While Tuesday’s theme was billed as “Make America Work Again,” almost everyone who appeared on stage offered criticism for Clinton, bashing everything from her email scandal to her accent. A video called “Hil-LIAR-y” played early in the evening, and there was vigorous fault-finding with her resume.
Several of the night’s big-name speakers barely acknowledged Trump, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who said Trump would sign Republican-backed bills and fill the seat of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, but little else about the business mogul.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) mentioned Trump only twice during his 10-minute speech, while House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) mentioned the newly minted nominee once.
Advertisement
Some of the loudest cheers of the night ― chants of “lock her up!” ― came during the speech of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who said he wanted to hold Clinton “accountable for her performance and her character.” Christie ticked off criticisms of Clinton ― at one point suggesting her actions led to the kidnapping of hundreds of girls in Nigeria by the terror group Boko Haram ― and the crowd responded with loud shouts of “guilty!”
Delegates seemed pleased with the negative tone of the evening, telling The Huffington Post it was important to contrast Trump and Clinton, and noting they would have two more days of the convention to hear more about Trump, anyway. Trump himself never seems short of words to talk about how great he is.
“We gotta beat Hillary Clinton, so we have to talk about all of her faults and all of her weaknesses,” said Patrick Davis, Trump’s Colorado state director. “At the same time, we have to talk about Donald Trump. She’s the worst for America, so we’ve got to remind people of that. This is a red meat crowd. They don’t like Hillary Clinton. They love that. We get two more nights ― it’s all about Trump.”
Pat McPherson, a Nebraska delegate, said it was important to highlight Clinton’s flaws to unite Republicans.
“Trump may not have not been the first choice of everybody in this room, but the truth of the matter is he offers optimism ― and all she does, as somebody said earlier, is offer the status quo,” McPherson said. “There’s a terrible response, obviously, to Hillary Clinton, and maybe that almost overrides the support and optimism we have for Donald Trump and Mike Pence.”
Advertisement
Duke Lowrie, a Louisiana delegate, acknowledged that Trump isn’t exactly perfect. Still, he said Clinton would be a worse alternative.
“All politicians have warts, and in this case, maybe perhaps we have more than one candidate who has warts. At the end of the day, which candidate has the most warts? And in this case, what are the warts made of? The warts that the Democrats have are criminal,” Lowrie said. “Our candidate, he has the warts of being a real person who is not scripted, he is not a professional politician.”
“Sometimes you just have to call a pig a pig,” Lowrie continued.
Recent polls have shown that voters dislike both Clinton and Trump. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released in May found that nearly half of voters said they would vote for one candidate just to keep the other from winning the presidency.
Most of the positive remarks about Trump came from two of his children, Tiffany Trump and Donald Trump Jr., who described their dad as a kind, caring man of the people.
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.