CLEVELAND ― Donald Trump and the Republican Party sought to present a united front at the GOP convention on Thursday, with speakers and supporters that represented a broad array of the conservative political landscape. Still, the evening was not free of errors for the Trump campaign. Before the night’s proceedings had even begun at Quicken Loans Arena, Politico reported that a “Republican source” had leaked a draft of Trump’s speech. Later, as Trump was speaking, a well-known protester interrupted the nominee ― a startling failure of both security and logistics.
The highly choreographed show was intended to offer viewers a counterpoint to the technical glitches, speech flubs and boos that had so far made this the most turbulent party convention in modern political history.
At times, it seemed as though Trump’s plan to pull off a smooth evening was succeeding. Speeches by Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka, and by the tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel both struck notes of inclusiveness and opportunity, and the crowd rewarded them with massive standing ovations.
But once Trump himself took the stage, the tone of the evening changed ― from the positive vision expressed by Ivanka Trump and Thiel, to a darker, dystopian view of modern America.
“Our convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation,” Trump said. “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.”
At times, the wealthy businessman presented himself as a champion of the downtrodden middle class. “I have visited the laid-off factory workers, and the communities crushed by our horrible and unfair trade deals,” he said. “These are the forgotten men and women of our country. People who work hard but no longer have a voice. I am your voice.”
Many of Trump’s most memorable lines were attacks on Hillary Clinton, whom he accused of sowing “death, terrorism and weakness.” The former secretary of state, he added, was proposing “mass amnesty, mass immigration and mass lawlessness.”
The riled up crowd responded to Trump’s allegations against Clinton by chanting “Lock her up! Lock her up! Lock her up!” The demand that Clinton be prosecuted first gained prominence earlier this week, when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie used his speaking slot to prosecute a hypothetical case against Clinton.
At one point in the evening, Trump was interrupted by Code Pink co-founder and activist Medea Benjamin, who stood up in the press section and shouted “Donald Trump is a racist!” and “Build bridges not walls!” That RNC officials had allowed a protester to enter the arena prompted more questions about the competency of the operation.
The standing ovations and whooping applause from the crowd were in stark contrast to the debacle of the previous night, when Trump’s primary rival, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), spoke for nearly 20 minutes, but never endorsed Trump. The conservative firebrand instead urged delegates to “vote your conscience,” angering the crowd and earning a chorus of loud boos. Cruz later explained he would not endorse Trump like a “servile puppy dog” after the Manhattan real estate mogul had attacked his wife and father.
Tuesday didn’t go much better for the campaign. The entire evening was overshadowed by Melania Trump’s apparent plagiarism of Michelle Obama’s speech from the 2008 Democratic National Convention. More than a day later, a Trump company speechwriter admitted that she had written the lines into the speech by mistake.
Despite the hiccups, the overwhelming sentiment in the arena during Trump’s speech Thursday night was a triumphant one, with packed stands and delegates standing up throughout Trump’s speech.
“I will be your champion,” Trump said to rapturous applause.
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