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The Republican National Convention is heading into its third day. USA TODAY's Susan Page gives you 3 things to look forward to in Cleveland.
Donald Trump and Mike Pence stand together on stage after Pence's speech before the Republican National Convention on July 20, 2016.(Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY)
CLEVELAND — Indiana Gov. Mike Pence<span style="color: Red;">*</span>accepted the Republican nomination for vice president Wednesday night while his running-mate, Donald Trump, tried but failed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to unite the fractured party<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he will lead into the November election against Hillary Clinton.
Delegates who have been warming to the concept of a Trump campaign booed loudly when his main rival for the GOP nomination, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, stopped short of endorsing him earlier in the night.
They cheered loudly, however, when House Speaker Paul Ryan — another reluctant warrior in the Republican family — introduced Pence for his maiden turn on the national stage. And they became more unified at every mention of Clinton's name.
"Hillary Clinton will never become president of the United States of America," Pence said, calling the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>former<span style="color: Red;">*</span>secretary of State<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"secretary of the status quo."
“It’s change versus status quo,” Pence said.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“When Donald Trump<span style="color: Red;">*</span>becomes president of the United States of America, the change will be huge.”
The former number<span style="color: Red;">*</span>three Republican in the House of Representatives focused much of his address on foreign policy, castigating Clinton and President Obama for "apologizing to our enemies and abandoning our friends."
"History teaches us that weakness arouses evil," Pence warned. "America<span style="color: Red;">*</span>needs to be strong for the world to be safe, and on the world stage, Donald Trump<span style="color: Red;">*</span>will lead from strength.”
USA TODAY
Boos for Cruz, as Trump's primary rival offers no endorsement at RNC
Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort praised Pence's performance, saying he "had a great night."
"I think the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>people saw a guy who could be president and somebody who very clearly could fit in with Mr. Trump," Manafort added.
The low point of the convention's third day came when Cruz,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>who placed second in the Republican primaries, urged Americans to "vote their conscience" rather than rally around the man who defeated him in a nasty, name-calling primary campaign.
The non-endorsement came<span style="color: Red;">*</span>amid a continuing flap over Melania Trump's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>partially plagiarized speech Monday night and deep divisions within the party, tempered only by a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>shared loathing<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of Clinton.
Despite Pence's much-anticipated debut on the national stage and speeches from spurned Republicans — Cruz, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who lost out in the vice presidential sweepstakes, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (by video)<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— Trump continued to command center stage leading up to his acceptance speech Thursday night.
Fresh from his official nomination as the party's candidate for president on Tuesday, the billionaire builder<span style="color: Red;">*</span>stepped off a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"Trump"-emblazoned<span style="color: Red;">*</span>helicopter to greet Pence, who headlined<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the evening's program at Quicken Loans Arena.
USA TODAY
#RNCinCLE Day 3: What you've missed, what's ahead
"This is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>really an honor, and we're going to win Ohio," Trump told supporters at a brief arrival ceremony where he was greeted by Pence. "We're going to win Ohio,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>we're going to win it all."
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Melania Trump's Republican National Convention speech sounded a lot like Michelle Obama's 2008 Democratic National Convention speech. USA TODAY NETWORK
With suspense hanging over the convention as it leads to Thursday's finale, Cruz had delegates holding their breath that an endorsement might be forthcoming. Instead, the Texas senator's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>speech included just one<span style="color: Red;">*</span>direct reference<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to Trump — a simple congratulations for winning the nomination. He said Americans should<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution."
That led to a chorus of boos and chants of "Trump!" from angry delegates and alternates — anger that former House speaker Newt Gingrich<span style="color: Red;">*</span>tried to allay minutes later by reinterpreting what Cruz had said.
"To paraphrase Ted Cruz, if you want to protect the Constitution of the United States, the only possible candidate this fall is the Trump-Pence Republican ticket," Gingrich said.
After the night's proceedings, Trump jabbed at Cruz on Twitter for not offering an endorsement despite an agreement by GOP candidates earlier in the primary campaign to support the eventual nominee.
Wow, Ted Cruz got booed off the stage, didn't honor the pledge! I saw his speech two hours early but let him speak anyway. No big deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2016
There was pressure inside the arena Wednesday for more unity than had been evident during the convention's first two days. Syndicated radio host Laura Ingraham, who referred to Clinton disdainfully as "her majesty," issued a warning to the former presidential candidates who took a pledge to support the winner — such as Cruz, Jeb Bush and John Kasich — but had not done so.
“You must honor your pledge to support Donald Trump<span style="color: Red;">*</span>now – tonight," she said.
Rubio followed through later in a brief video appearance while campaigning for re-election in Florida.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“The time for fighting each other is over," he<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said. "It’s time to come together.”
Amid the stalled efforts at unity, Trump's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>campaign attempted to end the kerfuffle over Melania Trump's speech Monday night, in which she repeated passages from Michelle Obama's speech to the Democratic National Convention in 2008.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The campaign issued a statement from Trump Organization staffer Meredith McIver,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>who took responsibility for the inserts and offered to resign. The offer was rejected.
Turning to his favorite form of social media, Trump attempting to turn the dust-up to his benefit.
"The media is spending more time doing a forensic analysis of Melania's speech than the FBI spent on Hillary's emails," he tweeted, referencing<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the FBI investigation of Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of State.
The media is spending more time doing a forensic analysis of Melania's speech than the FBI spent on Hillary's emails.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2016
Outside the arena, meanwhile, street protests that had been mostly calm for two days heated up.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>A flag-burning demonstration turned chaotic;<span style="color: Red;">*</span>police said 17 people were arrested and two officers suffered minor injuries.
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Protesters in Cleveland's Public Square demonstrate against Trump by joining hands to build a human wall.
Video provided by AFP Newslook
USA TODAY
Trump and Pence nominated as Republicans target Clinton
Other speakers<span style="color: Red;">*</span>included Trump's son Eric, executive vice president of The Trump Organization, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, whose own presidential hopes were dashed earlier<span style="color: Red;">*</span>this year.
“It’s time for a president<span style="color: Red;">*</span>who understands the art of a deal and appreciates the value of a dollar,” his middle son said.
"Hillary Clinton is the ultimate liberal Washington insider," Walker said. "If she were any more on the 'inside,'<span style="color: Red;">*</span>she’d be in prison." That led to familiar cries of "Lock her up!"
The raucous evening seemed unlikely to quell the uproar over the passages from Michelle Obama's 2008 speech that surfaced in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Melania Trump's speech. McIver admitted in her<span style="color: Red;">*</span>statement that the apparent plagiarism<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“was my mistake.” She said Melania Trump told her she had always admired Michelle Obama and read passages from the speech as examples.
"I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech. I did not check Mrs. Obama’s speeches," the statement said. "This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as to Mrs. Obama. No harm was meant."
McIver's admission came after Trump campaign officials, including convention chairman Paul Manafort, spent Tuesday denying there was any plagiarism in the speech and blaming the controversy on the Clinton campaign.
USA TODAY
Trump aide takes responsibility for Melania speech
Contributing: David Jackson, Paul Singer,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Rick Jervis and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Maureen Groppe
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