Daily Digest: Cruz rattles the convention

Good morning, and welcome to a hot Thursday in Minnesota.  It's the last day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks tonight. Last night his running mate made the case for the ticket, but was overshadowed by another speaker. Let's start the Digest there.

1. On the third night of the Republican Convention, some of the men Trump defeated to win the GOP nomination appeared on stage. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker gave a traditional speech with a crowd-friendly refrain of "because America deserves better." Marco Rubio wasn't in Cleveland, but he sent a video in which he endorsed Trump, saying the time for fighting each other is over. Then it got contentious. Ted Cruz congratulated Trump for winning the endorsement, but he stopped just short of saying he wanted Trump to win. He called on people to vote their conscience, but didn't say they should vote for Trump. The crowd booed loudly as he left the stage. (NPR)

2. Trump's running mate Mike Pence got a better reception, even though it took a while for him to get to the stage. And by the time he spoke the large video screen at the back of the stage was on the fritz. He called Hillary Clinton the "secretary of the status quo," and said Trump represents change. It was  an effective speech, but it was overtaken by Cruz, and it puts more pressure on Trump to unify Republicans tonight. (Washington Post)

3. Speaker after speaker in Cleveland this week assailed Hillary Clinton and President Obama for weakening the U.S. abroad, in part by abandoning our allies. But on the eve of accepting the Republican presidential nomination, Trump said he wouldn't automatically aid NATO allies if they were attacked, saying he would first look at how much they had contributed to the alliance. That would appear to stand about 70 years of United States foreign policy on its head. (New York Times)

4. The Trump campaign added another day of life to the plagiarism story by releasing  a statement from an employee taking responsibility for it. Meredith McIver, a longtime Trump employee, said she offered her resignation, but that Trump refused to accept it. (Politico)

5. The Minnesota contingent at the Republican convention is a mix of party regulars and motivated newcomers. There are also some hopeful Minnesota politicians getting face time with the rank-and-file Republicans likely to be involved in selecting future nominees for governor and other high offices.  Just a reminder that the 2018 campaign is approaching fast. (MPR News)

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