July 21, 2016

'I Will Restore Law And Order' Trump Vows In Grand Finale

Trump promised a "movement." Ivanka Trump says her dad will champion women's rights, equal wages and be a "fighter" for his country. 

A view from the convention floor.

By Dennis Robaugh

CLEVELAND, OH — Promising to be a champion for those shafted by a rigged system and to restore law and order to the crime-plagued cities and neighborhoods that have claimed an increasing number of police officers' lives, Donald Trump accepted the presidential nomination of the Republican Party Thursday night.

He vowed to improve the economy and create more jobs than any other president.

“I have visited the laid-off factory workers, and the communities crushed by our horrible and unfair trade deals. These are the forgotten men and women of our country, and they are forgotten, but they're not going to be forgotten long. These are people who work hard but no longer have a voice," Trump said. "I am your voice."

Trump said that for every person who feels shut out, discriminated against, treated unfairly, he will work to improve their lot in life and deliver to them their share of the American dream — working moms, LGBT citizens, inner-city African Americans, children, people who live in fear in their own homes.

As a rich, white, billionaire, "nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it," he promised, to laughter and approval from the assembled delegates.

“I have no patience for injustice, no tolerance for government incompetence, no sympathy for leaders who fail their citizens," he continued. "When innocent people suffer, because our political system lacks the will, or the courage, or the basic decency to enforce our laws – or worse still, has sold out to some corporate lobbyist for cash – I am not able to look the other way.”

At one point in his remarks, a protester disrupted the arena, holding up a sign that read "Build Bridges Not Walls." Trump stopped his speech and paced on the platform for a few beats as a Cleveland police officer took the woman into custody.

"How great are our police, and how great is Cleveland?" Trump shouted.

A woman is taken into custody while trying to disrupt
Donald Trump's acceptance speech. | Video pool

The woman was later identified as Medea Benjamin, of Washington, D.C., founder of the Code Pink protest group. Code Pink traveled to Cleveland and staged several protests on Public Square during convention week and managed to infiltrate the convention arena on Monday for a protest, too.

Trump did not abandon the hard-edged language that marked his stump speeches in the primary, however. If anything, he was as bellicose as ever about building the wall, going after terrorists, and getting rid of murderous immigrants who somehow manage to escape justice.

"The first task for our administration will be to liberate our citizens from the crime and terrorism and lawlessness that threatens their communities," Trump said, taking particular aim at the crime wave in Chicago, President Obama's hometown, and the record-setting body count.

"We will be a country of generosity and warmth," he said. "But we will also be a country of law and order. Our convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation. The attacks on our police, and the terrorism in our cities, threaten our very way of life. Any politician who does not grasp this danger is not fit to lead our country."

Trump mentioned several states where police officers have recently been shot to death.

"I have a message to every last person threatening the peace on our streets and the safety of our police: When I take the oath of office next year, I will restore law and order to our country," he said.

To those who believe crime and chaos rule the day in the United States, Trump had this to say: "I have a message for all of you: the crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end. Beginning on January 20th, 2017, safety will be restored."

Trump entered the arena to the score of the movie "Air Force One," introduced by his daughter, Ivanka Trump, 34, who told the Republican faithful assembled in Cleveland for her father's nomination that she was not "categorically a Republican." She also said she will fight alongside her father.

“He will fight for equal pay, equal work, and I will fight for this too, right alongside of him,” his daughter said. "I have seen him fight for his family. I have seen him fight for his employees. I have seen him fight for his company.

"Now, I have seen him fight for his country."

What Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump, his confidante, partner in business and influential voice in Dad's ear, said Thursday night matters a great deal and sets the tone for the campaign to come.

It matters because large segments of the party aren't convinced he should be their candidate, let alone president.

It matters because campaign pros believe his organization isn't capable of running a national campaign.

It matters because so many Republicans believe Hillary Clinton would be the worst possible president, and they desperately want to believe Trump is the answer.

Many establishment Republicans have swallowed their pride and held their noses and supported the 70-year-old billionaire New York businessman, though he thumbed his nose at them for an entire year as he blustered his way to the nomination and a four-day jamboree in his honor.

Thursday night, he promised them "we are a team."

But he also challenged Republicans a bit with topics outside their norm. He told them he would look out for gays and lesbians, for women, and for minorities who live in cities that have suffered a rise in crime and a loss of jobs under the Obama administration.

"This administration has failed America’s inner cities. Remember: it has failed America's inner cities. It’s failed them on education. It’s failed them on jobs. It’s failed them in crime. It’s failed them in every way and on every single level," Trump said. "When I am president, I will work to ensure that all of our kids are treated equally, and protected equally. Every action I take, I will ask myself: does this make life better for young Americans in Baltimore, in Chicago, in Detroit, in Ferguson, who have really, in every way, folks, as much a right to live out their dreams as any other child in America. Any other child."

Trump even said Democrats would respond to his ideas.

He promised "a movement."

"Bernie Sanders – he never had a chance," Trump said of Clinton's defeated primary challenger, again referring to the rigged system. "But his supporters will join our movement, because we will fix his biggest issue: trade.

"Millions of Democrats will join our movement."

Companies will not move American jobs out of the country "without consequences," Trump said, insisting he will "turn bad trade agreements into great trade agreements."

And a reduction in government regulation, specifically "restrictions on the production of American energy," would be lifted under a Trump administration.

Ivanka Trump introducing her dad.
Photo by Dennis Robaugh

Ivanka Trump also spoke to jobs and the workplace, noting her father's business empire essentially is a $18 trillion economy. In his world, women and working moms are treated equally. She said her father will change labor laws to make this true across the United States. She also said he would make child care affordable and accessible.

“This has long been the philosophy of the Trump Organization," Ivanka Trump explained. "Women are paid equally for the work that they do, and when a woman becomes a mother she is supported, not shut out."

Women throughout the arena cheered and waved "Women for Trump" placards.

"Americans today need an economy that permits them to rise again," Ivanka Trump said. "Maybe it's the developer in him, but Donald Trump cannot stand to see empty Main Streets and boarded-up factories. He can't bear the injustice of college graduates who are crippled by student debt, and mothers who cannot afford the cost of the childcare required to return to work to better the lives of their families."

A woman on the floor of the convention center.
Photo by Dennis Robaugh

Together, father and daughter promised changes that could dramatically transform the Republican Party. If the Republican Party wasn't entirely his party on Sunday night before the four-day convention began in Cleveland, it may very well be his party come Friday morning if Republicans heed his word and subscribe to many of the policies he declared in his acceptance speech.

For all the jokes about Scott Baio and two soap opera actors as convention speakers, Trump brought in some unique voices: a black police chief from Milwaukee (who was met with enthusiastic cheers), an imam (whose benediction was interrupted by a Trump supporter who didn't want to see a Muslim at the convention) and a gay Silicon Valley entrepreneur in Peter Thiel.

Thiel, a Cleveland native who founded PayPal and was the first investor in Facebook, spoke in a prime slot on the final night of the convention. That he is gay is only significant because he's the first gay man to speak of his sexual orientation at a Republican Convention.

Thiel highlighted the technological shortcomings he sees in federal government.

"Our nuclear bases still use floppy disks. Our newest fighter jets can't even fly in the rain. And it would be kind to say the government's software works poorly, because much of the time it doesn't even work at all. That is a staggering decline for the country that completed the Manhattan Project. We don't accept such incompetence in Silicon Valley, and we must not accept it from our government," Thiel said.

The remark drew healthy applause. Then Thiel delivered what had to be an eye-opener for those in the party who've thrived on waging culture wars.

"Every American has a unique identity. I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all I am proud to be an American," he said. "I don't pretend to agree with every plank in our party's platform. But fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline. And nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump."

Many wondered whether Trump would go on a rant, go off the rails, speak off the cuff and lash out at his enemies, real and perceived. The tone and tenor of the convention suggested a lack of organization and cohesion. The most interesting and effective speakers — aside from Ted Cruz, who lit a flaming bag of principled disdain on Trump's front porch, rang the bell and ran away — were his own children.

He did not. Neither did he abandon his "strongman" positions, the ones that lead some Republicans and Democrats to criticize him as a fascist.

"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. "I have been honored to receive the endorsement of America’s Border Patrol Agents, and will work directly with them to protect the integrity of our lawful immigration system."

The crowd responded to his immigration comments with chants of "build that wall."

"I want every American whose demands for immigration security have been denied – and every politician who has denied them – to listen very closely to the words I am about to say," Trump said. "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."

Trump also touched on two other issues, one that riles up Republicans and the other being a source of frustration to many traveling Americans.

"We will repeal and replace disastrous Obamacare. You will be able to choose your own doctor again," Trump said. "And we will fix TSA at the airports which is a total disaster."

Great applause lines, but Trump didn't say how he'd accomplish either.

Delegates enter The Q arena in Cleveland Thursday
for Donald Trump's acceptance speech. Photo by Dennis Robaugh

On Wednesday night, Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, tried to liken the candidate to Ronald Reagan. The party, fractured after a nasty primary that saw 17 people vie for the right to challenge Clinton, is trying to come together behind him. Reagan did that better than any Republican president since the 1950s.

Trump seemed to be aiming for "Reaganesque" in his speech Thursday, albeit with a healthy dose of Trump swagger and volume. Reagan, it should be noted, was a Democrat before he became a Republican. And he was quite capable of working across the aisle to get legislation passed.

Those who love and support Trump and his candidacy look past what others perceive as fatal flaws. They believe America is not as great as it once was. They see unabashed nerve in the man, and they think we need that in the White House.

Too many neighborhoods are unsafe. Too many enemies neither fear nor respect us. Too many jobs are leaving our country for foreign lands. Too many people remain underemployed or unemployed. And too many politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, are to blame.

Trump spoke to all of that Thursday night.

He laid blame for the problem in the Middle East, including the rise of ISIS, at Hillary Clinton's feet.

"In 2009, pre-Hillary, ISIS was not even on the map. Libya was stable. Egypt was peaceful. Iraq was seeing a reduction in violence. Iran was being choked by sanctions. Syria was under control," Trump said. "After four years of Hillary Clinton, what do we have? ISIS has spread across the region, and the world. Libya is in ruins, and our ambassador and his staff were left helpless to die at the hands of savage killers. Egypt was turned over to the radical Muslim brotherhood, forcing the military to retake control. Iraq is in chaos. Iran is on the path to nuclear weapons. Syria is engulfed in a civil war and a refugee crisis that now threatens the West.

"After 15 years of wars in the Middle East, after trillions of dollars spent and thousands of lives lost, the situation is worse than it has ever been before. This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness."

Trump also said: "We are going to defeat the barbarians of ISIS. And we're going to defeat them fast."

He mentioned the murders of 49 men and women at a gay club in Orlando, Florida, at the hands of an Islamic terrorist, and said he would "do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful, foreign ideology."

He told the audience, "it is so nice to hear you cheering for what I just said."

A girl in a traditional Muslim head covering sells Donald Trump gear
outside the GOP convention Thursday.
Photo by Dennis Robaugh

Trump is not a politician. He doesn't follow the same rules as politicians. He doesn't adhere to the same political calculus. He is bringing "average" people into the political process. You can see that in the many Trump delegates who've never before been to a convention. And he relies on political newcomers to help run his campaign and formulate policy.

That makes him dangerous to some and appealing to others.

He is opportunistic and unpredictable.

With all of his weaknesses politically, Trump could very well lose the election. The Clinton campaign machine is nothing if not powerful, well-funded and adept.

And Trump, it would appear, already knows who to blame if he does.

On Thursday morning, Trump met with 300 donors and told them he could win the election even if he ran as an independent against Clinton and a Republican.

"If I ran independent I promise you the Republicans would have had zero chance, OK?” Trump said, according to a Politico report citing four sources who were in the room. "The independents would beat the Republicans!"

Trump also said the RNC better get out the vote for him and hire good people, according to Politico.

For better or worse, they are now in this together.

Most of the four-day RNC convention has been spent beating up Hillary Clinton, mercilessly, viciously, coldly, some might even say crazily. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tried to make the case for prosecuting Clinton and sending her to prison. Pat Smith, the mom of a foreign service officer killed in Benghazi, blamed Clinton for the death of her son. Mike Pence hammered her again with the line "at this point, what does it matter," suggesting Clinton callously dismisses those under her care and command. Dr. Ben Carson even suggested Clinton is in league with the devil.

A Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Monday and Tuesday showed Trump with 43 percent of the popular vote compared to 42 percent for Clinton, a statistical dead heat. A Reuters-Ipsos national poll, conducted July 16 to 20, has Clinton with 40 percent to Trump's 36 percent. Trump gained 4 points, and Clinton lost 6 points from the previous week.

A train ride from the suburbs into Cleveland.
While everyone may be riding the same train,
they are coming from and arriving at very different places.
Photo by Dennis Robaugh

On Thursday night, Trump delivered a long speech, covering much ground, in an attempt to present a more complete vision for reluctant Republicans and undecided independents to buy into. His message included a strong appeal to people who've felt shafted and disenfranchised by the political and economic system and the people who control it.

Those same people, Trump asserted, have made the United States weak.

"It is time to show the whole world that America is back, bigger, better and stronger than ever."

His vision also included a promise to build up the military, support police, enforce the law, strike better trade deals and punish the nation's enemies.

"Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo," Trump said. "As long as we are led by politicians who will not put America first, then we can be assured that other nations will not treat America with respect."

Fireworks exploded over the skies of Cleveland as Trump's speech ended. The balloons and confetti dropped at about 11:30 p.m.

These were Trump's final words.

"My opponent asks her supporters to recite a three-word loyalty pledge. ... 'I’m with her.' I choose to recite a different pledge. My pledge reads: “I'm with you, the American people. I am your voice.

"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.

"To all Americans tonight, in all our cities and towns, I make this promise: We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again.

"And we will make America great again."


'America the Beautiful'

This song opened Day 4 of the convention program

Day 4 Patch Coverage


Day 3 Coverage



Day 2 Coverage



Day 1 Coverage


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