Speak and 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. The new york delegation we began to hear boos. There are shouts back and forth across the room and then within a few moments, donald trump appears. Let me bring in our panel right now. Chuck todd, Savannah Guthrie and nicolle wallace. Chuck, walk through how extraordinary what we just witnessed. Its an extraordinary moment. Here we are wednesday night, this is mike pences night, introduction to the country. Ted cruz hadnt had a chance to address this convention. The cruz and Trump Campaign did cut a deal and they werent sure what cruz was going to do. Sure enough he decided not to fully endorse. What makes it extraordinary is, again, this is mike pences night, but the news is going to be cruz not endorsing. Not since ted kennedy, jimmy carter had to chase ted kennedy around the 1980 convention looking basically hoping that kennedy would raise his hand and endorse. Essentially many carter people believe kennedy ruined carters convention. Many trump people will believe that cruz just ruined at least mike pences night and maybe this third night of the convention. You know what else is fascinating, lester, is up until this moment you just described, ted cruz owned this room. This is a raucous crowd of thousands of people. They were wrapped, they were listening. You could hear every word that ted cruz was saying. He was having a moment. Then when he decides not to endorse and he says vote your conscience, thats a code word for this room. That means you dont have to vote for donald trump if you dont want to, to a lot of these delegates. And because of that, there started to be this big protest. Donald trump literally stole the spotlight so when ted cruz walked off, he didnt get a standing ovation that we saw. All eyes once again were on donald trump. And you know whats so interesting is that was the fork in the road for ted cruz. The speech was beautiful. He is the first person all week to talk about race, to talk about the tragedies of the last two weeks, to talk about freedom, but he lost all that speech, no one will know that speech. I want to get down to andrea mitchell. She was close by. Andrea, explain what was happening. Donald trump waited at the top of the steps, then walked down to the family box and came down just as ted cruz was wrapping up his speech. So he completely stepped on that message. We were told by a number of people, including governor bran stead from iowa that they did not expect an endorsement. Mitch mcconnell and other leaders were told not to expect an endorsement. But donald trump came down the steps, sat with his children. His son, eric, is going to be giving a speech. But he was waving. He nodded to me. Said, you know, thank you. And hes dominating the night. Andrea, it upstaged eric trump, who is beginning to speak right now. All this happening before he took the stage. I believe he is out now. Lets listen to what Donald Trumps son, eric, has to say. We committed our unwavering support. But this time none of us could have predicted what lay ahead. The records he would break, the stadiums he would fill, the movement he would start. Today my father stands before you with the most primary votes of any republican candidate in the history of our nation. He shattered Voter Registration records across the country. He has defied the predictions of every single political pundit and turned traditional debates into mustsee tv. He has inspired multiple generations, including my own, millennials like myself who have so its faith in our politicians that they no longer even consider Public Service to be a noble career. A year ago my father was a businessman, but like many americans, he simply could no longer stand to see what was happening to our great country. He could no longer stand to see special interest dollars dictate and incompetent Foreign Policy that puts Foreign Countries before our very own. He could no longer tolerate an inept administration that considers giving 150 billion to iran or releasing five radical islamic terrorists a successful negotiation. He can no longer bear witness to our continued Second Amendment attacks. He could no longer stand to see the words christmas stripped from public use or the pledge of allegiance removed from our schools in an effort to be politically correct. [ applause ] so my father made the courageous decision to set aside a company to which hes dedicated his entire life, to set aside his global brand that he has made synonymous with success, with quality, with uncompromising just the best. At a time when the people at the pinnacle of their career like my father would have held fast to a lifestyle that has truly become the epitome of the american dream, my father instead chose to give that dream back to the people it had eluded for so long. As daunting of a journey as he knew it would be, for him it was the easiest decision in the world. After all, who better to implement common sense business approach to this country. Who better to apply Practical Solutions to the impractical decisionmaking of an administration that has bred a 19 trillion debt, one which goes up by 32,000 a second and over 2 billion a day. Who better to implement commonsense tax reductions for one of the highest taxed nations in the world, allowing our citizens a chance to keep more of what they earn as opposed to having it squandered away by our inefficient government. Who better to negotiate the return of countless american manufacturers like nabisco and ford and carrier and so many others back to the United States where they began, than a man who has singlehandedly employed tens and tens and tens of thousands of people around the country. Its time for a president with common sense. Its time for a president who understands the art of a deal and appreciates the value of a dollar, our tax dollars. Its time for the president who has always been the one to sign the front of a check, not the back. Throughout my fathers career he has been repeatedly called on by government to step in and save delayed, shuttered and grossly overbudget public projects. Everything from the exterior of Grand Central terminal in new york, the iconic Old Post Office in washington, d. C. , just to name a few. Back in 1986, the city of new york tried to refurbish a simple ice skating rink in central park. The project dragged on for over six years and ballooned to over 13 million. 5 million over an already inflated budget. Thats when my father who overlooked this disastrous construction site from his Office Window each and every day decided he had to step in. Disgusted by government incompetence and ineptitude, he invested 2 of his o 2 milli his own money to complete the project. My father completed it in less than six months, two months ahead of schedule and under 1 million under budget. Its time for a president who can make America Great again ahead of budget and ahead of schedule too. My father has revitalized rundown neighborhoods, shaped skylines across the country and turned dreams into reality his entire career. Its what he does. Its who he is. Oprah winfrey once famously asked my father if he ever envisioned running for the presidency of the United States. His answer, only if it got so bad that i had no choice. Only if it got so bad that i had no choice. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that day has come. As i travel the world with my dad building the greatest golf courses and hotels and real estate projects, i see the unmistakable look in his eyes. I see in his eyes the indignity and frustration of a domestic infrastructure back at home that is in complete disarray and no longer on par with so many other developed nations. I see in his eyes the sadness of innocent lives lost, like those of kate steinle and so many others cut short by Illegal Immigrants in sanctuary cities, victims of a revolving door of government ineptitude and corruption that leaves innocent americans defenseless. I see in his eyes the humiliation of an Education System ranked 30th in the world. I see in his eyes the strength of nearly 400 billion trade imbalance with china, a 60 billion trade imbalance with mexico and the continued destabilization of the middle east, which has cost our nation trillions and trillions of dollars and thousands and thousands of lives. But today i see in his eyes a man who truly loves his country, who is proud of his country and who wants his country to be great again. [ cheers and applause ] i want to thank my father over there for the life that hes provided me. For the life that hes provided my family and the life that hes provided all of our employees around the world. I want to thank my father for the life that hes enabled hereto provide to my future children as my beautiful wife, laura and i, start thinking about that amazing chapter of our lives. To that end i often think about the legacy i wish to leave my children, and to me there are few things that i hold closer to my heart than charity. For me its the essence of who we are as human beings. Its the barometer by which we will be measured for our time here on earth. As Martin Luther king jr. Once said, lifes most persistent and urging question is what are you doing for others . When at 22 years old i founded the Eric Trump Foundation to benefit st. Judes childrens research hospital, an incredible, incredible organization. I run my Foundation Based on the principles my father taught me. Honesty, integrity and values. I expect other charities to be run by the same moral code, not serve as conduit for personal enrichment, not become a beacon of corruption and scandal. To whom much is given, much will be required. This is a very belief that compelled my father to make this great sacrifice, to run for the most powerful yet unforgiving office in the world. There is no greater calling. There is no more selfless an act. To the unemployed voter sitting at home watching me right now, wondering how youre going to make your next mortgage payment or rent payment, my father is running for you. To the veteran tuning in to this speech from his or her hospital who has been ignored and disrespected by an ungrateful system for far too long, my father is running for you. To the schoolteacher forced to walk through metal detectors each and every day to an underfunded school, my father is running for you. To the laborer watching me right now forced out of a job by undocumented workers, Illegal Immigrants, my father is running for you. To the oil and gas industry workers denied a job because of radical regulations from a s dical epa, my fath ier running for you. To single mothers, to families with special needs children, to middle class families who can no longer afford medical benefits, sufficient to cover their everyday needs, my father is running for you. This november i ask you to be true to yourself and vote for the candidate who you know is running for the right reasons. Vote for the candidate who has never been a politician. Vote for the candidate who has never received a paycheck from our government. Vote for the candidate who cant be bought, sold, purchased, bribed, coerced, intimidated or fe steered from the path that is right and just and true. And quite frankly, friends, vote for the one candidate who does not need this job. Never have i been more proud to be a trump. Never have i been more proud to be my fathers son. I am incredibly honored to be part of this journey of which hes invited me, don, ivanka, tiffany, melania, my wife laura, our entire family, to play such an integral part. Dad, you have once again taught us by example. You are my hero. You are my best friend. You are the next president of the United States [ cheers and applause ] god bless america. Eric trump speaking with his father looking on here in the vip seats inside the arena. As he was speaking, this arena took a power hit. You may have noticed the tickers, the video screens behind him all went to black. Were told that should be restored in a couple of minutes. It didnt affect any of the technical power of the cameras or other lights, but clearly some of the backdrop of the stage. Eric trump, one of the big speeches tonight, but all this overshadowed by what took place shortly before we came on the air tonight. Ted cruz, much anticipation when he came up on the stage, would he endorse donald trump after their bitter campaign. He did not. In fact not only did he not, but he called on people to vote their conscience. That led to protests. Lets play the moment. I appreciate the enthusiasm of the new york delegation. Cruz, and again what set this off, the quote was to those listening, please dont stay home in november. Stand up and speak and vote your conscience. Vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and be faithful to the constitution. What many in this crowd were looking for was vote for donald trump, and that didnt happen. That has set off a lot of anger and nerves here. Exactly. They didnt get the endorsement that they wanted and then we started to hear it sounded like the chant for we want trump and thats what led to this moment of confrontation down on the floor. Our Hallie Jackson was right there. Shes in the new york delegation that ted cruz mentioned as being enthusiastic. Hallie, what did you see from your Vantage Point . We were over in the texas delegation, savannah, where there were wild cheers for ted cruz. Almost every Single Person in that delegation on their feet for the entirety of the cruz speech. However, toward the end of the speech when cruz said vote your conscience, that moment you just played, even in the texas delegation, we heard some chants of do it, say it, meaning endorse donald trump. We then came over to new york, which had been booing. There were chants of endorse. We found representative peter king. Representative, tell me what you thought of that moment with ted cruz. To me ted cruz showed america what he really is. Hes a fraud, hes a liar, hes selfcentered and disqualified himself to ever being considered for president of the United States. He took a pledge to support the nominee. The ted cruz that ive known unfortunately he cannot be trusted and hes not a true republican, hes not a true conservative, hes totally self centered. Its a source of outrage and anger on the floor as i saw with ted cruz tonight and he deserved every bit of it. Hes a total fraud. What about those who support ted cruzs message here tonight, are they not true republicans or true conservatives either . He should not be the one carrying that message because hes an untruthful person, you cant believe him. They should get behind who they can believe what they say. You told me earlier off camera you believe ted cruz was a disgrace. Do you stand by that . Hes more of a disgrace now than ever, absolutely. He disgraced himself, he disgraced the party and the party should never consider him again for office. Last question, given that the theme of this convention has been unity within the Republican Party, how does the party come together after what just happened on this floor, what just unfolded between the person who got the most delegates and the person that got second most delegates. We can live without ted cruz. I think its good that america saw what ted cruz is all about. I think all of our jaws just dropped at that language. Tom brokaw, youve been following all of this. On the tail of what we saw, donald trump walks in the hall and literally steals the show. One of the things that strikes me about the whole evening so far is that donald trump is learning the hard way that conventions are not Reality Television shows. He made a deal to let cruz talk, and then cruz is looking forward, im sure, to four years from now and was making his own case, not Donald Trumps case. Well probably see more of that again tonight. They have got to move very quickly to get this place pulled together, and weve had a look at the remarks that were about to hear from Newt Gingrich. Theres a lot of invoking of fear. And the whole evening was supposed to be dedicated to the economy and education and issues. Its all been about hillary and cruz self absorbed and now were about to hear an extreme view of how dangerous the world we live in. Whether that was the right message or not, no one will hear it. My phone exploded. Ted cruz is the single most polarizing figure in the Republican Party. The bush world that i came from despised him permanently. What peter king said on television is something lots of people dont have the courage to say outloud but thats how people feel. The divide on cruz has always been that talk radio had his back. What im going to watch for tomorrow, is he still the talk radio hero that he was or is he kaput. On twitter so far he still is. Whats interesting is that was a 2020 speech and that could be this is a moment that could be the beginning of the end of ted cruzs role in the Republican Party or its the beginning of a launching pad and hes the guy that becomes the standard bearer for conservatives going to 2020. Look, this is now the signature speech of ted cruzs career. Of the convention. Of the convention. This is the most important speech of this convention. There will not be whatever pence says tonight, whatever trump says tomorrow night the speech still can overshadow everything. This will be the news event of the gop convention. Its hard to believe that trump could not have anticipated this was going to happen. Thats what i dont understand. There were copies of this speech an hour and a half back. Thats why you saw donald trump walk in at the end of that speech, literally stealing the spotlight, stealing the camera shots from ted cruz. Ted cruz walks off the stage, he didnt get a standing ovation, all eyes were on trump. He slinked off the stage. Why are we here on a wednesday trying to plot that. You know when Bernie Sanders is speaking . Monday night. You know when ted cruz should have spoke if youre donald trump, monday night. You get this out of the way. To risk this. You have now messed up the mike pence rollout twice. Thats true. Unbelievable. This is the campaign lights are back on the podium and as tom mentioned, Newt Gingrich is speaking right now. Essentially a speech that so far seems to be based on fear of terrorism. Lets listen. Three americans and injured over 300 others. Two weeks ago almost 300 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded in bombing attacks in baghdad. Two days before that radical islamists in bangladesh killed 20 hostages including three American College students. Three days before that isis attackers armed with guns and bombs killed 44 people and injured hundreds more. Last month a radical islamist in paris stalked a French Police officer to his home where he murdered the officer, tortured his wife to death in front of their 3yearold son, while streaming it all on social media. He was pondering out loud whether to kill the 3yearold when he was killed by police. Two days before that, an attacker pledging allegiance to isis killed 49 people in an orlando nightclub and wounded dozens more. All of this in just the past 37 days. We cannot let ourselves grow numb to these accumulating atrocities. One analysis estimated [ applause ] one analysis estimated that since january of 2015, some 30,000 people have been killed at the hands of terrorists. Lets be clear, donald trump is right. We are at war with radical islamists, we are losing the war, and we must change course to win the war. [ applause ] let me be very clear, because i know the news media will do their best to distort this. We have nothing to fear from the vast majority of muslims in the United States or around the world. The vast majority are peaceful. They are often the victims themselves. They are people wed be happy to have as our friends and neighbors. The challenge, the challenge is when even a small percentage of a billion 600 Million People support violence against those who disagree with them, that is still a giant recruiting base. For example, Pew Research Finds that only 9 of muslims in pakistan view isis favorably. Unfortunately, 9 is 16 Million People. And thats just one country. So the truth is, although we are losing the war with radical islamists, we have been very lucky. The danger we face is much worse than the horrors that happened in germany on new years eve when 1200 women were assaulted. Its worse than whats happening in france where there are stabbings of jews in the streets and the nations security chief warned recently that europe is, quote, on the brink of civil war. Its worse than whats happening in israel, where average citizens fear for their lives Newt Gingrich painting a very dim view of the future and soaking fears of terrorism in his remarks here to this convention, but everything seems to have been overshadowed by what occurred just before we went on the air as ted cruz offered a nonendorsement, calling on people to vote their conscience, which set off some angry demonstrations here on the floor of the convention. We want to go to the texas delegation right now. Andrea mitchell has made her way there. How was all of that seen from the texas side . Well, some mixed reactions, but even some of the cruz supporters here were not happy that there was no endorsement. Let me talk to a couple of you guys here. David foreman, how did you feel about ted cruzs speech . Should he have been more explicit for donald trump . I liked his speech. You could take out of his speech that hes united with trump, but i expected and i want him to publicly say that i stand with the Trump Campaign, that i expect my people to stand with the Trump Campaign. I want it publicly. This election is too important for us not to unite. We are all republicans. Hes a republican. And me personally, if he expects my support in the future, he needs to do that. Thank you very much, mr. Foreman. So youve heard that from texas. Back to you, lester. Lets go to Hallie Jackson. I believe shes got new Jersey Governor Chris Christie who was in the hall during that extraordinary moment. We do. Were staying low because Newt Gingrich is still on stage speaking. Governor, i have to ask you your reaction to those chants of endorse to what unfolded as ted cruz told delegates to vote their conscience. It was an awfully selfish speech by someone who tonight through what he said on that stage showed everybody why he has richly earned the reputation that he has on capitol hill. The fact is, hallie, we all, all 17 of us, signed a pledge saying that we would support whoever the nominee was without qualifications, and i dont understand how someone can present themself as a person of integrity and then come into this room tonight and give that cute speech he gave. And that was cute. You know, dont stay home in november. Vote for the people that you like from top to the bottom of the ticket. Yeah, i just think it was an awful performance by someone who showed himself tonight to not bow a man of his word. Governor, thanks so much. Savannah, back to you. All right, Hallie Jackson with governor christie. Lets go to katy tur who covers the Trump Campaign. You have some information about that entrance we saw. Rather unexpectedly it seems. Multiple sources in the campaign say that they were only expecting ted cruz to speak for about ten minutes. This conflicts with the prepared remarks that reporters were sent earlier in the day, speaking for about 22 minutes. Ultimately ted cruz spoke for about 23 minutes and that is why im told by sources in the campaign that donald trump made that early appearance. To give you guys some color of what it was like on my side of the room, folks that are sitting behind me and up in the rafters were screaming keep your pledge over and over again. Keep your pledge, we want trump. Booing, demanding that ted cruz get off the stage. Giving him a thumbs down. This is not the first time that donald trump has upstaged ted cruz. Only today, earlier, Donald Trumps plane buzzed ted cruzs rally in cleveland. That got a number of boos from ted cruz supporters, and of course as we saw tonight, donald trump essentially got back at him by coming out during ted cruzs speech and causing boos among the crowd here. All right, katy tur, thank you very much. And were of course still awaiting governor mike pence, the Vice President ial running mate of donald trump. He will be speaking this evening. Finally breaking out from under the shadow of donald trump and meeting the American People in a large way. Were going to have that and a lot more of our coverage from cleveland right after this short break. Welcome back. It is night three of the Republican National convention, and the headline so far is ted cruz essentially shouted out of this arena tonight after he failed to endorse donald trump. He signed the pledge, as did the others. This is a copy of the pledge that said they would endorse the president ial nominee, the republican president ial nominee. He didnt. And, chuck, as you pointed out a moment ago, theres some bad blood that goes back. There was some very personal moments during this campaign. Very personal moments here. As mark murray rounds up, remember trump questioned cruzs eligibility for the office with the canadian you know, essentially went birther on him. He retweeted that photo of a supporter that made heidi cruzs face just look awful, very unflattering. Trump implied that cruzs father was somehow a part of the kennedy assassination. And then let me point this out. Cruz called trump a pathological liar. In ted cruzs mind, he cant he couldnt somehow come to terms with supporting somebody who believes was a liar. Look, and i think thats why he did what he did, but wow. But chuck, what is he doing at this convention then . You cannot have it both ways. If you cant endorse, do what john kasich did and hang around outside on the perimeter. I think ted made a calculation that he could have it both ways, stand up here, have the adulation of those Movement Conservatives who still love him and think hes doing the honorable thing but he miscalculated. Its possible he thought because of how well he did electing many of these delegates, i think he thought the room would be more with him no matter what he said. Tom, does the party somehow gel together as a result of whats happened here . I think there are a couple of things going on. The first part of the evening and all day long and last night as well was an attack on hillary. It was not about any of the issues, it was go after hillary, go after hillary, go after hillary. This tonight puts that in the back of the room. Because everybody is going to be talking about the cruztrump feud. Thats all were talking about now. The purpose of the convention is to leave wherever you are, the party united, with people feeling good about where theyre going and how theyre going to get there. The head of the ticket is going to lead them in that direction. This has been three nights in a row now in which one thing or another has unraveled that. And i think really its testimony to the fact is politics aint bean bag, it is hard ball. Just because he had a great run during the primaries, they dont know whats going on. Whats happened here . Your third point is where i was going. I think ted cruz may have actually accomplished something that trump hasnt been able to do. He may have actually united the Republican Party behind trump, because this final choice, these were the last two men standing. And ted cruz clearly used his night in the limelight. People will think he looked like a sore loser. By the way, if you listen to the rest of his speech, he spoke in ways he didnt hear the primary candidate he was setting the stage clearly no one will ever see it or read it because all they will talk about is this very i think people saw it as rude, bad manners. He mentioned alton sterling, the man shot in baton rouge. The only person in this convention to mention alton sterling by name. He also talked about the 9yearold daughter of the dallas policeman but no one will care. No one will ever know what was said before that moment if they read it, they might see it was an audition for 2020. Cruz accomplished exactly what he set out to do. Thats what he wanted to do and he got the job done and he could care less what we say or what theyre saying on the floor. Mitch mcconnell and donald trump might be more united than ever because they hate the same man now, ted cruz. He unites the Republican Party in their hatred for this guy. Hes the most despised guy in washington. Speaker paul ryan right now is preparing the introduction for this man is a reagan conservative through and through, pro growth, pro life, pro strong defense. Most importantly, he is the father of three beautiful children, michael, charlotte and audrey. And he calls his wife karen the best part of my life. My fellow republicans, the man that you have nominated, hes a man of faith. Hes a man of conviction. Hes a man you can trust. He comes from the heart of the conservative movement and from the heart of america. And now we need to send him and donald trump straight to the white house. There is no doubt in my mind that he will bring real change to washington. I have every confidence that he will do us all proud. And so, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to introduce to you the next Vice President of the United States, governor mike pence. [ cheers and applause ] mr. Chairman, delegates, friends and my fellow americans, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am deeply humbled by your confidence and on behalf of my family here and gone, i accept your nomination to run and serve as Vice President of the United States of america. [ cheers and applause ] let me thank Speaker Paul Ryan for that gracious welcome. Paul, youre a true friend and a Great American leader. But paul knows me well and he knows the introduction i prefer is just a little bit shorter. Im a christian, a conservative and a republican, in that order. You know, im new to this campaign. Honestly, i never thought id be standing here. I thought id be spending this evening with all my friends from the great state of indiana. Yet there i was, a few days ago in new york city, with the man who won 37 states, who faced 16 talented opponents and outlasted every one of them and along the way brought millions of new voters into the Republican Party. You know, hes a man known for a large personality, a colorful style and lots of charisma, and so i guess he was just looking for some balance on the ticket. Well, for those of you who dont know me, which is most of you, i grew up on the front row of the american dream. My grandfather immigrated to this country. I was raised in a small town in southern indiana, in a big family with a cornfield in the backyard. Although we werent really a political family, the heroes of my youth were president john f. Kennedy and the reverend Martin Luther king jr. When i was young, i watched my mom and dad build everything that matters. A family, a business, and a good name. I was raised to believe in hard work, in faith and family. My dad, ed pence, was a combat veteran in korea. Dad ran gas stations in our small town and he was a great father. If dad were with us today, id have a feeling hed enjoy this moment. And probably be pretty surprised. But its such a joy for me to tell you that my mother is here. [ applause ] would you join me in welcoming the light of my life, my mom, nancy. [ applause ] you know, growing up i actually started in politics in the other party. Until i heard the voice and the ideals of the 40th president , and i signed on for the reagan revolution. But the best thing that ever happened to me, even counting tonight, is that 31 years ago i married the girl of my dreams, a schoolteacher, an artist. She is everything to me. Would you welcome my wonderful wife, karen pence. [ applause ] and regardless of any title ill ever hold, the most important job ill ever have is spelled dad. Karen and i are blessed. Karen and i are blessed to be the parents of the three greatest kids in the world. A writer named charlotte, a College Student named audrey and a Second Lieutenant in the United States marine corps, michael j. Pence. Im so proud of you guys. [ applause ] now, if you know anything about hoosiers, you know we love to suit up and compete. We play to win. Thats why i joined this campaign in a heartbeat. You have nominated a man for president who never quits, who never backs down, a fighter, a winner. Until now hes had to do it all by himself against all odds, but this week with this united party hes got backup, and on november 8th, i know we will elect donald trump to be the 45th president of the United States of america. [ cheers and applause ] well win because were running on the issues facing this country and because were leveling with the American People with the stakes and the choice. You know, the American People are tired of being told. Theyre tired of being told that this is as good as it gets. Theyre tired of hearing politicians in both parties tell us that well get to that tomorrow while we pile a Mountain Range of debt on our children and our grandchildren. As Ronald Reagan used to say, theyre tired of being told that a little intellectual elite in a far distant capital can plan our lives better for us than we can plan them for ourselves. In the end, this election comes down to just two names on the ballot, so lets resolve here and now that Hillary Clinton will never become president of the United States of america. [ cheers and applause ] now, Hillary Clinton essentially offers a third obama term. And the role is perfect for her. She championed obamacare because years earlier she had all but invented it. The National Debt is nearly doubled in these eight years and her only answer is to keep borrowing and spending. And like the president , she thinks the path to a growing economy is more taxes, more regulation and more government. Now, they tell us this economy is the best that we can do. Its nowhere near the best that we could do, its just the best that they can do. [ cheers and applause ] and let me tell you, i know firsthand, it doesnt have to be like this. In my home state of indiana, we prove every day that you can build a growing economy on balanced budgets, low taxes, even while making record investments in education and roads and health care. You know, indiana is a state that works because conservative principles work every time you put them into practice. Now today while the nation suffers under the weight of 19 trillion of National Debt, we in indiana have a 2 billion surplus, the highest Credit Rating in the nation, even though weve cut taxes every year since i became governor four years ago. We have fewer state employees than when i took office and businesses large and small have created nearly 150,000 new jobs and theres more hoosiers going to work than ever before. Thats what you can do with common sense Republican Leadership and thats exactly what the nononsense leadership of donald trump will bring to the white house. [ cheers and applause ] you know, donald trump gets it. Hes the genuine article. Hes a doer in a game usually reserved for talkers. And when donald trump does his talking, he doesnt tiptoe around the thousand new rules of political correctness. Hes his own man. Distinctly american. And where else would an independent spirit like his find a following that in the land of the free and the home of the brave. The funny thing is [ crowd chanting usa, usa ] you know, the funny thing is the party in power seems helpless to figure out our nominee. The media has the same problem. They all keep telling each other that the usual methods will work against him. They keep thinking they have done him in, only to wake up the next morning and find that donald trump is Still Standing and running stronger than ever before. The man just doesnt quit. Hes tough. He perseveres. Hes gone about as far as you can go in business, but hes never turned his back on the working men and women who make this country grow. And donald trump will never turn his back on those who serve and protect us at home and abroad. Its been a heartbreaking time for the women and men in our Law Enforcement community. And in this time of great testing for them, lets let them know here and now all across this country we will always stand with those who stand on the thin blue line of Law Enforcement. In america. [ cheers and applause ] you know, while donald trump was taking my measure as a possible running mate, i did some observing myself. Ive seen the way he deals with people who work for him at every level, and ive seen the way they feel about working for him. Now, ill grant you he can be a little rough with politicians on the stage, and ill bet we see that again. But ive seen this good man up close, his utter lack of pretense, his respect for the people who work for him and his devotion to his family. And if you still doubt what im saying, remember, as we say back home, you cant fake good kids. How about his amazing children, arent they something . These are the true measures of our nominee. Chosen by the voters as the right man for these times. This is the outsider, my running mate, who turned a longshot campaign into a movement. Over in the other party, you know if the idea was to present the exact opposite of a political outsider, the exact opposite of an uncalculating truth teller, then on that score youve got to hand it to the atic establishment, they outdid themselves this time. I mean at the very moment when america is crying out for something new and different, the other party has answered with a stale agenda and the most predictable of names. People in both parties are restless for change, ready to break free of old patterns in washington, and democrats are about to anoint someone who represents everything this country is tired of. You know, Hillary Clinton wants a better title, and i would too if i was already americas secretary of the status quo. You know the choice couldnt be more clear. Americans can elect someone who literally person phis the failed establishment in washington, d. C. , or we can choose a leader who will fight every day to make America Great again. Its change versus status quo, and my fellow republicans, when donald trump becomes president of the United States of america, the change will be huge. [ applause ] you know, for years weve had fundamental problems in america that get talked to death in washington, d. C. , but they never get solved. And they even get worse. Weve seen entire stretches of our country written off by bad economic policies in ways that are deeply unfair to american workers. Weve seen relentless mandates from the executive branch. It seems like no aspect of our lives is too small for the present administration to supervise and no provision of the constitution is too large for them to ignore. [ applause ] meanwhile, weve seen borders that go unrespected, a military thats been diminished, and promise after ringing promise to our veterans promptly forgotten. Then donald trump came along. And started saying what practically everybody was thinking anyway, that our leaders need to be stronger. Under donald trump, our deals will be smarter, our soldiers will have what they need and our veterans will have what they earned. We will secure our borders, protect our nation and all this we will be more serious. And when we do, this nation will start winning again. [ cheers and applause ] you know, thats the message that men and women in both parties have been longing to hear, but none of us should think for one second that this will be easy. The outcome of this election depends on us. And how we contend with an incredible onslaught thats coming our way. You know, this wont be americas first glimpse at the clinton machine in action. As Bernie Sanders can tell you. And this time around, shell have the press doing half her work for her. The good news is, it wont be nearly enough, not against the candidate whose captured the attention of the country the way donald trump has. On issue by issue, he and i will take our case to the voters, pointing out the