Donald Trump speaks in New York on July 16 before officially introducing Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate. | Getty Trump: Pence's Cruz endorsement was actually Trump endorsement 'It was the single greatest non-endorsement I’ve ever had in my life, I will tell you.'

Mike Pence’s endorsement of Ted Cruz in the days leading up to the Indiana primary was actually an endorsement for Donald Trump, the Manhattan billionaire said at a rally Saturday morning.

At a rally introducing Pence as his running mate, Trump recalled the primary that proved to be Cruz’s last stand and the lukewarm endorsement the Texas senator received from the Indiana governor. The Manhattan billionaire said he learned from Pence that the governor’s endorsement of Cruz came under “tremendous pressure from the establishment” but even then, Trump said “it was more of an endorsement for me.”


“He talked about trump, then he talked about Ted, who’s a good guy by the way, who is going to be speaking at the convention. Ted Cruz, good guy. But talked about Trump, Ted, then he went back to Trump. I said, who did he endorse?” Trump said. “It was the single greatest non-endorsement I’ve ever had in my life, I will tell you.”

Trump’s comments about the Indiana primary endorsement came at the end of a winding introduction, in which the presumptive GOP nominee spend roughly equal time attacking Hillary Clinton and praising his newly-announced running mate. The real estate mogul praised the governor’s economic record in Indiana, but also said he picked Pence because “he looks very good” and “he's got an incredible family, incredible wife and family.”