CLEVELAND _ Donald Trump, installed as the new leader of the Grand Old Party, received grudging tribute Wednesday night from a series of vanquished foes while his running mate used the third installment of the Republican National Convention to step for the first time on the national stage.
The getting-to-know-you speech by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who joined the ticket just five days ago, was to cap off the prime-time program.
But some of Trump's most bitter foes provided the emotional heart of the evening.
Sen. Ted Cruz _ or "Lyin' Ted" as Trump branded him during their caustic primary fight _ took the convention stage to a thunderous ovation and a cowboy-hat-waving salute from his fellow Texans as he called for the defeat of Democrat Hillary Clinton _ and pointedly withheld an endorsement of Trump.
"Citizens are furious, rightly furious, at a political establishment that cynically breaks its promises and ignores the will of the people," he said, acknowledging Trump's political-outsider appeal. "We have to do better. We owe our fallen heroes more than that."
But the mood turned against Cruz at the speech's climax, when it was clear he was not only withholding his endorsement, but leaving room for voters to abstain from backing the party nominee.
"To those listening, please, don't stay home in November," Cruz said. He paused dramatically, which elicited loud boos.
"If you love our country and if you love your children as much as I know you do, stand, and speak, and vote your conscience," he said. "Vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution."
Delegates chanted at him to endorse Trump, and the phrase "vote your conscience," a rallying cry for the anti-Trump movement, appeared to infuriate the crowd.
Once again, the party's deep fractures erupted at its showcase event, a week when GOP leaders aimed to bind the wounds left by a long and divisive nominating fight.
Preceding Cruz was Florida Sen. Marco Rubio _ whom Trump disparaged as "Little Marco" when they fought for the nomination _ who opted against making his concession in person.
Appearing in a brief recorded message played on a giant screen above the stage, Rubio referred to his fight against Trump with a wan smile. "After a long and spirited primary, the time for fighting is over," Rubio said. "It's time to come together. It's time to win in November."
A third former rival, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, scarcely mentioned the nominee in his speech, and his stiff body language suggested a lack of enthusiasm.
Instead, Walker articulated his own small-government vision of conservatism, growing the most animated when he recounted his battles with labor unions at home and warned of the perils of a Clinton presidency.
"Let me be clear: A vote for anyone other than Donald Trump in November is a vote for Hillary Clinton," Walker said. Like Cruz, he warned the discontented against sitting out the November election. "We can't wait four years to get 'em next time. The consequences are too great."
Continuing a convention that has been far from standard, the lineup of speakers once more crossed a broad spectrum. The night's designated theme, "Make America First Again," was vague enough to accommodate discussions of the economy, the military, Trump's life story and a variety of issues.
Eileen Collins, a retired space shuttled commander, called for a costly upgrade of the nation's space exploration program, something Trump has rarely, if ever, publicly discussed.
An oil and gas executive bashed Clinton's presumed environmental plans. A woman who sells health supplements planned to champion small businesses.
The one common thread through the convention has been a scorching contempt for Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, and an unrelentingly negative portrayal of the country under President Barack Obama, which continued Wednesday.
"America is in terrible, world-record-high debt. Our economy is not growing. Our jobs are going overseas. We have allowed our military to decay, and we project weakness on the international stage," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said. "The Democrats have not led us to a crossroads. They have led us to a cliff."
Trump arrived in this convention city Wednesday afternoon in a dramatically staged scene that was overshadowed, despite his best efforts, by continued controversy and an emphatically negative reception from party holdouts.
Touching down at a lakefront airport on a cloudless afternoon, Trump switched to a helicopter stamped with his name and twice circled downtown before stepping off to a welcoming committee that included Pence, Trump's adult children and their spouses.
Although the clan was enthusiastic and friendly, tensions simmered within the larger Republican family.
Supporters of Cruz, gathered nearby for a rally celebrating his unsuccessful bid for the nomination, booed when Trump's plane came into view and chanted "2020! 2020!" _ when, if all goes as Trump hopes, the Manhattan business mogul would be seeking a second White House term.
Of greater consequence, the convention was consumed for a third straight day by the controversy surrounding Melania Trump's Monday night speech, which pilfered lines from an address first lady Michelle Obama gave at the 2008 Democratic convention.
After more than two days of evasion, denial and contradictory explanations, Trump's campaign released a statement at midday ascribing the plagiarized passages to a staff writer attached to his corporate operation.
"In working with Melania Trump on her recent first lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired her and messages she wanted to share with the American people," said Meredith McIver, who has collaborated on some of Donald Trump's books and called herself a longtime family friend. "A person she always liked is Michelle Obama."
By McIver's account, Melania Trump read her portions of Obama's speech and they inadvertently made their way into the final draft Trump delivered. "This was my mistake and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as Mrs. Obama," McIver said. "No harm was meant."
She said she offered her resignation, but it was rejected. "Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow these experiences."
Far from tamping down matters, however, the statement further stoked the controversy, not least because it pointed to the persistent turmoil within the GOP nominee's campaign and actions that often seem to work at contradictory and cross-purposes.
Trump, who had remained silent on the matter, weighed in on Twitter.
"Good news is Melania's speech got more publicity than any in the history of politics especially if you believe that all press is good press!" Trump wrote.
Trump's oldest son, Donald Jr., meantime, demonstrated he could be as provocative as his namesake.
Following a well-received speech Tuesday night, Trump Jr. told reporters at a Wall Street Journal breakfast that the federal government needs to do more for the "hardworking men and women who built the great nation we live in" _ not members of minority groups who have status as a "protected class."
Responding to a question about the rise of "identity politics" on the political left, Trump said that the "hardworking men and women who built the great nation we live in, they're the only people who aren't protected anymore; they're the middle class."
Currently, he said, the government benefits people who can show "they're one-sixty-fourth of some protected class."
That has to stop, said the junior Trump, who jokingly described himself as a "Fifth Avenue redneck."
As a small army of security personnel continued roaming the streets of downtown Cleveland, the relative tranquility that has marked the week's protest scene was briefly punctured Wednesday afternoon when a group of demonstrators attempted to burn an American flag.
Seventeen demonstrators were arrested and two police officers suffered minor injuries.
In some good news, California GOP officials expressed optimism that a highly contagious virus that led to the quarantine of at least a dozen staff members was contained.
