Scott Brown: Cruz needs to fall in line

CLEVELAND — Donald Trump supporter Scott Brown, a former GOP senator from Massachusetts, warned that convention rules challenges by Ted Cruz supporters could backfire and cause Republicans to view the Texas senator as the “guy that tried to steal the convention.” 

{mosads}“I’m not sure how much Ted is actually involved, but I’m not sure his followers understand that this is emboldening others to recognize, ‘You know what, we were right about Ted, that’s why we didn’t support him,’” Brown told The Hill Monday at the Republican National Convention.

“I think that hurts Ted, and I like him a lot.”

Brown was referring to a joint effort between anti-Trump delegates and Cruz loyalists to force a roll-call vote on the convention rules Monday. Toppling the rules package was a near-impossible feat, but the move was meant to slow down the process and show the division between the party and Trump. 

Brown criticized Cruz for not marshaling his supporters to back Trump, as the Texas senator still not endorsed the party’s presumptive nominee, despite accepting a speaking slot for the convention. 

“He has an opportunity to come here and actually be somebody who can parlay this into something wonderful in the future,” Brown said. 

“Instead of going out as, ‘Oh yeah, that’s the guy that tried to steal the convention,’ versus, ‘That’s the guy who came in and rallied his people and the American people behind our candidate and we took back the White House.’” 

Cruz’s former delegate wrangler, Ken Cuccinelli, played a key role in the efforts on the floor. But he told CNN Monday that Cruz had “absolutely nothing” to do with the moves. 

Cuccinelli: Ted Cruz has “absolutely nothing” to do with this https://t.co/LHoDtqRqLC #GOPConvention https://t.co/cnxWGUgQn0

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 18, 2016

Brown also extended his criticism to other Republicans who haven’t coalesced around Trump, including former Republican nominee Mitt Romney, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), emphasizing Kasich’s absence after helping to bring the convention to Cleveland.

“I think it’s rude. Just rude that [Kasich is] not here,” said Brown. “He rallied for the economic boost [of the convention] and to help his reelection campaign … and he can’t show up and honor me and people like me who supported him and gave him an opportunity to be heard?

“I just think it’s rude. This isn’t about him [and] it’s not about Ted. It’s about our nominee getting ready to take on the Democratic nominee. Period.”