Donald Trump accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for president Thursday night in Cleveland and delivered a lengthy and passionate speech that painted a dark picture of America under Democratic leadership before returning to his campaign’s pledge to “make America great again.”
“It is finally time for a straightforward assessment of the state of our nation,” Trump said, claiming that the Republican convention “occurs at a moment of crisis” for the U.S.
Trump laid out a series of statistics and anecdotes that he argued shows a country in decline under the leadership of President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and pledged to restore “law and order.” The billionaire real estate developer from New York claimed the media is not telling Americans the truth.
“I will tell you the plain facts that have been edited out of your nightly news and your morning newspaper,” Trump said, before launching into an attack on Clinton. “America is far less safe — and the world is far less stable — than when Obama made the decision to put Hillary Clinton in charge of America’s foreign policy.”
The crowd began chanting a familiar refrain at this week’s convention – “lock her up,” a reference to the FBI investigation of Clinton’s handling of classified materials that ended without charges.
Despite his rhetoric against Clinton, Trump waved off the chants. “Let’s defeat her in November,” he said to loud cheers.
It was one of the few ad-libs Thursday from the notoriously off-script candidate, who was praised for staying on-message during the speech. South Carolina Congressman Mark Sanford, a Republican still unsure about voting for Trump, told The Post and Courier he liked the speech.
“Trump spoke in forceful, short, declarative sentences,” Sanford said.
The paper reported South Carolina delegates had a more enthusiastic response to Trump’s speech.
“He was Ronald Reagan on steroids,” delegate Cyndi Mosteller said to The Post and Courier. “He has the greatest will to win for the American people.”
Delegate Tyson Grinstead wrote in The State, "Our delegates thought Donald Trump was inspiring, full of personality and uplifting."
In contrast to Reagan’s optimism, Trump spent most of the first half of his speech critical of the opposition party and pessimistic about the current state of affairs.
“This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness,” Trump said.
Blasting what he called a “rigged system,” Trump claimed he would be a champion for blue-collar workers in America, or in his words, “people who work hard but no longer have a voice.” Trump pointed at the camera, declaring, “I am your voice!”
Trump argued that Clinton’s e-mail scandal convinced him the system is rigged, claiming, “corruption has reached a level like never before.”
He also accused Obama of racially dividing the country, making “America a more dangerous environment for everyone.”
Trump did praise one Democrat: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“His supporters will join our movement,” Trump claimed. “Because we will fix his biggest single issue: Trade deals that strip our country of its jobs and strip us of our wealth.”
But Sanders live-tweeted negative reactions to Trump’s entire address, which was the longest acceptance speech from a major party nominee since 1972.
Sanders blasted Trump’s claim that “I alone can fix it,” after the GOP nominee criticized the American political process.
“Is this guy running for president or dictator?” Sanders tweeted.
Midway through the speech, Trump pivoted to his vision of America’s role in the world and what his priorities would be if elected president.
“Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo,” he said, and proceeded to break with established Republican doctrine on a number of issues.
“Recently I have said that NATO was obsolete,” Trump said, referencing an interview that appeared in The New York Times on Thursday, during which he questioned America’s commitment to the 28-nation alliance.
Trump attacked U.S. trade agreements and pledged to rebuild the landscape of global commerce. “That includes renegotiating NAFTA to get a much better deal for America,” he said. “And we’ll walk away if we don’t get the deal that we want.”
The GOP candidate defended his proposed policy of banning foreigners from nations “compromised by terrorism,” saying under his administration, “anyone who endorses violence, hatred or oppression is not welcome in our country and never will be.”
“We are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration!” Trump said, after which loud cheers erupted and chants of “Build the wall!" broke out. He claimed that Clinton stands for “mass amnesty, mass immigration and mass lawlessness.”
Trump also appealed to younger voters. “We're going to work with all of our students who are drowning in debt,” he said. “To take the pressure off these young people just starting out in their adult lives.”
His daughter Ivanka, who said she could identify with young voters, introduced him on stage. “Like many of my fellow millennials, I do not consider myself categorically Republican or Democrat,” she said.
Ms. Trump argued her father would fight for younger voters. “He can’t bear the injustice of college graduates who are crippled by student debt,” she said. “And mothers who can’t afford the childcare required to return to work to better the lives of their families.”
Trump’s oldest daughter pledged her father would “focus on making quality childcare affordable and accessible for all” and “fight for equal pay for equal work.”
Critics noted that the Republican Party, convention platform and Trump himself have been attacked for not taking on these issues in the past.
Trump paid tribute to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting and pledged to protect LGBTQ citizens from “the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology.”
After the crowd broke into applause, Trump deviated from his prepared text. “I have to say, as a Republican, it is so nice to hear you cheering for what I just said. Thank you.”
Trump’s remarks echoed a theme touched on by PayPal founder Peter Thiel when he took the stage earlier in the prime time program.
“I am proud to be gay,” Thiel declared. “I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all I am proud to be an American.” He received a loud ovation.
Thiel criticized so-called “bathroom bills,” such as the one introduced in the South Carolina state legislature, which limit transgender people’s access to restrooms matching their gender identity at birth.
“Now we are told that the great debate is about who gets to use which bathroom,” he said. “This is a distraction from our real problems. Who cares?”
Also taking the stage earlier in the program was South Carolina pastor Mark Burns.
Trump thanked the evangelical movement for backing him in the primary during his address. “I’m not sure I totally deserve it!” said the twice-divorced candidate with a smile.
The nominee’s family also got a shout out, with Trump heaping special praise on his wife and older daughter. “By the way, Melania and Ivanka, did they do a job!” he said.
Forgotten in his extra thank-you was his younger daughter Tiffany, who also spoke in prime time during the week. It was a minor gaffe on a night where, despite a few misspelled signs, there were few indications of just how rocky the start was to the GOP convention. Outside Quicken Loans Arena, police officials celebrated an unexpectedly peaceful week dealing with protestors.
The convention drew to a close with one final contrast between the party’s nominee and the expected star of next week’s Democratic Party event in Philadelphia, Hillary Clinton.
“My opponent asks her supporters to recite a three word loyalty pledge,” Trump said. “It reads: ‘I’m With Her.' I choose to recite a different pledge. My pledge reads: ‘I’m with you — the American people!’”
Clinton responded to Trump’s slogan on Twitter. “Not included: women, African Americans, LGBT people, Muslims, Latinos, immigrants...” she tweeted, previewing an attack she plans to launch in the general election fight ahead.
Trump promised on Thursday he’s ready for that fight.
“I am with you, I will fight for you, and I will win for you,” he said.