PHILADELPHIA — Ted Cruz departed sharply from his usual remarks in a speech here Tuesday night meant to both look beyond and get ahead of what was expected to be a sweeping victory by rival Donald Trump in New York.

In a formal address to an intimate, seated crowd at the National Constitution Center, Cruz cast himself as an outsider, he drew parallels to John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Bernie Sanders and he riffed on President Obama’s signature “Yes we can” campaign slogan – taking a roundabout path to his central message: It’s time for Republicans to unite behind his candidacy.

“I am so excited to share with you what America has learned over the past few months. And it has nothing to do with a politician tonight winning his home state,” Cruz said, taking a dig at Trump. “It has everything to do with what we’ve seen in the towns and faces that have been weathered with trouble, joblessness and fear. It is what we learned looking at the factories that have been shuttered and the hearts that are closing.”

The Texas senator took the stage less than an hour before polls closed in New York. Anticipating his defeat in the Empire State, Cruz opted to stump in Pennsylvania, one of five states voting next Tuesday.

Cruz made an urgent plea to “unite the Republican Party because doing so is the first step toward uniting all Americans.”

At times, his pitch sounded more like a history lecture than a campaign talk. He said Reagan and Kennedy were outsiders who charted fresh paths forward for the country. He said he was an outsider, too – and so is one of his Democratic rivals.

“This is the year of the outsider. I am an outsider, Bernie Sanders is an outsider. Both with the same diagnosis, but both with very different paths to healing,” said Cruz.

There were no television screens inside the venue where Cruz spoke so the crowd could not watch election coverage. Cruz was introduced by Carly Fiorina, the former candidate who has stumped with him more frequently in recent weeks.

Cruz did not directly mention Trump in his speech, though he was aiming to convince Republicans why they should support him over the mogul. He talked of prioritizing “action” over “talk.”

The Texas senator argued at one point that Obama’s “Yes we can” theme was flawed. He called it “a recognition of the hope that we can and should recover. The problem was that Barack Obama’s prescriptions only led to more elitist control from Washington. Less freedom for the people.”

Later, he said: “Not yes we can, but now: Yes we will.”

Referencing Neil Armstrong’s moon landing remarks, Cruz said now is the time to “take another giant leap for mankind.”

Toward the end of his speech, Cruz said: “America has always been best when she is lying down with her back on the mat and the crowd has given the final count. It is time for us to get up, shake it off and be who we were destined to be.”

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