Donald Trump officially accepted the nomination for president at the Republican National Convention Thursday night, giving a speech that excited the crowd and bashed his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
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Confidently addressing the finale of his party’s less-than-smooth national convention, the billionaire businessman declared the nation’s problems too staggering to be fixed within the confines of traditional politics.
“We can not afford to be so politically correct anymore”, Trump said in the polished manner of convention oratory.
The prevailing narrative at the Cleveland convention has not been about Trump’s positions, but dominated instead by the failure of he party’s various factions to unite behind Trump. Trump himself occasionally joined in the “U-S-A” chants, flashing the crowd a thumbs-up.
Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, who along with Gov. Gary Herbert was above the convention floor in a suite during Cruz’s speech, said he did not blame the Utah delegation for showing its enthusiasm. I don’t see him winning anyway, frankly. He said Clinton had a “legacy of death, destruction, terrorism and weakness”, and that she had allowed the rise of the Islamic State group during her term as U.S. secretary of state.
Trump’s speech will close out a four-day conclave in Cleveland that exposed continuing divisions among Republicans over their nominee at a time when they need to unite for a looming battle against Democrat Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the November 8 election. “Beginning on January 20th, 2017 (when the next president is inaugurated) safety will be restored”.
He pledged to stick to his most controversial proposals, which include building a wall along the entire US-Mexico border and suspending immigration from nations “compromised by terrorism”.
“For the most part everyone’s, ‘Come on lets get this guy elected, ‘” he said. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Trump “is essentially telling Russians/other bad actors” that the United States “is not fully committed to supporting North Atlantic Treaty Organisation alliance”. Trump was introduced by his oldest daughter, Ivanka, who called her father “the people’s champion”.
And just hours before Trump planned to take the stage to deliver his keynote speech he continued to be a sore victor, blasting Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) at a private luncheon with top donors.
The first three days of this week’s convention e gathering bordered on chaos, starting with a plagiarism charge involving his wife Melania Trump’s speech and moving on to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s dramatic refusal to endorse him from the convention stage.
A series of distractions at the convention largely thwarted a bid by the Trump campaign to show him as a caring father and magnanimous business leader who would bring greater prosperity and safety to the United States. We’re fighting to protect America and the values that have united us for decades.
“We will never sign bad trade deals”, Trump thundered.
Trump’s speech, on the other hand, focuses more on the grievances shared by his voters, casting him as the voice of the “forgotten” and giving a fortress-like vision of America.
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“As long as we are led by politicians who will not put America first, then we can be assured that other nations will not treat America with respect”, said Trump.
