Triumphant Trump says he’ll fix US
Declaring America to be in crisis, Donald Trump has pledged to cheering Republicans and stillsceptical voters that if elected president of the United States, he will restore the safety they fear they’re losing, strictly curb immigration, and save the nation from Democratic rival Hillary Clinton’s record of ‘‘death, destruction, terrorism and weakness’’.
Confidently addressing the finale of his party’s less-thansmooth national convention in Cleveland yesterday, the billionaire businessman declared the nation’s problems too staggering to be fixed within the confines of traditional politics. ‘‘I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on people that cannot defend themselves,’’ he said.
Trump’s acceptance of the Republican nomination caps his improbable takeover of a party that is facing the November presidential election united in opposition to Clinton but still divided over Trump.
Underscoring his unorthodox candidacy, Trump doubled down on his hardline immigration policies, but broke with many in his party by promising protections for gays and lesbians.
His address on the closing night of the convention marked his highest-profile opportunity yet to heal Republican divisions and show voters he is prepared for the presidency. Ever the showman, he fed off the energy of the crowd, stepping back to soak in applause and joining the delegates as they chanted ‘‘U-S-A’’.
As the crowd, fiercely opposed to Clinton, broke into an oft-used refrain of ‘‘Lock her up’’, Trump waved them off and instead declared, ‘‘Let’s defeat her in November.’’
But he also accused Clinton of ‘‘terrible, terrible crimes’’, and said her greatest achievement may have been avoiding prison for her use of a private email and personal server as secretary of state.
The more than hour-long speech was strikingly dark for a celebratory event and almost entirely lacking in specific policy details. Trump shouted throughout as he read off a teleprompter, showing few flashes of humour or even a smile.
He accused Clinton of utterly lacking the good judgment to serve in the White House and as the military’s commander in chief.
‘‘This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness. But Hillary Clinton’s legacy does not have to be America’s legacy.’’
In a direct appeal to Americans shaken by a summer of violence at home and around the world, Trump promised that if he took office in January, ‘‘safety will be restored’’, including suspending immigration from nations ‘‘compromised by terrorism.’’
Trump was introduced by his daughter Ivanka, who announced a childcare policy proposal that his campaign had not mentioned before.
Trump said the US had been ‘‘picking up the cost’’ of Nato’s defences for too long. He also criticised ‘‘15 wars in the Middle East’’, and declared that ‘‘Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo’’.
But his economic proposals were vague, focusing on unspecified plans to create millions of jobs, fewer regulations, and the renegotiation of trade deals that he says have put working-class Americans at a disadvantage.