Ted gets up and he says , ' Look , vote your conscience for someone who will support the Constitution . ' Well , in this particular election year , that by definition can not be for Hillary Clinton . " The following morning , Cruz attended a contentious meeting with delegates representing Texas that resulted in what CNN labeled " a remarkable 25-minute back-and-forth with his own constituents , defying appeals from his own Texas delegation to put the party above his inhibitions and back Trump . " Cruz 's speech sparked a backlash and elicited negative reactions from prominent Republicans supporting Trump . New Jersey governor and former presidential candidate Chris Christie called the speech " awful " and " selfish . " New York Representative Peter T. King called Cruz a " fraud " and a " self-centered liar . " Senator Dan Coats of Indiana responded that Cruz was a " self-centered , narcissistic , pathological liar . " Representative Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee , when asked about Cruz 's speech , responded that she " would tell Cruz the same thing I would tell my kids , ' get over yourself . ' " Susan Hutchison , chair of the Washington State Republican Party , confronted Cruz after his speech and labeled Cruz a " traitor to the party . " In addition , Cruz was denied entry to influential Republican donor Sheldon Adelson 's suite at the convention . Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh speculated that Cruz was trying to mimic Ronald Reagan 's speech at the 1976 Republican National Convention , in that " he wanted to deliver a speech that was Reaganesque in that the delegates would walk out of there thinking that they should have nominated him . He did n't get there . " Instead , Limbaugh compared his speech to Ted Kennedy 's at the 1980 Democratic National Convention , in which he failed to endorse President Jimmy Carter , the nominee , by putting his own interests ahead of the interests of the party . According to CNN , in the wake of Cruz 's non-endorsement of Trump at the RNC , his critics believe that an intraparty challenge could be possible . GOP donors and Texas politicians have asked Representative Mike McCaul to run against him in the next cycle 's Texas primary in 2018 . McCaul , a representative for six terms and chair of the House Homeland Security Committee , has not yet made a decision but likewise has not yet ruled out a possible Senate run . Later , on September 23 , 2016 , Cruz publicly endorsed Trump for president
1976 Republican National Convention
1976 Republican National Convention
2016 Republican National Convention