Team Trump hits back at ‘Joe’s mob’
DONALD Trump’s supporters at the Republican National Convention warned of “vengeful mobs” who would turn the US into a “socialist utopia” should Democrat Joe Biden become president.
As Mr Trump was formally nominated for a second term, speakers at day one of the four-day convention offered a combination of dire warnings and moments of optimism.
These included a speech from former Dallas Cowboys NFL player Herschel Walker, a black man and long-time friend of Mr Trump, who insists he is not a racist.
“I take it as a personal insult that people would think I would have a 37-year friendship with a racist,” he said.
Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, slammed the growing narrative of US intolerance.
“Political correctness and ‘cancel culture’ are dangerous and just plain wrong,” she said. “In much of the Democratic Party, it’s now fashionable to say America is racist. That is a lie. America is not a racist country.”
Ms Haley, who is considered a potential 2024 presidential candidate, also listed a series of deals made by the Obama-Biden administration that showed “a record of weakness and failure”.
“We did what Barack Obama and Joe Biden refused to do. We stood up for America … and we stood against our enemies,” she said.
She cited North Korea sanctions, pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and moving the US embassy to Jerusalem as proof of Mr Trump’s “record of strength and success”.
The first speaker, conservative student organiser Charlie Kirk, slammed protesters causing chaos across the US and described Mr Trump as “the bodyguard of western civilisation”.
“Trump was elected to protect our families – our loved ones – from the vengeful mob that wishes to destroy our way of life, our neighbourhoods, schools, church, and values,” Mr Kirk said.
Earlier, Mr Trump accused his opponents of using the coronavirus pandemic to encourage what he described as fraudulent mail-in voting.
“They’re using COVID to steal the election,” he said.
Mr Trump will be the central figure at his party’s convention, capping it off with a speech on Thursday night.
During the convention, Mr Trump’s enemies aired an ad featuring the President’s former lawyer Michael Cohen.
In the ad, Cohen says: “I’m here to tell you that he (the President) can’t be trusted — and you shouldn’t believe a word he utters.”