‘I’ve never heard of an American leader, or at least someone who wants to be an American leader, claiming that he’s all that we need.
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One Trump adviser said despite a disorganized convention with a plagiarism controversy, he expects the Republican nominee to get at least a 5- to 7-point bump in the polls and pull even or ahead of Clinton this weekend.
“Our convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation”, he said, employing the language of a war-time candidate.
Standing before a crowd of thousands in the convention hall and millions of television viewers, Mr Trump described the United States as a blood-drenched lawless place riven with violence, that only he could save.
“I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father”, he told a meeting of the Texas delegation in Cleveland.
And on Wednesday, Trump’s former rival Ted Cruz took the stage, only to be booed off after the Texas senator still declined to endorse Trump. There was no “we” in this speech, but rather all “I” – all Trump.
Trump held forth in the freewheeling morning event, dredging up past arguments with the Cruz team, including attacks on Cruz’s wife and father, at a time when attention was shifting Friday to the general election and Democrat Hillary Clinton’s anticipated announcement of her vice-presidential pick. Cruz mentioned his party’s nominee, Donald Trump, just once, offering him simple congratulations.
“I will fight for you, and I will win for you”, Trump said. “The day that was abrogated was the day this became personal”, he told the crowd. Donald Trump accepts Republican presidential nominationTrump painted a picture of a deeply troubled America that is behind both economically and politically and he said only he can fix it. “Tonight, I will share with you my plan of action for America”, Trump said.
“And to those listening, please, don’t stay home in November”, Cruz said. Cruz (who I should note is an old friend) had said that voters should pick the candidate they can trust to protect the Constitution. And then, after leading into what had to be an endorsement, he urged the assembled delegates to “vote your conscience.” Wow.
Cruz’s speech was another stumble at a convention marked by several missteps, including a speech by Trump’s wife, Melania, that included lines similar to those in a 2008 Democratic convention speech by President Barack Obama’s wife, Michelle.
The Cruz detour came as Trump basked on what he said was a convention “filled with love”. “He needed to toughen up like every other Republican loser of any nomination battle in the last 100 years since Abraham Lincoln and just suck it up, be a man and back the nominee that he was beaten by, fair and square”.
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“To make life safe in America, we must also address the growing threats we face from outside America: we are going to defeat the barbarians of (Islamic State) and we are going to defeat them fast”. Chances are that Cruz would have swallowed Lyin’ Ted.
