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Trump Delivers Message: ‘I Am With You’
July 22, 2016
[Cleveland, OH] Accepting perhaps the most unlikely major-party nomination in American history, Donald Trump used his prime time address Thursday at the Republican National Convention to frame an alternately bleak and optimistic argument of where the nation is, and where it could go.
Playing off of Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton’s “I’m With Her” catchphrase, the billionaire real-estate developer turned reality-television star promised to stand up for everyday Americans.
“I am your voice,” Trump said. “So to every parent who dreams for their child, and every child who dreams for their future, I say these words to you tonight: I am with you, I will fight for you, and I will win for you.”
Trump’s speech, which lasted about an hour and 15 minutes and closed the four-day convention in Cleveland, was largely devoid of the personal insults and wandering thoughts that helped draw attention during his charge to the GOP nomination. But he still lacerated President Barack Obama and Clinton, a former senator and secretary of state, for increasing the danger faced by Americans.
Trump condemned policies supported by Clinton as sowing chaos in the Middle East, from the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State terrorist organization to turmoil in Egypt and Iraq.
“This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness,” Trump said. “But Hillary Clinton’s legacy does not have to be America’s legacy.”
Trump didn’t unveil any completely new policies in his speech. He ripped existing free-trade agreements and promised to renegotiate them. Trump claimed the mantle of “the law and order candidate” and reiterated a relatively new idea to work to roll back restrictions on the political speech of tax-exempt organizations.
The new nominee also repeated his pledge to build a border wall — though he didn’t promise that Mexico would pay for it, as he has before — and said the United States should temporarily suspend immigration from nations “compromised by terrorism.” That is a curtailed version of his proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States.
Trump also tried to soften the edges of his proposals, which have prompted Democrats and opponents to accuse him of racism and bigotry.
“We will be a country of generosity and warmth,” Trump said. “But we will also be a country of law and order.”
Trump also showed some of his famous disdain for political correctness. After talking about his proposal to block immigrants from some nations until vetting could be strengthened, he ad libbed: “We don’t want them in our country.”
John Podesta, who chairs Clinton’s campaign, blasted Trump for his portrayal of the country and the prescriptions for its problems.
“Tonight, Donald Trump painted a dark picture of an America in decline,” Podesta said. “And his answer — more fear, more division, more anger, more hate — was yet another reminder that he is temperamentally unfit and totally unqualified to be president of the United States.”
Even before Trump delivered the speech, which was leaked to the media ahead of his appearance, other critics were accusing him of distorting the facts. The Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law said Trump was cherry-picking or exaggerating the statistics he used to argue that crime is on the rise.
“Overall, crime rates remain at historic lows,” Ames Grawert, a counsel in the center’s justice program, said in a prepared statement. “Fear-inducing soundbites are counterproductive, and distract from nuanced, data-driven, and solution-oriented conversations on how to build a smarter criminal justice system in America.”
Grawert said it’s “too early to say” whether an increase in homicides in some cities signifies a national trend.
Trump’s speech capped off one of the more memorable political conventions in years. Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, became the first openly gay person to speak to a Republican convention.
Other surprising moments, though, were chaotic.
The first day of the event was dominated by an arcane fight over party rules and a speech by Trump’s wife, Melania, which was later revealed to have included some passages from a similar address by First Lady Michelle Obama.
On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas — who was the strongest challenger to Trump in a bitter primary fight — was booed harshly when he refused to explicitly endorse Trump against Clinton.
“It’s everything we expected and a lot of things that we didn’t want,” said Rico Petrocelli, Florida state committeeman for the Broward County GOP.
Party leaders, though, tried to play down the idea that Trump’s rise and the convention had badly divided Republicans. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said this year’s gathering was “a very mild convention” when looked at against the fights of the 1960s and 1970s. Gingrich, though, conceded it was unique in an era when conventions have become televised set pieces.
“The fact is he won the nomination by being very smart, using social media in a way that nobody ever had before,” Gingrich said. “And this is a genuine change. It’s a very dramatic change. Well, guess what? Very dramatic changes have very dramatic side effects.”
And while Gingrich suggested Cruz shouldn’t have delivered the speech Wednesday without making an endorsement, he said the reaction showed how unified the party is.
“It also proved … that this is a party which has now decided that Donald Trump is its leader and this is a party that wants to win the presidency,” he said.
Republicans are hoping that the dynamics of a badly polarized electorate can help the party in the fall. Clinton long ago achieved a sort of arch-villain status among conservatives.
Trump has vowed to appoint conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, a key promise to social conservatives who had previously been wary of the thrice-married casino owner.
The next president could have an opportunity to fill the vacancy created this year by the death of Antonin Scalia, and a handful of older current justices could also retire. Republican voters won’t want Clinton to name their replacements, Florida GOP Chairman Blaise Ingoglia said.
“The prospect of not having a 7-2 liberal Supreme Court will be motivating factor enough. And then some,” said Ingoglia, who is also a state House member from Spring Hill.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Comments
27 Responses to “Trump Delivers Message: ‘I Am With You’”
“Hillliary leads in every poll and will be the next President of the United States”—
better look again.
Well Jack in Baker and Kate, what do you think of your prized Democrat party now that they have been outed as racists and liars??? Neither side is perfect, but the left has been demonizing the right for decades, branding all Republicans as racist. The cat is now out of the bag…. the Democrat party panders to selected groups of people, all the while denigrating them behind their backs!!! Only a fool would think that Hillary is qualified for or would make a decent President!!!
@Kate: okay thanks i see your point he does use foreign labor i’m very disenheartened 2 learn this. how could u mr. trump?
I share david lamb’s concerns. As for these people coming here from middle east lands, they DON’T plan on assimilating to U.S. culture. Look at how many are here, and have not assimilated. They belong somewhere, but not somewhere they feel the need to demand that local citizens bend to their demands. I have heard stories of them demanding that neighbors not cook a particular meat outdoors.
Trump isn’t racist. There are too minorities in his organization for that to be said.
It’s not racist to not want people entering our nation against the nation’s will. Hillary Clinton has told us that she wants “Australian” style gun laws in the U.S. The Australian government banned private gun ownership and instituted confiscation and prosecution of those that didn’t comply. She wants our guns. She wants to disarm us. Trump does not. That’s enough for me.
While Trump is not my choice .he is the republican nominee and it will be an ABH vote. My concerns are
1. weary of ANYONE that promises so much and we all know he will not deliver on much.
Law & order comments make me nervous on HOW
My thoughts on all the fixes he proposes= concerns on my wallet being EMPTY!
concur on immigration and jobs issues– I drive passengers between Omaha, Denver and Chicago. Too Many Muslims!, Hispanics are hard workers, but need to enter properly .Muslims are colonizing small Nebraska. Iowa and Colorado cities, usually around packing plants. They generally support shrea laws an eventually offspring will run for political office and win and will support their Muslim beliefs—LOOK OUT AMERICA! Muslim life habits are different than ours and they cause problems on our buses and don’t use English!
jack in Baker— 5% doesn’t include the hundreds of thousands that have given up hope on jobs and living on welfare! All the jobs being produced are @low wages and menial. Everyone knows the books are cooked to reflect favorable results wit , like truckers carry 2 sets of booksPlz– I concur, LORD HELP US FOR OUR STUPIDITY!!!!!!!!!
You people eat out of the Republican hands like a pig at the trough. Since when can you lose a job and just give up and never work again. Who can? You get welfare for maybe two years absolute tops and your off or working. SO how do you just go into a hole and never work again. This crap about Communism is just that crap. Start using your brains people. Once again NFTA and other trade agreements did not force American companies to move their businesses overseas. Greed did for profit. Trump is going to make work again here in America, his companies are in Turkey, China, India and Mexico. What’s he going to do feed you a minimum wage and tell you how great he is. The Republican Messiah rises.
Trump would be the next president if only people from NW FL/lower Alabama could vote, but thankfully this is just a small and relatively insignificant part of the United States.
Hillliary leads in every poll and will be the next President of the United States.
The America I knew has been systematically destroyed and what we have now is a twisted remnant of what was once a great Christian nation.
The clean up and correction of America, will be nothing short of the ordeal of the Phoenix, I feel that Donald Trump is the best choice of a president, for to take us through the fire.
What do you mean they are so angry they want to cut HIS head off? Why would one half be so angry and from what you say the president as Him you don’t mean Clinton. Why would anybody be so angry at someone trying to run a country? Sounds like the problem lies with the person with the anger, not the object or person or ideals they blame.
@kate
Google NAFTA.
Americans are angry, so angry that they want to cut off the king’s head. The only thing is that we don’t have a king. We have a president, and no matter how good that president is, the country will be divided in half. One half will hate him and want his head cut off.
The majority in DC now on both sides have Communist ideologies whether they know it or not. I think Obama and Hillary and Bernie KNOW it.
Jack in baker you are wrong Obama says only people looking for a job are unemployed. That’s were the 5% comes from and it’s a joke. Unemployment is at 17 % nation wide. Pick up a book and read and get off welfare.
Anybody with any fiber of Christian values can not agree with the direction our country is going. The Democratic party has lost touch with what made this country great ( THE FATHER, SON, AND THE HOLEY GHOST ) Christian Values.
The Clintons for years have constantly been involved in some kind of illegal scandal. TO ME THE LASTEST. (EMAIL SCANDEL) IS A BIG DEAL. There have been many people prosecuted, kicked out of the military, etc. for less. The F.B.I. didn’t ever say she didn’t violate our Nation Security and break the law. They said weren’t going to pursue prosecution.
Donald Trump may not be the answer to our problem. But the democratic party idea of a qualified candidate to lead this country shows they have lost touch with the average person.
ME personally I would rather try a new approach and be wrong than continue to travel this road we headed.
But that’s just me
I think a huge disagreement in American is about the Criminal Justice System.
I don’t see it as a race issue. I think capital punishment should be swift and criminals severely punished, the idea of rehabilitation doesn’t work.
OK for reforms prior, prevention yes.
I have some ideas there.
Once anyone is convicted of a violent crime and sentenced. They no longer have civil rights.
Any organization or political party that thinks otherwise is wrong.
I vote for the party that supports that.
Law and Order is not fascism. It is American.
If you believe your white child or grandchild should be discriminated (Affirmative Action) against based solely on their skin color. Then vote for Hillary. If a Christmas tree on the town square offends you. Then vote Hillary. If you think men in wigs and dresses should be allowed to use same restrooms as 10 year old girls. Then vote Hillary. If you think guys should be allowed to shower with girls after gym class. Then vote Hillary. If you think Hillary is right for calling George Zimmerman a murderer after an”"All Woman” jury aquitted him, a woman judge preciided over the case and a woman prosecutor was in charge of the prosecution. Then vote for Hillary. But it’s kind of funny how a woman running for president on the notion that more women should be in position of Authority, apparently thought all the women jurors were to stupid to make a right decision after hearing all the facts. Let’s do the right thing and and legalize discrimination by abolishing affirmative action. Even Martin Luther King Jr said A person should not be judged on the color of your skin. He must be turning in his grave.
LORD PLEASE HELP US ALL!!!
@Jack in Baker:
You do realize those numbers are not accurate, right? We have the lowest work participation rate in ages, the economy/GDP has grown $2 Trillion….while the debt has grown $9 Trillion…not exactly real growth, you know? Actually that’s -$7 Trillion negative growth when compared as a value of GDP vs Debt. So, I’m sorry, you’re wrong on that part. Regarding Congress- A GOPer in the WH will fix that.
Choo Choo. Taking the Trump Train all the way to the White House. Great speech last night. Trump loves the police and military. What a refreshing change.
Republican Party R.I.P.
Well you can tell which side of the aisle the author of this piece is on. Get over it, Trump will be our next president. The people have spoken and we are tired of the same old bureaucracy coming out of Washington. Politicians who won’t get anything done because their too worried about the donor who’s hand is stuck in their back pocket. It’s time the people took back America and it starts with WE the people shaking up the political landscape. Goodbye OhBummer, and good riddance! Time to make America great again!
I don’t like Hillary and don’t think I can vote for her but trump would be a total disaster. He’s a fake and only cares about his ego. He is what’s wrong with America. He doesn’t pay his bills, goes bankrupt often, changes wives often and doesn’t pay taxes. Yea, we’re in trouble either way :/
Trump, the Messiah will fix all this negative crap, because he is a GOD of the highest power. You forget, the manufactories, business moved over to Mexico and other cheap labor countries out of greed for profit. It wasn’t because of any trade agreements. These companies wouldn’t have to pay but pennies on the dollar for labor, charge us a lot of money and increase profits outrageously. I think you are following an “Adolph Hitler” and the CHANGES will not be what you think they will be.
WE are with YOU, Mr. Trump.
Take Back the USA from the liberal entitled Poke-A-Man following masses.
Voter, you’ve fallen victim to the lies that the republican party have fabricated. A growing economy and unemployment below 5% are not a sign of failing economically. A do-nothing republican congress is the real problem we have.
Great speech, layed it out like it is.
Republican all the way. We have to get a handle on immigration, we have to not allow America to be flooded with others when we are failing economically. We have to turn around trade deals to bring back companies and manufacturing. We have to have law and order. I agree sweeping changes can have side effects but Trump is only the President not the Owner and Director of the USA. Some may be bluster but I believe America has reached a critical time and radical changes are in order. I hope Trump will be the next President. Appoint conservatives to the Supreme Court, they will be there a long time.
I think the Democratic policies of the past administration and Clinton will break America if we stay on that same path.