He thought he would be cheered for sticking to “his principles”.
He wanted to make a speech that would be seen as supportive of the party without actually saying that he endorsed Trump, and he expected -- I guess -- that he'd be cheered on for asserting conservative values.
That's a dangerous game to play. You have to know the room and know what the audience expects. And you have to know how you come across. Ted Cruz didn't. Ronald Reagan could get away with giving a convention speech that barely mentioned the party's nominee. Ted Cruz couldn't. For one thing "vote your conscience" isn't likely to be seen as any kind of party unity message. For another, Ted went on for too long.
“For one thing “vote your conscience” isn’t likely to be seen as any kind of party unity message.”
You’re right, in fact wasn’t “vote your conscience” a Ryan/Romney anti-Trump message to delegates?