- Friday, September 06, 2024
Donald Trump’s 90-plus minutes speech capped the four-day Republican National Convention during which he was greeted with adulation by a party now entirely in his thrall
By: Shajil Kumar
DONALD TRUMP described how he narrowly survived an attempt on his life, telling a rapt audience at the Republican National Convention on Thursday (18) in his first speech since the attack that he was only there “by the grace of Almighty God.”
“I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear,” he said during a 14-minute account, a thick bandage still covering his ear. “I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet.”
When he told the Milwaukee crowd that he was “not supposed to be here,” the delegates chanted back, “Yes you are!”
The 78-year-old former president struck an unusually conciliatory tone during the speech’s opening moments, when he formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination for the Nov. 5 election.
“I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America,” he said, in a marked shift in tenor for the typically bellicose former president.
But he swiftly pivoted to well-worn attacks on the Biden administration, which he said was “destroying” the country. He claimed without evidence that his criminal indictments were part of a Democratic conspiracy, predicted President Joe Biden, his Democratic rival, would usher in “World War Three,” and described what he called an “invasion” of migrants over the southern border.
In the meandering remarks that followed – at 90-plus minutes the longest convention speech in history – Trump abandoned the message of unity he had promised to embrace in favor of his usual mixture of bombast and grievance, repeating his false claim that Democrats stole the 2020 election.
Sole saviour
Trump asserted, as he has throughout his political career, that only he was capable of saving the country from certain doom.
“I could stop wars with a telephone call,” he said.
The speech capped a four-day event during which he was greeted with adulation by a party now almost entirely in his thrall.
In a statement, Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said Trump had presented only problems, not solutions.
“It was Donald Trump who destroyed our economy, ripped away rights, and failed middle class families,” she said. “Now he pursues the presidency with an even more extreme vision for where he wants to take this country.”
Attack on migrants
Trump devoted much of his speech to attacking migrants, a theme that has always animated his presidential campaigns.
“They’re coming from prisons, they’re coming from jails, they’re coming from mental institutions and insane asylums,” he said, before citing by name several Americans who were murdered by suspects in the country illegally.
There is no evidence foreign governments are intentionally sending such people to the US Academic studies show that immigrants do not commit crime at a higher rate than native-born Americans.
The speech broke Trump’s own 2016 record for the longest delivered by a nominee, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California in Santa Barbara. His 2020 convention address, delivered at the White House, was the third longest ever.
After Trump concluded, his family and that of his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, walked onto the stage as balloons dropped from the ceiling.
Vance, at 39 half Trump’s age, is widely seen as the ideological heir to Trump’s Make America Great Movement.
“J.D., you’re gonna be doing this for a long time,” Trump said. “Enjoy the ride.”
Tight grip over party
Some of the eclectic group of speakers – including conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, who received a huge ovation, and Trump’s son Eric – employed divisive language in denouncing the Biden administration.
The head pro at Trump’s Florida golf club, John Nieporte, praised Trump’s skills on the course and claimed the former president had won 21 club championships.
“Joe Biden? Zero,” he said, evoking the surreal moment from the presidential debate when Trump and Biden argued over which of the two candidates had a better golf game.
With his grip on the Republican Party never tighter, Trump will be in a much stronger position than in his 2017-2021 term to follow through on his agenda if he wins the election.
Flips script
Despite a torrent of scandals, impeachment for his unprecedented attempt to overturn the 2020 election, and 34 felony convictions in May at a New York criminal trial, Trump is on the rise in polls ahead of November.
Now, with Republicans more in step behind him than ever, he is bullish about a shock return to power.
Attempting to flip the script on accusations he intends to rule as an authoritarian leader, Trump insisted that he is “the one saving democracy” and referred to his criminal investigations as “witch hunts.”
“We must not criminalize dissent,” he said.
‘Fight, fight, fight!’
Trump’s family was in attendance, with son Eric rousing the crowd into a chant of “fight, fight, fight!”
Former first lady Melania Trump, who has been mostly absent throughout the campaign, arrived to applause but made no speech — a remarkable break with US political convention at such events.
She did stand hand-in-hand with her husband, as well as other family members, during the convention finale when red, white and blue balloons floated down from the rafters.
Biden under pressure
Biden has faced increasing pressure from heavyweights in his party to cede his position at the top of the ticket. Former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is among those who have told him he cannot win in November, according to a White House source familiar with the matter.
After weeks of insisting that he will remain in the race, Biden is now taking calls to step aside seriously, and multiple Democratic officials think an exit is a matter of time, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate – Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer – have told Biden directly that he will not only lose the White House but also endanger their effort to win back the House, according to reports in multiple news outlets.
Senator Jon Tester, who faces a challenging reelection battle in Montana this year, on Thursday, became the 21st congressional Democrat and the second senator to publicly call on Biden to drop out.
However, Senior Trump advisor Jason Miller told AFP that “nothing fundamentally changes” for Trump even if Biden drops out.
Hogan lauds Trump
Famed US professional wrestling star Hulk Hogan endorsed Donald Trump for president, ripping off his shirt in his signature style to reveal he was wearing another one underneath with the Republican candidate’s name on it.
“With our leader up there, my hero, that gladiator, we’re gonna bring America back together,” the 1980s icon said on stage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee ahead of Trump’s closing speech on the fourth day of the event.
Hogan, whose real name is Terry Gene Bollea, compared Trump and his vice-presidential running mate J.D. Vance to the dynamic duo act he used to perform with “Macho Man” Randy Savage: The Mega Powers.
Like he used to do in his wrestling matches, Hogan, 70, ripped off the T-shirt he was wearing to reveal a red one underneath showcasing the Trump-Vance presidential ticket.
As he entered the auditorium, packed with Republican delegates who nominated Trump as the party’s candidate for president, Hogan said she felt like he was in front of “real Americans.”
The wrestler was embroiled in controversy more than a decade ago after an intimate video of him leaked, as well as for his use of racist language.
The latter caused him to be fired from World Wrestling Entertainment in 2015, where he had won major titles during his career. He has since apologized for his actions. (Agencies)
