The scene irritated the still-raw feelings of some veterans of the 2016 GOP race. Veteran Republican strategist Curt Anderson, who ran Bobby Jindal’s campaign, saw in Cruz’s action far more calculation than principle, recalling the days when Cruz expressed admiration and affection for Trump.
“No one did more to create Donald Trump than Ted Cruz did,” Anderson wrote in an email shortly after Cruz’s speech. “While others were attempting to stop Trump, Cruz was complimenting him and sucking up to him. It was a political calculation that failed. Everything he does is a political calculation. Tonight he calculated that not endorsing the Republican nominee will be good for him. That will be another failed calculation, no matter whether Trump wins or loses in the fall.”
Anderson was by no means alone in that feeling. Talking to attendees leaving the hall Wednesday night, most were unhappy with Cruz’s performance. They didn’t like the fact that Cruz would not fall in line behind his party’s choice, and they could not understand his decision in light of their strong belief that the country has gone downhill fast under President Obama and will continue unless Hillary Clinton is stopped.
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