hello, i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. in cleveland. wherever you're watching, from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. today is the final day of what has been a roller coaster republican convention. donald trump will be in the spotlight as he accepts the republican presidential nomination and makes his pitch to the american people. he'll be introduced tonight by his eldest daughter, ivanka trump. hanging over his big night is last night and the antagonizing speech by texas senator ted cruz. cruz was treated to a round of boos from the convention crowd

when he failed to endorse donald trump. cruz had several hours to stew on that reaction before taking to the microphones once again today, and he did not back down. >> i will tell you, when i stood up on the big stage and they asked every candidate there, if you don't win, will you support the nominee. i raised my hand and raised my hand enthusiastically with full intention of doing exactly that. i'll tell you the day that pledge was abrogated, the day that was abrogated was the day this become personal. as i said at the time, and i'm not going to get into criticizing or attacking donald trump, but i'll give you this response, i am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father. [ cheers and applause ] and that pledge was not a

blanket commitment that if you go and slander and attack heidi, that i'm going to come, nonetheless, like a servile puppy dog and say thank you very much for maligning my wife and maligning my father. >> just a little while ago, our owner rin burnett sat down with donald trump junior to get his reaction to the cruz complaints. listen to this. >> he's a pure politician. he tries to play the anti establishment guy. guess what? during his entire initial stage, he wanted to work for the bush campaign, wanted to do this. the problem is, no one likes him. he's so unlikable. literally, no fans, no friends, and he only became anti establishment when he couldn't be a part of the establishment because he couldn't get in there because no one wanted him in there. >> do you even want the endorsement? >> we don't care. we got it de facto, we got it from the voters, the people my father has been speaking to directly. >> like the melania trump speech

controversy on monday, this new ted cruz speech has stolen the focus from the intended message. joining us right now, political reporter sarah murray and sun land serfaty. what are you hearing from the trump camp in response to the cruz comments? this is pretty extraordinary. >> reporter: that's absolutely right, extraordinary is just the way to put it. i think we have seen from the donald trump interview, through comments from eric trump, chris christie, trump's own family and allies, we have seen this frustration, this disappointment, anger toward ted cruz's performance, they did see the remarks ahead of time, they knew what was coming. there was still this hope that maybe ted cruz would come around, maybe offer an endorsement or at least have nice things to say about donald trump, and we just really did not see any of that in ted cruz's speech last night. amid all of this, we have seen donald trump trying to downplay

the controversy that ted cruz stirred up. this is very normal for donald trump. he hates the idea of rejection by anyone. he likes to be loved, even by his former rivals. so he took to twitter today to really sort of bat this all back saying, other than a small group of people who have suffered massive and embarrassing losses, the party is very united, great love in the arena. wolf, it is worth noting that delegates on the floor last night, even some who were ted cruz supporters were disappointed by what they heard from ted cruz last night. i also talked to a number of republican donors who aren't necessarily huge fans of donald trump, but they were disappointed to see ted cruz come out there. they felt like he snubbed donald trump and stubbed the party on this national stage. at least in the room last night it seems like donald trump did have some of the love he's indicating here on twitter, wolf. >> sunlen, senator cruz was booed on the convention floor,

hammered by a lot of trump republicans including rick perry, chris christie. but has all the reaction been bad for ted cruz? >> no, it hasn't. if you look at outlets like the weekly standard, the national review, if you look at how they're playing this, they're giving ted cruz glowing reviews from last night. i think in large part that was part of his calculation, that there would be this group of tried and true conservatives that would be receptive to his stance and receptive to his messages last night. cruz aides say the senator was a bit surprise bid the forceful pushback he received on the floor last night and at this morning's texas delegation meeting and he did want to try to defuse the situation by taking questions from the delegation this morning. i did think that the particular si sound bite you played where he

offered a personal explanation for why he didn't come out and fully endorse donald trump by any stretch of the imagination, saying i'm not in the habit of endorsing someone that disparages my wife and father. ted cruz bringing that explanation has a lot of resonance going forward and i think that's what we'll continue to hear him say. >> sunlen, thanks very much. sarah, thanks to you as well. let's bring in the panel to talk about the ted cruz-donald trump showdown. we have cnn chief national correspondent john king, the anchor of "inside politics," cnn political analyst david gregory, the host of the david gregory show and jackie kucinich is the washington bureau chief for "the daily beast." how extraordinary is what we saw last night? >> we're supposed to be sitting here today talking about, what are the three big points donald trump needs to make tonight, what did we learn from mike pence about where he plans to mount the campaign and where

does the campaign see -- we're supposed to be looking in the veer rue mirror. because of this feud between donald trump and ted cruz, this is about the republican party, about the focus of the republican party. instead, we're looking at the review mirror. the conventions are to close the door. the first day is supposed to be slam the door shut on the primary season, move forward for the general election. not in donald trump's world. we're living in the world of the unexpected because we have the most unconventional candidate in our life times. >> cruz this morning at this event he had with members of the texas delegation. he's the senator from texas, he doubled and tripled and quadrupled down. listen to this. >> what does it say when you stand up and say vote your conscience and rabid supporters of our nominee begin screaming

"what a horrible thing to say!" if we can't make the case to the american people that voting for our party's nominee is consistent with voting your conscience, with defending freedom and being faithful to the constitution, then we aren't going to win and we don't deserve to win. that's how you win elections. >> he's obviously not bundling. >> and it's so personal. he made it very clear. donald trump trashed his wife, trashed his father. he made it clear it's personal. we talk about sarah palin going rogue, this is going road. if the big goal here was to achieve party unity, this shows the primary is not over, the party is divided. trump is adding to those divisions with his comments about nato and he still has a huge task tonight which is to convince more than 60% of the people who don't think he's

prepared to be president that he is. that's a lot of work to do. you're in charge of your convention unless you're not. he appears to have not been in charge. >> jackie, the vice presidential republican nominee, mike pence, he was responding this morning. he was on fox. listen to this. >> i didn't hear all of ted's speech. i did hear him congratulate donald trump. >> got that out of the way right at the beginning. >> on winning a hard-fought campaign. this was a tough and challenging primary. these are tough competitors. i've been through a few tough elections myself. i know those feelings can be strong. i was grateful that he came. i was grateful he congratulated our mom knee. i'm confident in the days ahead you'll see the party come together and present the choice to the american people. >> that was about a positive a spin as you can imagine. very impressive. >> mike pence basically said, can't we all just get along?

idea logically mike pence is much closer to ted cruz than he is donald trump. he endorsed ted cruz. it was a little tepid, but he did. very much even when he was in congress, he was very much like ted cruz, not like donald trump, so he probably does feel that pull and he once even on the ticket to unite the republican party. he's got quite a job ahead of him. >> marco rubio addressed the crowd here, not here in person, via video. but he took a different tone than ted cruz, even though marco rubio lost in the republican presidential primary contest. i'll play a little clip. >> 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. after a long and spirited primary, the time for fighting each other is over.

>> so he came via video, endorsed donald trump which cruz didn't do. he's up for re-election. >> you make a key point, he's up for re-election. i expect when rubio woke up and read the paper about the nato treaty and donald trump says it depends on the they pay their dues, i suspect he thought about did i really want to send that video. we'll see in 2018 when he's up for senate re-election or 2020. look at the florida primary map. in rubio's home state, donald trump cleaned his clock. the last thing you want to do, if you look at the florida primary, if you're marco rubio, he doesn't like donald trump, doesn't want to be around donald trump. he doesn't want to poke donald trump's voters in the eyes because he needs them. >> among conservative icons, he's getting praise, ted cruz, in the nastional review in an

article "lion ted," as opposed to lie lying. slate writes ted cruz just made himself 9ds kw4r50i6r7b8g9sds swrab are a conservative icon. >> i think as i go around this convention and talk to elected officials, this is a time of choosing for a lot of conservatives. congress said to me yesterday, we'll have to ask the question. he may be disliked, may be seen as a phony. that question is going to be asked. if trump loses and loses badly, there will be questions for the other conservatives who fall beneath the fallen line. and they'll be a real split about that as there is now. this is not a united party.

what passes for unity is literally calling for the imprisonment of hillary clinton. >> the never trump movement maded, but there are still influential elements among republicans who can't stomach the thought of having trump as their nominee. >> absolutely. cruz has a foundation within this very convention -- this is donald trump's coronation. but look at the platform, look at the rules. that is ted cruz. that is very conservative indoctrine that's woven through. that felt to me like cruz 2020, the building blocks of that last night. >> don't rule out if trul wins, that cruz won't challenge in the primaries in 2020. what he did last night was give a green light to never trump voters. don't accept the pressure to vote for trump. will that matter in texas? no. might it matter in virginia? maybe. >> how ability ohio? >> how about florida. >> lots more to assess, guys. thanks very much. the fallout coming fast and

furious after cruz's decision not to endorse donald trump. so did he wreck his chances for a future presidential run? we'll talk about that with one of ted cruz's former key staffers. also donald trump making ways before stepping on the step, new comments about making nato allies pay up and why it's a very different vision than the one laid out by his own choice for vice president. stay with us. y in chicago. meet maximum strength mylanta®. like owen, it works fast. unlike him, it makes heartburn go away. strong and soothing. new mylanta®. faster than heartburn. if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, isn't it time to let the real you shine through? introducing otezla (apremilast). otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable after just 4 months,

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welcome back. we're here at the republican national convention at the cnn grill, a defiant ted cruz is defending his decision not to endorse donald trump during the prime time speech last night. instead, the texas senator and former presidential candidate urged republicans to vote, quote, their conscience. let's bring in alice stewart, cnn political commentator and former ted cruz communications director. welcome to cnn as a new cnn political commentator. was all this about 2020, ted cruz looking ahead -- let's say if donald trump loses, maybe he's set the stage for another effort at the republican nomination? >> he started last night talking

about -- people forget he congratulated donald trump for his victory and called for people to vote their conscience. that was the takeaway from last night. >> why couldn't he simply say, as marco rubio said, i support ted cruz? it was nice that donald trump invited him to come, very gracious. everyone was expecting they would get some sort of endorsement. >> it was extremely generous to have the invitation without a doubt. there has been a phenomenal convention, they've done a great job, but at the same time, when the initial offer was made, there was never any exchange of, look, you can speak as long as you endorse. that was never in the initial conversation. they spoke the other day. the cruz campaign made it clear that they were not going to endorse. when they saw the speech two hours prior to giving the speech, they saw it wasn't going to happen. they knew there was not going to be an endorsement. obviously, understandably, they're frustrated the way things have come to play, but the point of his speech was to

help unify people. wolf, you know, you recall back in '76 when reagan gave his speech for gerald ford, he didn't endorse. he called for unity, let's unify and come together. that's part of ted's message last night and he'll continue to do so. >> you think between now and november 8th ted cruz will formally endorse him? last night he said he doesn't want hillary clinton to be president of the united states. the only other realistic option would be trump. >> there's no statute of limitations on when you can and can't give an endorsement. that's important to keep in mind. as he said, like a lot of people, they're still listening and looking and watching what donald trump is going to do, and he will want to hold his feet to the fire on issues important to him, such as protecting the constitution, our freedoms, life, liberty and marriage. that's what he was doing. >> this morning ted cruz said it

was also personal. it was very ugly, those exchange that ted cruz and donald trump had during the campaign. ted cruz this morning said, look, look what he said about my wife, look what he said about my father. you think i can go ahead and endorse someone like that. >> i would hope a lot of men would be the same way in terms of someone is critical to your wife like that and says such things about your father, that he killed jfk, not to mention you also can't forget donald trump repeatedly called to question ted's citizenship and whether or not he was qualified to be president. it tooks us weeks and weeks to fight that. >> it's really personal. >> sure. but at the same time, there are principles and what he did last night, as he said, he's standing on principles, calling on conservatives to vote their conscience and unite the party by standing be hoond and uniting on values. at the same time he was standing for his principles, it got personal since they took that pledge. last night in the speech, not so much about politics, but it was

about politi personal -- >> he did make the pledge at one of the first republican debates saying whoever the republican nominee is, he will vote for him, support him, and the accusation is he's betraying his own word. >> as he has said numerous times, and donald trump has previously said he would go back if certain things happen with regard to the pledge. the takeaway that ted made last night is that the policies of hillary clinton and barack obama, we cannot have those anymore and it's time for the conservatives to unify. >> here you see donald trump arriving at the convention. they call it the q, the quicken loans arena. he's going to walk around. i see ivanka trump, his eldest daughter is with him right now. they'll be checking out the stage. she'll speak tonight, introduce her father.

she's very impressive in her own right, as all of us know. they'll get a sense of the stage there tonight. most of the speakers like to do that coming in earlier in the afternoon and getting a little sense. there you see paul manafort, the trump campaign chairman, he's walking in as well. this is going to be a really significant moment for donald trump tonight, his big speech. we're going to watch that unfold. alice, as you see this going on, you worked for ted cruz on his presidential campaign, you worked for mike huckabee at one point. you've worked on several presidential campaigns. for donald trump right now, this is going to be one of the most important nights of this whole campaign, the speech he delivers tonight, to the american people. >> absolutely, without a doubt. what we see them doing there, refd to as the walk-through. they get a sense of the stage and the lighting and the microphone. he's an expert speaker and has

given many speeches. this is important to just get a sense of the stage, and without a doubt, tonight's speech and the theme behind it, make america great again, what i think will be so great tonight. donald trump has said this from the very beginning and his brand has been make america great again. tonight's speech is his way to tie a bow around it and bring the party together. i think it's going to be certainly a phenomenal speech, really reaching out to the people in this room and across the country. i'm sure the rating also be through the roof. it will be his chance to show his contrast between his policies, his views en vicksed for the future in contrast with hillary clinton whichever one in that room across the street in terms of the delegates acknowledge his policies will, as he has said, make this country great again as opposed to hillary clinton's. >> we'll see if he walks out on the stage. we'll have coverage of that. it looks like the secret service guys are moving around over there right now. he'll be walking up to that

stage. wanting to get a little flavor of what's going on. let's take a quick break. we'll come back to these live pictures. as soon as we do -- donald trump certainly known for his showmanship. what should we expect from his speech tonight? much more on that. will he say anything about ted cruz? we'll ask one of donald trump's senior advisers. we're standing by to see donald trump and ivanka trump on the stage getting a little sense of what's going on.

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daughter ivanka trump. she's going to be introducing him tonight. kellyanne conway is with us, senior campaign advisor to the trump campaign. you look at these pictures. walk us through the process. you did this yesterday with mike pence. >> i did. it's usually a pretty brief process, just getting you comfortable with where the stage will be set up, where the teleprompters will. it's typical for them to practice with the teleprompter outside the convention hall. you have cameras there obviously, journalists watching them. it's not that he's going to go through his whole script, maybe practice the cadence in your head, go through some of the lines where you know you're going to hesitate for effect, great applause lines. a very special partnership between ivanka trump and her dad. she's worked hard on her speech, a masterpiece. >> she's 34 years old, extremely

impressive woman. obviously they're both going to be reading speeches carefully scripted, carefully drafted speeches on the teleprompters. >> they are. in the case of ivanka, normally introductions -- like the one you saw from speaker ryan of mike pence, they're very warm but tend to be very biographical and maybe one or two anecdotes. ivanka is his daughter but also a co-worker. she calls him best friend, mentor and boss. i think you'll see a much richer illustration of their relati relationship and how this man has helped other people along the way, people who felt down and out, people who wanted another chance, people who have come looking for a job. you heard his sons emphasize this, too, and "the new york times" wrote a piece this morning about this, wolf, that this is a man, donald trump, who feels most comfortable talking to the electrician, the plumber, the foreman at a job, as comfortable as he is going up to

see how the pept house has turned up at the end of a project. >> tiffany the first night, only 22 years old. >> amazing. >> recent graduate of the university of pennsylvania, very impressive, very poised for a 22-year-old. extremely impressive, donald trump junior, eric trump last night. all the trump children, they're adults, very polished. >> they're also great character witnesses. we all know if you can be judged in your life by the children you raised, you'll be jun just fine. the full measure of the man that is unfolding this week, is someone respected by those who work for him, but also by those who love him and call him dad. i thought the trump-pence combination is when he said look at the trump family, you can't fake great kids. a lot of americans can actually -- that resonates with

him. he said my greatest title has been d-a-d, not vip. >> this is closed press. we get a shot of it because we have cameras all over the quicken loans arena, but they've turned off the microphones so we can't hear what he or ivanka might be saying right now. this is normal. will there be a video tonight as well? usually at a lot of these conventions, there's an exte extensive video introduction of the presidential nominee. >> you see that every night. a couple different out takes of the last several nights. we've worked on that over the last couple weeks and months, putting that together for the convention. the thing about the videos, they get life after that. you can cut them down into ads, make them more documentary style. donald trump and the social media team are doing a fen nol

nall job reaching out to mel len y'alls. i feel millennials get short solicit. ivanka and her husband are millennials. mature, poised, accomplished. they do this as a family affair, extended family affair, articulate. i believe coming out of this convention tomorrow, wolf, we will have seen this as the trump convention. coming out of philadelphia next week, let's see if it felt like just hillary clinton's conventi convention, overshadowed by liz wealth barren, barack obama, bill clinton. >> how big a problem was ted cruz last night? >> i thought it was a huge disappointment. i ran his major super pac. i understand the way he feels that. he could have said that. he could have said i will never forgive you for what you did to my father and wife, but i love

my country. sometimes you can't be a little bit pregnant. you can't come to the convention and stand there where this man is going to be nominated, talk about -- i thought ted cruz gave an emphatic and compelling roster of conservative principles and why we're so different from obama and clinton, and then failed to say, and please elect this fall. i've heard from donors disappointed, activists that are angry. i understand why he did it. it's a gamble for his political future. for many conservatives, the future viet now and we want to beat hillary clinton. >> donald trump knew there was not going to be a formal endorsement. he was gracious enough to let him come speak? >> a great word to use for donald trump and one that is not used far enough in my view. donald trump was gracious twice yesterday, second when he found out hours before that ted cruz was not going to endorse. he could have plunked him off his convention schedule but he did not. the first time he was gracious is refusing to accept the

resignation of meredith mciver who helped melania trump write the speech and took the responsibility for that error in having some of the words from a former speech -- >> why didn't they come clean with that right away, why wait two and a half days? >> i don't know if it was two and a half days. your point is well taken. i don't know if everyone knew the facts. remember, this happened while the trumps were flying back to new york that night from melania's -- >> paul manafort, the campaign chairman was put in an awkward position. he was denying there was any plagiarism, denying there was any lifting of comments, if you will from michelle obama's speech eight years ago. then all of a sudden we get the statement yesterday acknowledging, yeah, there was a problem -- >> the woman taking full responsibility and donald trump being incredibly gracious saying he wouldn't accept her resignation, she's been a part of the trump family and organization for years. getting back to grace, donald

trump could have taken that away from ted cruz. i think last night still belongs to mike pence. >> most people aren't talking about mike pence on this day. >> they will ultimately. that's because people like the drama and ted likes the headlines. you're starting to see a couple headlines on the web this afternoon, wolf, where this gamble backfired for ted cruz and people are scratching their heads. that remains to be seen. mike pence as the vice presidential nominee will have a daily opportunity to restate the case he made last night to america. i think last night with mike pence, americans got to see exactly why donald trump chose him. >> you see ivanka trump there at the microphone. the microphones are turned off. i want to let our viewers around the united states and around the world know. she's practicing reading from the teleprompter, getting advice from the stage floor director. donald trump is there. paul manafort. to the right you see jared kushner, her husband, who is with her as well. scotty, cnn contributor, donald

trump supporter. scotty, this is going to be for ivanka trump and for donald trump, i would argue probably the two most important speeches at least to date of their lives. >> absolutely. there's no better surrogate for mr. trump than ivanka. she's proven that time and time again. she shows grace, competence, stability. she shows the fruit of the tree is strong. i think every parent would love to say we would love to have a daughter just like ivanka. tonight she's the best person to show the warmth of mr. trump before he comes on stage and he shows the leadership qualities and the type of character he will be. >> scotty and kellyanne, all of us know and i do it all the time, it's not that easy getting that feel, delivering a speech, making it feel like you're just talking but you're really reading. you need some coaching. >> the teleprompter isn't in front of you, either. it's to either side.

you have to be very careful that you don't look like you're watching a tennis match. the other thing, wolf, this is a pretty el ity hall. you some media and maybe a couple stray delegates taking pictures. you can't replicate or fully anticipate what it will be like tonight when thousands and thousands of people will be in that hall. >> and millions of people watching. >> except for the fact these are trumps. mr. trump all year long has been speaking to tens of thousands of people in his rallies. >> i've got to tell you, scotty, he's much better as a speaker when he's speaking, has some notes and delivering off-the-cuff. when he's reading he becomes a little more stiff, if you l not as natural. he's a more exciting speaker when he's just speaking. >> that's the challenge for tonight. while i respect the type of trump when he's talking about teleprompter trump, i know there's no way we would be here today putting mr. trump at the top of his ticket, nominating him as our president if he had done teleprompter from day one.

he would not be able to resonate, not be able to actually bond the republican party as his message has been able to do if he was reading from a teleprompter a well-prepared script. >> a very presidential look right now, i would have to say, full suit and tie and the flags. they get to look like they have command and control. >> looks like they're beginning to walk off the stage. donald trump, they want to be comfortable tonight. they're getting advice from people on the stage all the time. you see floor directors, jared kushner, her husband in the middle of the screen. >> and paul manafort. i guarantee these will be probably two of the most well vetted speeches ever. every word has been checked, double-checked, toauthentic, cor own. we know it's going to be scrutinized, one lesson we've learned this week. >> want to make sure there's nothing lifted even inadd very

at the present timely. right now there's software that can go back and check. >> absolutely. that's something people like us do, wolf. you have to be seeing what america will take from all these speeches. i believe in the end folks will look at melania trump's speech and remember a woman who famously said the greatest privilege on planet earth is to be an american citizen. next week she'll spend her tenth anniversary being one. i don't know if they'll remember the back and forth of earlier this week. what can you take from these speeches and put into those facebook posts or google posts. what will cnn run three weeks from now? what will be the one snippet from ivanka trump or donald trump's speech tonight that will be run. >> i'm hoping donald trump goes back and literally channels his inner ronald reagan. let's look at '84, come together to make america great again, inspirational.

1980, look at -- can anyone look at the record and say of this administration and say "well done?" he still needs to bring the independents in tonight. nixon in '68, did we come all this way for this? this has been such a journey. most importantly i want him to channel eisenhower from '52, today, this is the day of a great battle, the road that leads to november 4th is going to be rough, but i'm here to fight. he needs to show that strength. that's something romney missed. many people it was this point romney lost the election. he didn't fight president obama the last few months. >> what donald trump also brings to tonight, in addition to being a real estate magnate and a billionaire, he's a showman. he's dontell vision for a long time. he knows the production values. he understands that. i think probably that's what he's discussing right now with the floor directors. >> and the lighting. i've been there to witness it firsthand. the lighting, the angles, are

the lights too bright? are you squinting? this is the man who understood the cultural sooik ieft with "the apprentice." look at ivanka trump. this is a woman with a successful line of clothing an house products in her name who also understands the american consumer. she's someone who looks overall her advertising. >> very impressive woman, 34 years old. alex cass an knows is with us, senior strategist for rebuilding america now which is a new pro donald trump super pac, is that right? >> yes, it is. they're rehearsing up on the stage right now. you can't have any direct involvement with the trump campaign as a super pack, but you can support donald trump. explain to our viewers what you're doing, what your mission is? >> the way campaigns seem to work now under all the new campaign laws is that campaigns are limited in what they can

raise, a few thousand dollars for the campaign itself for many contributors. but the media part of the campaign, the tv part can be supported with larger contributions through a super pac. it's what jeb bush did, what hillary clinton is doing with her pac, priorities usa. we were created to be the counterbalance to priorities usa. we'll be up in swing states next week, in ohio, florida and pennsylvania. >> when you say you're going to be up, having advertising? >> on tv with commercials. if people go to rebuildingamerica.com -- >> how much have you raise sod far? >> we've raised $3 million this week so far. we've raised another two yesterday. so we expect to be on the air in a significant by this week. governor pence is going to carve out a hunk of his schedule to attend some events for us. i think we're going to be able

to counterbalance -- >> you're clearly not going to raise as much as the pro hillary clinton super pack, right? >> hillary clinton had a head start on. the clinton foundation, clinton global initiative are generally professional corrupt enterprises that specialize in raising hundreds of million ofs dollars. it's going to be hard to do anything. >> you've got a lot of republican fat cats here at cleveland. you met with several of them yesterday. is that what you're say? >> yes, we did. paul manafort called in and gave us a briefing on the campaign and the state of the campaign. he's not calling into any other super pacs as he said on the call. i think if folks want to help donald trump and keep hillary clinton out of the white house, this is the best pac that you can support. >> did you get a bit from sheldon adelson, the billionaire, las vegas billionaire who is very active in republican politics? >> we're just starting reaching out now. so ask us again in a while.

>> look at this stage. you want to talk about unification within our party. i'm sitting with kellyanne and alex, who for the past year we were on different teams debating each other, unity in the party has brought us here together -- >> we didn't see that unity with ted cruz last night. >> it's a bigger picture. >> that may have been one of the great moments of the convention that helps donald trump. >> why do you think that? you're a veteran republican strategist. >> i can tell you that. ted cruz is a self-interested politician that no one likes, the narrowist possible expression of what it means to be a republican. in a general election, ted cruz is the republican equivalent of zika, and when you don't have zika, it's good. in a general election, that's not helpful. last night, everything people don't like about ted cruz he reinforced, the self-interest. some people are talented enough to take an act of utter disloyalty and turn it into a stand on principle.

ted cruz is not that gifted. he reinforced what people don't like about him. not being a ted cruz republican is a plus in a general election. how often do you think we can get ted cruz not to endorse donald trump? i'll pay for that. >> i still have optimism, what a great thing for tonight or even next week if ted cruz takes a step back and says, for the good of the party t good of the country. >> he made it clear this morning, this is personal. you can't expect, he said, someone whose father and wife were attacked by donald trump to forget about that and announce that he's supporting them. >> if you're running for president of the united states, it's not about you. that's the important thing. if you were president of the united states and put your own interests first the way ted cruz did last night, it wouldn't be good for the country. so no, he made a pledge. he gave his word and he did keep his word. >> and repeated it on march 3rd. >> at that first republican

debate, when all of the republican candidates on the stage were asked, will you commit now to support whoever the republican nominee is? the question was asked because there was concern donald trump wouldn't make that -- the irony is donald trump got the nomination. he eventually said yes, i'll support the republican nominee. all of them did. a bunch of them now -- kellyanne, you know this well, are refusing the make that commitment to support donald trump. >> they need to make a decision that goes way beyond their conscience and ask themselves, if your word is your bond, if part of the entire political structure that you have built and your reputation centers on, i keep my word, i'm a principled person, i stand up to leaders of both parties, how is this an exception? wolf, we all read the pledge. you can see the pledge. there is no cod sill, no footnote that this does not apply if donald trump is the nominee. >> jennifer granholm is with us as well, not a donald trump supporter.

she's a hillary clinton supporter. we're watching, by the way, i want to set the scene, donald trump and ivanka trump, his eldest daughter who will both be speaking the night at the republican national convention. they're up on stage, practicing a little bit, going through what it's like to stand there, read from the teleprompter, get the feel for the room. if you're a politician, jennifer granholm, this is an important aspect and a critically important speech tonight to go through a rehearsal like this? >> no doubt about it. he's got send the theme of unity through his party after what happened last night and what happened on monday. this ability to feel comfortable, he's somebody who feels comfortable in that space anyway. but the ability to go up, no exactly where your mark is, where the teleprompters are, make sure the lighting is right, all very important. >> one of the things he's got going for him and we've heard this and seen it this week, his children, who are adults all of

them, very impressive, the presentations, the love for their father that they've expressed. this is something that resonates with a lot of people. they say, you know what? i don't know about donald trump, he's got great kids. >> as mike pence said last night, kids are really important for determining how great the parents are, at least how you view them. >> you can't fake them. >> you can't fake good kids, although sometimes kids do go awry. >> sometimes you wish you could. >> i think that's one of the things coming out of this convention, people think they know donald trump because they've seen him on tv, been in their living room for 30 years, but not the man. maybe, i think one of the things we're learning in this convention that's going to be most helpful, that the best thing donald trump has built isn't a building. it's those kids. it's that family, and that is something of the incontrovertible. it tells you something -- they all credit him pour the kind of dad he was. so i think that's a story -- >> jennifer, let's look ahead a few days. we're seeing the republicans

getting ready for final leg, day four of this republican national convention. on monday we'll all be in philadelphia, day one of the democratic convention. what happens here this week, how does that impact what will happen in philadelphia? >> philadelphia? >> i think it is important for democrats to see what happened on the republican side. there is no doubt because this republican party has been so divided this week, both in style and in substance, even the comments this morning that you were talking about earlier regarding the whole nato alliance. that is hugely controversial in the republican party. it is hugely controversial on the democrat side. democrats, however, is going to be coming together with the theme we are stronger together, that we are united, we are one world. while the republican party is looking at uniting the party, she's going to be looking at uniting the country. >> we just got a clip from the senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, who previews donald trump's speech tonight.

listen to this. >> i think basically a couple of things he needs to do. number one, i'm a strong advocate for having a great script and sticking to it. that's the way you avoid making mistakes. and driving home the message that america needs to change. if you look at the survey data, people are not happy with where we are. and so if in the end the decision this election is about do you want to take a new direction, donald trump wins. i think he needs to be selling new direction and change tonight. >> sounds, jennifer granholm, like one of the messages they want to ask the american people, are you better off today than you were eight years ago. that's been done before, as you well remember. it was done successful. >> that's right. >> and if you ask the american people today do you feel safer, do you feel more secure, are you

more press perrous, are you healthier than you were eight years ago? and vote as you feel on that. what's going to be the answer from the clinton campaign. >> i'm sure the democrats will be saying eight years ago we were in the middle of the worst recession in our life times. we were losing 6,000 jobs per month. today we've had 75 months straight of job creation. the economy as the unemployment has been cut in half. they will recite all of that and it is very important. the fact that the president's approval rating is in the 54% range is very important. plus, in addition to that, the change argument -- you know, you might want to see change, but do you want to see change that jeopardizes you? the fact that the economists, intelligence unite, has ranked donald trump -- this is the third-largest global threat. after his comments this morning i bet he bumps up a couple of notches and the fact that they've never even put a human being like a candidate on that list before, that donald trump is so risky, that kind of change is not the change that people

want. >> we'll get a preview now of what the democratic convention is going to be like. >> we get a preview of those three presidential debates that are going to be taking place in september and october. i suspect the viewership for those debates between hillary clinton and donald trump. >> i just want to go back to this message of change. donald trump is a very complex person with very simple messages that have so resonated with american people. make america great again. sounds a lot like barack obama, 2008, bill clinton, 1992, and george w. bush 2000, even you've had two terms of one president. >> hold on. what we know for certain that what donald trump promises tonight will probably be like anything we've ever seen before because it is donald trump. here is a look back at some of the moments he's up against. >> you have summoned me on behalf of millions of your fellow americans to lead a great

crusade, for freedom in america and freedom in the world. >> i would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. [ cheers and applause ] >> my fellow americans, tonight i accept the challenge and the commitment to provide that new leadership for america, and i ask you to accept it with me. >> we've had enough of big promises and little action. the time has come for honest government in the united states of america. [ cheers and applause ] >> you are the people who make america what it is. it is from your ranks that i come and on your side i stand. >> i will not stand by and watch this great country destroy itself under mediocre leadership that drifts from one crisis to the next, eroding our national will.

the time is now, my fellow americans, to recapture our destiny. >> read my lips. no new taxes. >> but this is not my moment. it is for the people of america that i stand here tonight, i know whose moment this is. it is yours. it is yours entirely. [ cheers and applause ] >> when i put my hand on the bible, i will swear to not only uphold the laws of our land, i will swear to youp hold tuphold and dignity of the office to which i have been elected, so help me god. >> is he going to have a line that will resonate for generations? >> there are several. >> you've seen his speech. >> i have. it is a great speech. it is in his voice. i think more important than just sound bites for the ages, wolf, is really some tried themes in there. donald trump as a man, donald trump as a visionary and donald

trump as a person. >> we'll all look forward to ivanka trump's introduction of her father. >> that's a masterpiece. >> that's it for me this hour. but i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "the situation room." then all night we'll bring you the latest from the republican national convention. our special coverage continues right after this quick break. shmorange! and it rhymes with the color of our bottle. hey, baby, make it your first word! (baby babble) not even close. reach for the orange, it's 100% shmorange! our vitamins contain no gluten, dairy or artificial flavors. so we invented a word that means that. shmorange! and it rhymes with the color of our bottle. to help spread the word, we made t-shirts! reach for the orange, it's 100% shmorange!

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and no colors from artificial sources. we think clean food tastes better, feels better, does better. 100% of our food will be clean by year's end. every bite will be food as it should be. ♪ here we go. i'm brooke baldwin. we're live once again here in cleveland, ohio. welcome to cnn's special coverage of the final day here of the republican national convention. minutes ago i can tell you that donald trump walked through the convention stage preparing for what could be the biggest speech of his life in just a couple of hours. he will formally accept the republican nomination to become president of the united states. and yet right now we're not