Ted Cruz booed at Republican convention as he fails to endorse Donald Trump for president
The Texan senator undermined calls for party unity after refusing to tell voters to back his former rival
TED Cruz was booed by furious delegates at the Republican convention after refusing to endorse Donald Trump for President.
The Texan senator undermined calls for party unity by telling its members to simply "vote your conscience" in November’s election.
The remarkable scenes overshadowed a speech by Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who was formally nominated as Mr Trump’s vice-presidential running mate
Mr Cruz, who was defeated by the real estate mogul in the race to become the Republican candidate in the race for the White House, spoke on the third day of a fractious convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
He mentioned Mr Trump by name only once, and stubbornly refused to endorse him, triggering thunderous boos from angry delegates.
Mr Trump - who will address the final day of the conference tonight - unexpectedly walked into the arena just as Mr Cruz was ending his remarks.
Delegates chanted the billionaire’s name and implored Mr Cruz to voice his support for the businessman, to no avail.
Mr Cruz's wife Heidi had to be escorted from the convention floor for her own safety as she was heckled by Trump delegates.
A tweet from Mr Trump afterwards seemed to express surprise he was booed, but said he “didn’t honour the pledge”.
He added: “I saw his speech two hours early but let him speak anyway. No big deal!”
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The extraordinary scenes show how split Republicans are following Mr Trump's controversial campaign, and were at odds with the later claim by Mr Pence that it was a "united party".
Mr Cruz said: "Vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution."
The pair have had a complicated relationship throughout the campaign, with Mr Cruz first allying himself with the tycoon, but as Mr Trump became the frontrunner the relationship soon soured.
The tycoon mocked the senator’s wife and seemed to suggest his father was somehow involved in the Kennedy assassination, and proceeded to call him "Lyin' Ted" at every opportunity.
Meanwhile Mr Cruz criticised his opponent as a "pathological liar" and "utterly amoral", meaning it was always unlikely he would give his unequivocal support to him at the convention.
It still infuriated allies of Mr Trump, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who said the decision was "totally selfish".