Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said he will speak at the GOP convention this month to defend conservative principles and make a case for how conservatives should move forward.
Cruz told Glenn Beck that he accepted Donald Trump’s invitation to speak at the convention, but reiterated that there was “no discussion whatsoever” of any endorsement.
“Our country is facing enormous challenges and I do not believe it is the responsible choice for conservatives to shy away from defending the principles we believe in, from talking about who America is and how we go forward to get on a better path and that’s what I intend to do at the convention,” Cruz told Beck. “I’m going to be there to say thank you and to do my very best to lay out a vision for what we as Americans, what we as conservatives believe, and where we go forward from here.”
Beck asked Cruz about Fox News personality Megyn Kelly’s criticism of the Texas senator’s decision to go to the convention, which Cruz brushed off saying he had not watched it. He added that Fox News had a right to express its “corporate opinions” and had done so at “great volume” during the primaries.
Cruz has remained largely out of the media spotlight since dropping out of the 2016 race in May. Of the final four competitors in the Republican primary, only Cruz will join Trump at the convention in Cleveland. Ohio Gov. John Kasich has said he probably would not set foot in the convention hall and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has changed his mind and decided not to go entirely.
Whether Cruz will appear sympathetic to Trump at the convention is yet unknown, but the senator insisted his attendance comes as a result of the obligation he felt to his delegates and supporters.
The GOP convention begins on July 18.
