RNC crowd erupts in cheers as Laura Ingraham challenges 'bruised' former rivals who haven't backed Trump
Radio talk show host and conservative commentator Laura Ingraham earned the biggest cheers of any speaker at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night after taking a shot at former Trump rivals who've stopped short of endorsing Donald Trump.
"We should all, even all you boys with wounded feelings and bruised egos, pledge to support Donald Trump now," she said, appearing to take aim at Sen. Ted Cruz and others like him who've yet to endorse Trump.
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The crowd erupted at the suggestion, giving Ingraham one of multiple standing ovations during her early Wednesday address to the convention. The jab came shortly after Twitter ignited when an early copy of Cruz's speech was released that included no formal endorsement of the GOP nominee.
Declaring this election the most important since Ronald Reagan sought office in 1980, Ingraham lamented the "skyrocketing healthcare costs, doubling of the debt, the threat of ISIS, the rise of China" and other problems Americans face.
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"I don't want to sit around and tell my kids stories about how great America used to be," she said.
Ingraham also took the media to task for their coverage of Donald Trump and inability to understand his rise.
"To all my friends in the press, you know in your heart why Donald Trump won the nomination," she said. "It's because he dared to call out the phonies, the frauds, and the corruption that have all gone unexposed, and that you failed to challenge for far too long."
"Donald Trump respects us enough to tell us the hard truths about what has happened to our country – on issues like immigration, trade, and our diminished status around the world – even in the face of unfair criticism and sheer hatred," she continued.
