CLEVELAND – The Republican party officially has a nominee, ready to “make America great” while remaining politically incorrect.
Using a version of his opponent’s popular slogan against her, Donald Trump declared to the country on Thursday night, “I’m with you.”
“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’m with you, and I will fight for you, and I will win for you.”
Trump formally debuted a comprehensive action plan for the country should he be elected president in November. Fittingly, many of his plan’s themes echoed the themes of each convention night throughout the week – national safety, economic reforms and party unity.
“Together, we will lead our party back to the White House, and we will lead our country back to safety, prosperity, and peace,” Trump declared. “We will be a country of generosity and warmth. But we will also be a country of law and order.”
The title of the “law and order candidate” was repeated often throughout Thursday night, and the entire convention week. It illustrates Trump’s promise to restore safety to the country again.
“On January 21st of 2017, the day after I take the oath of office, Americans will finally wake up in a country where the laws of the United States are enforced,” he said. “We are going to be considerate and compassionate to everyone.”
And of course, the thing that started it all: the wall on the American/Mexican border.
“We are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs and the violence, and to stop the drugs from pouring into our communities,” Trump said.
“By ending catch-and-release on the border, we will stop the cycle of human smuggling and violence,” he said. “Illegal border crossings will go down. Peace will be restored. By enforcing the rules for the millions who overstay their visas, our laws will finally receive the respect they deserve.”
Earlier in the day, various news outlets reported a leak of Trump’s nomination speech. By Thursday evening, the speech was available for anyone to read. But Trump’s flair for entertainment his kept the audience enraptured and on their feet.
“As your president, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology,” Trump declared at one point, eliciting one of the loudest cheers.
“And I have to say, as a Republican it is so nice to hear you cheering for what I just said,” he added, off script. “Thank you.”
Thursday’s lineup of speakers were all examples of individuals who had beat the odds to succeed – much like the nominee himself. The point was driven home most poignantly by Brock Mealer, the victim of a spinal cord injury due to a car accident.
Mealer was given a one-percent chance at ever walking again. But with the help of crutches, he put one foot in front of the other to make it to the podium at Quicken Loans Arena.
“That one percent was all I needed; I believed in myself and made that one percent a reality,” Mealer said. “Guess who else was told he had a one percent chance?”
Ivanka Trump, daughter of the nominee and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, described her father as a fighter.
“When the primaries got tough, he dug deeper, worked harder, got better and became stronger,” she said. “I have seen him fight for his family, I have seen him fight for his employees, his company, and now I am seeing him fight for our country. It’s been the story of his life, and more recently, the spirit of his campaign.”
Balloons. Balloons everywhere. I wish all formal events ended with a balloon drop. #RNCinCLE #RSRNC pic.twitter.com/MeH45IHNwo
— Brittany Schock (@BrittanySchock) July 22, 2016
Trump also acknowledged the seemingly-insurmountable odds he defeated to become the Republican party’s nominee.
“All of the people telling you that you can’t have the country you want, are the same people telling you that I wouldn’t be standing here tonight,” he jeered. “No longer can we rely on those elites in media, and politics, who will say anything to keep a rigged system in place.
“Instead, we must choose to believe in America,” Trump declared. “History is watching us now.”
