Five Takeaways from Trump’s
Despite claims from his supporters that surviving an assassination attempt has made Donald Trump a more soft and spiritual man, the Trump who accepted his party’s nomination on Thursday night was very familiar: He spewed the same divisive rhetoric and promoted the same divisive policies.
The Republican crowd around Trump was cheerful and full of energy. “I’ve never been to a convention with more fun or better vibes than this,” ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson said. His unscripted remarks captured the real mood. Biden and the Democrats are struggling, Donald narrowly escaped a horrific attack, and Republicans think Trump has already won the election.
Here are five takeaways from the night:
1. Trump talked about his assassination attempt for the first, and he said final time
Like many of his supporters, Trump said he believed God protected him last weekend. He also described how impressed he was by the behavior of his supporters when he was shot. He said that in the face of a hail of bullets, most of the crowd would have panicked and tried to run, but his supporters did not.
When Secret Service members “jumped in” to protect him from the bullets, Donald said, “There was blood everywhere, but I felt very safe in a way because I had God with me.”
“I shouldn’t be here tonight,” Trump said later. When the crowd began chanting, “Yes you are! Yes you are!” he responded, “But I’m not — and let me tell you. I’m here in this field only by the grace of God Almighty.”
Trump said he could see the look of grief on his supporters’ faces. They saw him fall and thought he had been shot in the head and was dead. When he stood up and raised his fist, he said the crowd responded more powerfully than ever.
“This massive crowd of thousands didn’t move an inch,” Trump said. He said many turned to look for the sniper and took aim at him. “Nobody ran, and by not stampeding, many lives were saved,” Donald said, adding that he believed “they knew I was in very serious trouble.”
“For the rest of my life,” Trump said, “I will be grateful for the love shown to me by that massive group of patriots who bravely stood up on that crucial evening in Pennsylvania.”
2. Trump may be ‘changed’ after the assassination attempt, but he didn’t sound that changed
At the start of his speech, Trump spoke about “unity,” which he had already mentioned to reporters.
“We need to heal the discord and division in our society,” Donald said. “I’m running to be president for all Americans, not just half of Americans because winning for just half of America is not a true victory.”
After beginning his “unity” speech on a serious note, Trump quickly turned cheerful and talkative. He began by praising his friends but soon began criticizing “crazy Nancy Pelosi” and calling Biden one of the worst presidents America has ever had. Amid cheers from the crowd, he once again referred to COVID as the “Chinese virus.”
“I hope you remember this in November and vote for us. I’m trying to buy your vote. I’ll be honest about that,” Trump joked to Wisconsin voters, noting the Republican National Convention is expected to bring $250 million to the state’s economy.
“We’ll never let that happen again. They used COVID to cheat,” Trump said, still claiming he did not lose the 2020 election to Biden.
While sources said Trump could avoid mentioning Biden by name, he did so, saying: “If you took the 10 worst presidents in American history — think about it, the 10 worst — and combined them, they would not have done the damage Biden did.”
3. The Republican convention is a mirror world: ‘I am the one saving democracy,’ Trump says
During their convention, Republicans adopted some of the common criticisms of Democrats and made them their own. In this edition of the Republican National Convention, Democrats are being accused of threatening American democracy, not the party whose supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. For example, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum claimed in his speech Wednesday that “Biden is acting like a dictator.”
Republican politicians are highlighting the names of women who have been raped or sexually assaulted by immigrants, and blaming the Democratic Party’s immigration policies for their suffering. They have not mentioned that Trump was found liable for sexual abuse in a civil trial brought by magazine writer E. Jean Carroll, nor the allegations of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women. Instead of addressing these issues, they have called Biden and Harris criminals. Meanwhile, Trump, who has been convicted of 34 felony charges, included in his convention a Donald ally who was just released from federal prison.
“On Thursday, Trump said, ‘The Democrat Party should stop using the justice system as a weapon and calling their political opponents the enemies of democracy because that’s not true. In fact, I’m the man who defends democracy for my people.”
Read Also: Shooting At Trump Rally Sparks Social Media Lies And Sick Conspiracies. What’s Wrong With Us?
4. Trump again pledges to carry out the largest deportation in US history
Before Trump spoke, other Republican politicians at the convention spent a lot of time criticizing illegal immigrants. They blamed them for many social problems and pushed for extreme measures, including not only a border wall but “mass deportations now.”
Trump’s speech was similar, focusing on attacking immigrants as criminals and rapists. He also claimed that countries like El Salvador have reduced crime rates by sending their criminals to the United States. (Human rights groups continue to raise concerns about the impact of mass arrests in El Salvador.)
Trump promised to launch “the largest deportation campaign in the history of our country,” claiming it would surpass President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s efforts years earlier. Donald emphasized that although Eisenhower was considered a liberal, he was firm on border control and oversaw the largest deportation campaign ever conducted.
5. Trump promises ‘two things on day one’ … ‘Close our borders’ and ‘drill, baby, drill!’
Throughout the week, Trump and other Republicans have demonized the GOP as the party that supports fossil fuels. The chant “Drill, baby, drill!” was frequently heard among Republicans.
Climate change experts and activists believe both Trump and his vice presidential candidate, J.D. Vance, are expected to take a “methodical” approach to denying the climate crisis. This will likely include promoting fossil fuel production, ignoring established climate science, and weakening or eliminating regulations designed to cut emissions.
At the conference earlier this week, petroleum engineer Sarah Phillips spoke out against President Biden and the Green New Deal. Phillips argued that fossil fuels are necessary, saying, “The hydrocarbons we extract are a true gift. Our society and way of life depend on fossil fuels.”
On Thursday, Montana Senator Steve Daines echoed these sentiments. “These liberal senators shut down the Keystone pipeline,” he said. “The America First majority will support drilling, drilling, and more drilling!”
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