CLEVELAND — A triumphant Donald Trump swooped into this convention city Wednesday as the new leader of the Grand Old Party, his arrival dampened by continued controversy and a less-than-enthusiastic reception from party holdouts.

Touching down at a lakefront airport, Trump switched to a helicopter stamped with his name and twice circled downtown before stepping off to a welcoming committee that included his adult children, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and their spouses.

Although the clan was friendly, tensions simmered within the larger Republican family.

Supporters of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, gathered nearby for a rally celebrating his unsuccessful bid for the nomination, booed when Trump's plane came into view. In a sign of the party's lingering rift, they chanted “2020! 2020!” — when, if all goes as Trump hopes, the Manhattan business mogul would be seeking a second White House term.

In his speech to the convention later, Cruz stopped short of endorsing Trump — and convention delegates booed him during and after his speech. The boos stopped once Trump entered the convention hall.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who followed Cruz to the podium, said Cruz's advice actually amounted to an endorsement.

Cruz was part of an evening program that included two other vanquished primary opponents, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and, appearing via video, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

Eric Trump urged those in the convention hall and those watching to elect the one candidate for president “who does not need this job.”

But the highlight was Pence's address, introducing himself to the country just a few days after he was chosen for the Republican ticket. Pence said he never thought he'd be standing on the stage at his party's national convention. He joked that the charismatic Trump must have been looking for balance in choosing him.

“You have nominated a man for president who never quits,” Pence said of Trump. “Until now, he's had to do it all by himself against all odds but this week, with this united party, he's got backup.”

Pence paid tribute to his mother in the audience as he accepted the vice presidential nomination, noting that his dad would be surprised if he were still alive.The lineup of Wednesday speakers once more crossed a broad span and the designated theme, “Make America First Again,” was vague enough to accommodate discussions of the economy, the military, Trump's life story and a panoply of issues.

In prepared remarks Eileen Collins, a retired space shuttled commander, called for a costly upgrade of the nation's space exploration program, something Trump has rarely, if ever, publicly discussed.

An oil and gas executive intended to bash Hillary Clinton's presumed environmental plans. A woman who sells health supplements planned to champion small businesses.

The one consistency throughout the convention has been a scorching contempt for Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, and an unrelenting negative portrayal of the country under President Barack Obama.

“America is in terrible, world-record-high debt. Our economy is not growing. Our jobs are going overseas. We have allowed our military to decay, and we project weakness on the international stage,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in remarks prepared for delivery. “The Democrats have not led us to a crossroads; they have led us to a cliff.”

Before the evening of pomp and speeches began, much of the offstage focus was on the extended Trump family, which has played a major and not always beneficial role in the convention.

After more than two days of evasion, denial and contradictory explanations, Trump's campaign released a statement at midday — addressed “to whom it may concern” — ascribing the plagiarized passages in Melania Trump's Monday night speech to Meredith McIver, a staff writer attached to his corporate operation.

Far from tamping down matters, however, the statement reignited the issue, not least because it pointed to the persistent turmoil within the GOP nominee's campaign and actions that often seem to work at cross-purposes.

Trump's oldest son, Donald Jr., meantime, demonstrated he could be as provocative as his namesake.

The day after a well-received speech Tuesday night, Trump Jr. said at a Wall Street Journal breakfast that the federal government needs to do more for the “hardworking men and women who built the great nation we live in” — not members of minority groups who have status as a “protected class.”

Los Angeles Times reporters Cathleen Decker, James Queally and Seema Mehta and Washington Bureau reporter David Lauter in Cleveland contributed.

mark.barabak@latimes. Associated Press also contributed.