(CNN) The ironclad commitment each Republican presidential candidate gave to support the party's nominee -- no matter who that may be -- is no more.
Donald Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich explicitly renounced the commitment they'd made last fall, while Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said he'd have a hard time supporting Trump. The comments, which could reshape an already raucous GOP primary race, came during a town hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, one week ahead of the state's key primary.
Who's running for president?
Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, John Kasich, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders,
Businessman Donald Trump
announced June 16 at his Trump Tower in New York City that he is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. This ends more than two decades of flirting with the idea of running for the White House.
"So, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again," Trump told the crowd at his announcement.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has made a name for himself in the Senate, solidifying his brand as a conservative firebrand willing to take on the GOP's establishment. He
announced he was seeking the Republican presidential nomination in a speech on March 23.
"These are all of our stories," Cruz told the audience at Liberty University in Virginia. "These are who we are as Americans. And yet for so many Americans, the promise of America seems more and more distant."
Ohio Gov. John Kasich joined the Republican field July 21 as he formally announced his White House bid.
"I am here to ask you for your prayers, for your support ... because I have decided to run for president of the United States," Kasich told his kickoff rally at the Ohio State University.
Hillary Clinton
launched her presidential bid on April 12 through a video message on social media. The former first lady, senator and secretary of state is considered the front-runner among possible Democratic candidates.
"Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion -- so you can do more than just get by -- you can get ahead. And stay ahead," she said in her announcement video. "Because when families are strong, America is strong. So I'm hitting the road to earn your vote, because it's your time. And I hope you'll join me on this journey."
Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, announced his run in an email to supporters on April 30. He has said the United States needs a "political revolution" of working-class Americans to take back control of the government from billionaires.
"This great nation and its government belong to all of the people and not to a handful of billionaires, their super PACs and their lobbyists," Sanders said at a rally in Vermont on May 26.
Top quotes from the GOP town hall in Wisconsin
Here are six takeaways from the town hall, which aired on CNN and was moderated by Anderson Cooper:
Backing away from the pledge
Initially designed to stymie the threat of a Trump independent run, the real-estate mogul's Republican foes have been hamstrung by the signed pledge they all gave to the Republican National Committee in September to back the winner of the party's nominating contest for months.
That changed Tuesday night, starting with Cruz, who cited Trump's recent tweets about his wife, Heidi Cruz.
"I'm not in the habit of supporting someone who attacked my wife and attacked my family. I think that is going beyond the line," he said. "I'm not an easy person to tick off, but when you go after my wife, when you go after my daughters, that does it."
Cruz, however, didn't explicitly say he would oppose Trump's nomination.
GOP Town Hall: CNN's Reality Check Team vets the claims
So Trump let him off the hook.
He said Cruz looked "tormented" trying to answer Cooper's "very simple question."
"I don't want his support. I don't need his support. I want him to be comfortable," Trump said.
For his part, Trump said he was scrapping the pledge altogether, saying he's "been treated very unfairly" in the contest by the RNC and the party's establishment.
Trump: Establishment is 'against me'
Kasich, too, backed off his pledge -- saying he shouldn't have raised his hand when the entire Republican field was asked at the first debate last year whether they'd back the eventual nominee. "Probably shouldn't have even answered that question, but it was the first debate, and what the heck," he said.
He said he's been "disturbed by some of the things I have seen," without placing blame on any candidate by name.
"If the nominee is somebody that I think is really hurting the country and dividing the country, I can't stand behind them," Kasich said.
Asked whether Trump fit the bill as someone who is hurting the country, Kasich said that's up to voters, and wouldn't answer for himself. "That's too much below the belt," he said.
Trump ridicules reporter, defends aide
Trump handled the controversy over his campaign manager's arrest earlier Tuesday on a simple battery charge in his signature style -- defending the aide and attacking the accuser.
He came prepared for questions.
In his pocket, he carried print-outs of Fields' initial description. She'd said Lewandowski "grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground, but was able to maintain my balance."
Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
Donald Trump: I won't fire campaign manager
He mocked Fields' description, saying Lewandowski had really just brushed past her and that she didn't come anywhere close to stumbling to the ground. "She says, 'Ohh, look at my arm,'" Trump said.
"She's not a baby," he added.
Trump plays fact checker at CNN's GOP Town Hall
Trump said Fields had grabbed his arm, as well, in an effort to get his attention and ask a question after his news conference had already ended.
Asked if he'd press charges against her, Trump said: "I don't know. Maybe I should, right? Cause you know what, she was grabbing me."
Each time he defended Lewandowski -- saying he wouldn't fire his campaign manager -- Trump also pivoted to a theme: Loyalty.
"I'm a loyal person. I'm going to be loyal for the country. I'm going to be loyal for Wisconsin," Trump said.
Trump on wife attacks: 'I didn't start it'
Trump also refused to back down from a fight when Cooper asked him about the fight with Cruz that involves both of their wives.
Rubio holds onto delegates in hopes of stalling Trump
"I didn't start it," Trump said.
Cooper shot back: "With all due respect, that's the argument of a 5-year-old."
"No it's not," Trump responded. "Exactly that thinking is the problem of this country. I didn't start this."
The dust-up started when an anti-Trump super PAC ran an ad aimed at Mormon women in Utah featuring an unclad Melania Trump modeling photo, warning that she'd be the first lady if Trump is elected.
Campaign slogans
A Ronald Reagan campaign button shows his 1980 slogan, "Let's Make America Great Again."
For his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump's slogan is "Make America Great Again," an echo of Reagan's. Here a supporter wears the slogan on a button.
Hillary Clinton has used the slogan, "Hillary for America" and also had supporters display posters saying "Fighting for us." A member of the audience holds a campaign sign at the top of a set of bleachers as Clinton speaks in Iowa on January 30.
Campaign buttons for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders highlight his "Feel the Bern" slogan.
"I Like Ike" decal from the 1952 presidential campaign, showing a close-up portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the popular World War II general who went on to serve two terms as president.
Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio signs autographs under his "A New American Century" slogan at a campaign rally February 5.
Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks to supporters during a rally on his "Jeb Can Fix It" tour on November 2, 2015.
President Harry Truman's 1948 election campaign made the expression "Give em hell, Harry!" famous.
What we've learned about Trump's world view
For that, Trump blamed Cruz. On Twitter, he warned Cruz to "be careful" or he'd "spill the beans" on his wife. Then, Trump retweeted an unflattering image of Heidi Cruz, alongside a more flattering photo of Melania Trump.
There's no evidence the super PAC, headed by Republican strategist Liz Mair, coordinated with Cruz. Doing so would have been illegal. But Trump said the two were in cahoots all the same, saying that he "would be willing to bet" Cruz wrote the ad.
So Trump had to respond in kind.
Sanders: Trump channeling Americans' anger toward minorities
"I don't let things go so easily," Trump said.
Kasich stays above the fray
All eyes were on Kasich heading into the town hall to see whether he would go after Cruz.
The Texas senator and his campaign is raising the pressure on Kasich to drop out of the race. Cruz's main super PAC launched a tough attack ad on Kasich in Wisconsin, pumping $500,000 into a spot branding him a "liberal governor."
Kasich's top strategist, John Weaver, had hit back hard on Twitter, saying: "Cruz -- with 0 friends, 0 record, 0 vision, 0 chance -- decides to lie about @johnkasich. Desperate? Trump right on 1 thing: 'lying Ted.'"
Wisconsin's largest newspaper backs John Kasich before primary
But when Kasich got on the debate stage, his typical easygoing demeanor was on display. In contrast to Trump's performance earlier in the night, Kasich didn't hesitate to criticize his staff's hardball tactics.
Of Weaver's tweet, he said: "Sometimes, he gets a little tweet-happy, and I don't like that, OK? And I will have a word with him about it."
As for the criticism from Cruz, Kasich said, "That's OK, I can take it."
In a moment that got one of the loudest cheers from the audience all night, Kasich argued that the campaign's bitter, personal moments have set a bad example for children.
Trump knocks Walker in Wisconsin
"If name-calling, bringing in spouses, ripping each other below the belt and wrestling in the mud is the new politics, we all need to stand against it. Our children are watching. This is America," he said. "I'm not going to go down there. ... I could screw up, but I hope not."
Cruz gets personal
Cruz's go-to option to win over women: his mother.
"I have grown up surrounded by strong women. My mom is someone that I admire immensely," he said when a questioner asked what he was going to do to convince women to support him.
It was a rare, revealing personal moment for a candidate who focuses more on demonstrating his rock-ribbed conservatism and policy prowess.
He said his mother's father "was a drunk, and he didn't think women should be educated." Nonetheless, she made her way to Rice University and worked for Shell -- on the way, refusing to learn how to type so that she wouldn't have "some man stop her and say, 'Sweetheart, would you type this for me?'"
Obama to host world leaders for nuclear summit
He said she wanted to be able to answer with a clean conscience: "Look, I would love to help you out, but I don't know how to type. I guess you're going to have to use me as a computer programmer, instead."
Cruz also pointed to his wife, Heidi, a Goldman Sachs executive, and said he's been surrounded by strong women his entire life, and that he believes "every issue is a women's issue."
The Texas senator wrapped up his answer by pointing to his two daughters.
"I want to make sure that they have a world that they can live in where they have the opportunity to do anything," he said.
Trump, apologize?
It took Trump some time to answer when he was asked about the last time he apologized for anything.
"Oh, wow," he said, as the audience laughed.
He finally came up with a response: "I apologized to my mother years ago for using foul language. I apologize to my wife for not being presidential on occasion. She's always saying, 'Darling, be more presidential.'"
Donald Trump's rise
President-elect Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for years. From developing real estate and producing and starring in TV shows, he became a celebrity long before winning the White House.
Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer.
Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children.
Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964.
Trump, center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in 1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college. He started at Fordham University before transferring and later graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's business school.
Trump stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in 1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City.
Trump attends an event to mark the start of construction of the New York Convention Center in 1979.
Trump wears a hard hat at the Trump Tower construction site in New York in 1980.
Trump was married to Ivana Zelnicek Trump from 1977 to 1990, when they divorced. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric.
The Trump family, circa 1986.
Trump uses his personal helicopter to get around New York in 1987.
Trump stands in the atrium of the Trump Tower.
Trump attends the opening of his new Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1989.
Trump signs his second book, "Trump: Surviving at the Top," in 1990. Trump
has published at least 16 other books, including "The Art of the Deal" and "The America We Deserve."
Trump and singer Michael Jackson pose for a photo before traveling to visit Ryan White, a young child with AIDS, in 1990.
Trump dips his second wife, Marla Maples, after the couple married in a private ceremony in New York in December 1993. The couple divorced in 1999 and had one daughter together, Tiffany.
Trump putts a golf ball in his New York office in 1998.
An advertisement for the television show "The Apprentice" hangs at Trump Tower in 2004. The show launched in January of that year. In January 2008, the show returned as "Celebrity Apprentice."
A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004.
Trump attends a news conference in 2005 that announced the establishment of Trump University. From 2005 until it closed in 2010, Trump University had about 10,000 people sign up for a program that promised success in real estate.
Three separate lawsuits -- two class-action suits filed in California and one filed by New York's attorney general -- argued that the program was mired in fraud and deception. Trump's camp rejected the suits' claims as "baseless." And Trump has charged that the New York case against him is politically motivated.
Trump attends the U.S. Open tennis tournament with his third wife, Melania Knauss-Trump, and their son, Barron, in 2006. Trump and Knauss married in 2005.
Trump wrestles with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania in 2007. Trump has close ties with the WWE and its CEO, Vince McMahon.
For "The Apprentice," Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2007.
Trump appears on the set of "The Celebrity Apprentice" with two of his children -- Donald Jr. and Ivanka -- in 2009.
Trump poses with Miss Universe contestants in 2011. Trump had been executive producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants since 1996.
In 2012, Trump announces his endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Trump speaks in Sarasota, Florida, after accepting the Statesman of the Year Award at the Sarasota GOP dinner in August 2012. It was shortly before the Republican National Convention in nearby Tampa.
Trump appears on stage with singer Nick Jonas and television personality Giuliana Rancic during the 2013 Miss USA pageant.
Trump -- flanked by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, left, and Ted Cruz -- speaks during a CNN debate in Miami on March 10. Trump dominated the GOP primaries and emerged as the presumptive nominee in May.
The Trump family poses for a photo in New York in April.
Trump speaks during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana, on April 28. After Trump won the Indiana primary, his last two competitors dropped out of the GOP race.
Trump delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in July, accepting the party's nomination for President. "I have had a truly great life in business," he said. "But now, my sole and exclusive mission is to go to work for our country -- to go to work for you. It's time to deliver a victory for the American people."
Trump apologizes in a video, posted to his Twitter account in October, for vulgar and sexually aggressive remarks he made a decade ago regarding women. "I said it, I was wrong and I apologize,"
Trump said, referring to lewd comments he made during a previously unaired taping of "Access Hollywood." Multiple Republican leaders rescinded their endorsements of Trump after the footage was released.
Trump walks on stage with his family after he was declared the election winner on November 9. "Ours was not a campaign, but rather, an incredible and great movement," he told his supporters in New York.
Trump is joined by his family as he is sworn in as President on January 20.
What really bothered Melania Trump, he said, was the time he'd repeated an audience member's vulgar description of Cruz.
Trump joked about the constant controversies surrounding his decisions to amplify the remarks of his supporters. Dismissing the Cruz remark, he said that "it was just a repeat, but that didn't work out too well."
Can Trump get to 1,237 delegates?
"My biggest problems are repeats and retweets. I don't get in a problem with what I say -- it's when I repeat something. I think I'm gonna be careful," he said.
Cooper suggested that Trump could "learn from behavior and not retweet things."
Laughing, Trump said, "I know. That I agree. That I agree."