Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and more ex-rivals draw cheers as Trump boosters at GOP convention

MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump welcomed vanquished rivals at his Republican National Convention here Tuesday, keeping watch as, one by one, they stuck to a carefully stage-managed script of party unity.

There was Nikki Haley, who took more than two months to endorse him after she ended her White House bid, speaking to “those who have some doubts” about Trump. There was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trump ally-turned-challenger, unleashing a robust attack on President Joe Biden.

And there was Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who eight years ago in Cleveland urged conventiongoers to “vote your conscience,” thanking “God Almighty" for “turning [Trump’s] head on Saturday as the shot was fired” in an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.

A torrent of boos chased Cruz from the stage in 2016, but there were nothing but cheers for him Tuesday night. DeSantis, too, received thunderous applause.

Only Haley, whose holdout against Trump was freshest in delegates’ memories, heard a smattering of jeers. But she quickly won over the crowd.

“I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear,” said Haley, Trump’s United Nations ambassador and the former governor of South Carolina. “Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period.”

Trump — who changed his schedule to arrive in time to see the procession of past opponents speak, according to a source familiar with his plans — observed from his private box. His newly minted running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, sat alongside him.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who was a runner-up for the No. 2 spot on the ticket this year after having been one of Trump's fiercest rivals and critics in 2016, delivered the night’s keynote address. He centered his remarks on Corey Comperatore, the