The TV coverage was awful. The leftie talking heads on NBC (terrible, terrible) or PBS (worse still) had their ultra-liberal, anti-Trump bias on full display. (I didn't check ABC or CBS because they didn't carry the convention, atleast not our neck of the woods.)
They disparaged President Trump before and after he spoke. [Well, not exactly. NBC cut to Jimmy Kimmel 40 minutes or so before the end of Mr Trump's speech. Ed.]
They couldn't didn't say so much during the warm-up acts, which consisted of a parade of the Donad's friends (e.g. Hulk Hogan) and family (e.g. Eric Trump), paying tribute to him, almost to the point of deification. (He was blessed by Franklin Graham.) Kind words were also said by a union leader, an e-stripper, a granddaughter, a talk show host and of course, a good many politicos.
Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White called Trump "a real American bad ass." Kid Rock performed a song with the chorus, "Fight, fight!" And the great wrestling icon described him as "an American hero." Watching from his box overlooking the stage, President Trump may have even felt like he was witnessing his own celebration of life -- an appropriate video montage was shown -- and perhaps had some disturbing thoughts about how close the event was to being just that.
Thus it was no surprise when President Trump opened with, "I am not supposed to be here tonight. I’m not supposed to be here." The SRO crowd shouted back, "Yes you are!" But he insisted otherwise. "Thank you. But I’m not. I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God. Many people say it was a providential moment." Here's the full video.
President Trump started off in "unity-candidate" mode. He invoked "confidence, strength and hope" before formally accepting the Republican nomination. Mending division was a theme that surfaced throughout his 90-plus minutes at the podium. (How long, one wonders, could the incumbent have held forth. Ten minutes? Five?) "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."
From there, it was on to a remix of President Trumps standard talking points, albeit more subdued than in times past. Iran sanctions, border enforcement, inflation, trade deals, the cost of energy, oil, tax cuts, infrastructure, the EV mandate, the auto industry, illegal migration. Routine topics.
But the snappy taglines weren’t as present, and the name-calling had gone from boil to simmer. He spoke Biden's name only twice, instead referring to "that person", "the other guy", "this administration" and "our opponents".
His speech also avoided any direct reference to President Trump's more controversial governing plans and favourite topics, including the 2020 election, the "deep state", the events of January. 6th and his plans to deport millions of immigrants in the country illegally. Reading over my notes, I took the two main themes to be:
* eneregy self-sufficiency, which he expressed as "Drill, baby, drill!", meaning to unlock the deep pool of "liquid gold" on which America sits. America, he said, could even become an exporter of energy. More energy -- from oil and gas, not the greenscam kind -- will mean lower prices, more jobs and a better economy "than ever before."
* strong, closed borders. "Close our borders!", he said. And start "from Day One" deporting the millions of illegal aliens who are responsible for rising crime rates, cities which aren't safe to live in, and the depletion of social security and healthcare resources. Getting rid of those people, Mr Trump said, would reduce homeless and crime, making America safe once again.
Sounds like a sound platform to me. Raise your hands, all those who do not want the US of A to be prosperous and safe, with a future that is secure for our children and grandchildren! Anybody? Make America Great Again!
No comments:
Post a Comment