If you are a Republican, and especially if you were in the room last night when former President Donald Trump gave his acceptance speech for the Republican nomination, you probably feel charged up today. Even Republicans who are not part of the MAGA movement or are not right-wing radicals are feeling a sense of unity after Trump’s lengthy verbal odyssey about how great America was when he was president and how much greater America will be if he is elected in November.
But as I listened to the speech, I thought that if America was so great when he was president - why did he lose the election to Joe Biden? And of course Trump touched on the false claim that the Democrats only won because of election fraud.
Last night, Trump opened his acceptance speech talking a lot about God, which is not something Trump openly talked about throughout his life. In a very slow and dramatic fashion, Trump talked about the recent assassination attempt and said the only reason he was there was because of the grace of God. Considering how close the bullet came to Trump’s head - it is easy to think that God did not want anything to happen to him.
There were a few things that stood out to me in Trump’s speech last night. “We must not demonize political disagreement” was a profound point Trump made and a thought that has been resonating across America as we have reached a point of a destructive divide. But was that just political rhetoric or was that something Donald Trump will live by for the remainder of the campaign and during his presidency should he win in November?
I loved when Trump said that we will use common sense in making our decisions. That is such a simple idea, but in the world of politics it seems that it is not so easy to fulfill.
Trump rallied the crowd at the convention and the millions watching with a lot of talk about illegal immigration, which is a hot topic, especially among right-wing Americans. The former president made the emotional point that Americans are being “squeezed out of jobs” and African-Americans and Hispanics are being hurt the most. But facts show that some companies have even gone out of business because they can’t find Americans to do some of the jobs. Truth be told - it is a known fact that in the American economy, especially in some particular states, that illegal immigrants are taking jobs Americans refuse to do.
There were loud cheers when Trump talked about bringing manufacturing back to America, and that tariffs of 100% to 200% will be placed on imported cars. That may sound good, but what about all the American jobs that would be affected? The number of dealerships across the country that sell and repair foreign cars would be greatly affected by such extreme tariffs.
Trump said he supports no tax on tips, and that is a universally accepted idea within the service industry across America. Trump promised that “incomes will skyrocket and inflation will drop” if he is elected. Since the economy is driven by countless factors, it seems unrealistic for a presidential candidate to promise that your salary will skyrocket and inflation will fall. Inflation is already dropping.
Trump hit a nerve when he said that other countries are sending illegal immigrants from their prisons and mental institutions. This is a theme Trump has been talking about for a long time, but there appears to be no facts to support that claim and even the Trump Campaign has never released any information that supports what Trump is saying.
The world was at peace when Trump was president and the world will remain at peace if Trump is elected and Trump said he could stop wars with a telephone call. That has been discounted with fact-checking.
Let’s remember that an acceptance speech at a political convention is about rallying supporters and encouraging new supporters into your campaign and Trump successfully accomplished that last night. During a rant about electric cars, Trump did say he has nothing against electric cars, he said that if someone wants to buy a gas-powered car - they will be able to do that if he is elected. I didn’t think there was a ban on buying gas-powered cars?
And in a rallying conclusion, Trump said that his campaign is the biggest movement in the history of America and it cannot be stopped. He said we are going to come together and “I will not let you down.”
“No one will sway us or stop us and we will be greater and more united than ever before” predicted Trump. And the classic R&B hit “Hold On, I’m Coming” by Sam & Dave hit with what was said to be the largest balloon drop in history.
On CNN after the speech, the point was made that Trump’s speech was the best thing to happen for the Democrats in several weeks. An undecided voter told Fox & Friends this morning “I got bored to be totally honest, and I’m sorry” and Trump spent too much time talking about the past and not what he will do for the next four years. Undecided voter Rick Gagliano said that he had been to two of Trump’s rallies in person and what Trump said last night did not bring him closer to voting for him in November.
With the exception of the length, Trump’s speech accomplished its goal. The speech rallied the supporters in the convention hall and those turned in and created a sense of unity within the Republican Party, even for those who don’t really want to vote for Trump but they are because of the inept opposition.
Overall, it was an exciting night of energizing the base, but the question remains - how did Trump’s speech play with the few undecided voters and the RINOs, RATs (Republicans Against Trump), and those voters beyond his base that Trump needs to win in November?
