Trump Defends Virus Response While GOP Makes Fear an Early Theme
The Republican Convention set out to counter Democrats’ portrayal of Trump as incompetent and to depict his opponents as radicals.
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump and speakers at the Republican National Convention sought to paint a positive picture of his widely criticized handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with cameos by frontline workers and praise for his leadership in the race to develop a vaccine.
“These are the incredible workers that helped us so much with the covid,” Trump said in remarks from the White House alongside police officers, nurses and a truck driver. “We can call it many different things from China virus -- I don’t want to go through all the names because some people may get insulted -- but that’s the way it is.”
Trump has been criticized for failing to move more forcefully to combat the virus that has killed more than 177,000 people in the U.S. and for resisting advice from public health officials such as the need to wear masks in public places. Earlier Monday, he said the virus is “going to be fading” and ridiculed Democratic rival Joe Biden for saying he’d shut down the economy again if needed.
The president’s claims to success were echoed by convention speakers, including Dr. G.E. Ghali, an oral surgeon and coronavirus patient from Louisiana, who thanked Trump for a response to the pandemic that Democrats criticize as woefully inadequate.
“I benefited from the expedited therapies made possible by the swift action of this administration,” Ghali said. “President Trump truly moved mountains to save lives, and he deserves credit.”
Keynote speakers included the president’s son, Donald Jr., who said Democrats “called my father a racist and xenophobe” for shutting down most travel from China in an effort to stem the coronavirus. “They put political correctness ahead of the safety and security of the American people,” he said.
‘Bodyguard’ of Civilization
More broadly, a procession of speakers at the convention set out to counter Democrats’ portrayal of Trump as incompetent and to depict his opponents as dangerous radicals.
The evening’s first speaker, 26-year-old Charlie Kirk, called the president the “bodyguard of Western civilization.”
“Trump was elected to protect our families from the vengeful mob that seeks to destroy our way of life, our neighborhoods, schools, churches and values,” said Kirk, founder and president of a conservative youth organization. “President Trump was elected to defend the American way of life.”
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who’s viewed as a 2024 presidential contender, said that she and Trump “stood up for America” at the world organization.
“Joe Biden and the Democrats are still blaming America first,” said Haley, who was the first Indian-American governor of South Carolina. “Donald Trump has always put America first. And he has earned four more years as president.”
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the Missouri couple who were criminally charged after brandishing firearms at Black Lives Matter protesters marching through their St. Louis neighborhood in June, criticized Democrats for not “protecting honest citizens from criminals.”
“These are the policies that are coming to a neighborhood near you,” Patricia McCloskey said. “So make no mistake: No matter where you live, your family will not be safe in the radical Democrats’ America.”
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the chamber, closed the evening by outlining steps he said Trump has taken to help Black Americans and comparing the incumbent’s record with Biden’s.
“Our side is working on policy, while Joe Biden’s radical Democrats are trying to permanently transform what it means to be an American,” Scott said. “Make no mistake: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want a cultural revolution -- a fundamentally different America.”
“Do we want a society that breeds success, or a culture that cancels everything it even slightly disagrees with?” Scott asked.
Scott offered a Republican policing reform plan after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May. The bill has languished in Congress.
There was a mix of pre-recorded video addresses and live speeches from the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington.
In a second evening appearance from the White House, Trump was accompanied by six former hostages that the president sought to have released. He took credit for bringing back more than 50 hostages from 22 different countries.
“We’re very proud of the job we did,” Trump said.
The convention’s opening night also gave airtime to some of Trump’s most fervent conservative defenders, including Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida; Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio; and Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host who’s national chairwoman of the Trump Victory Finance Committee. Guilfoyle, who’s dating Donald Trump Jr., had to leave the campaign for a time after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Earlier in the day, Trump spoke to delegates who gathered at the Charlotte Convention Center in North Carolina despite the pandemic after they formally nominated him in the convention’s opening hours on Monday morning, a departure from custom.
Voting by Mail
In a 50-minute address to the delegates, Trump complained that the election is being rigged by the expansion of voting by mail during the pandemic. There’s little evidence of widespread fraud from the use of mail-in ballots, and Trump votes by absentee ballot.
“They’re trying to steal the election from Republicans,” Trump said.
Although Trump has lagged in polls, he assured the convention delegates he will win in November. He credited what he said is greater enthusiasm for his candidacy than for Biden’s, and he promised to restore an economy devastated by the coronavirus.
“Our country can go in a horrible, horrible direction, or an even greater direction,” Trump said.
The president is scheduled to formally accept the nomination for a second term on Thursday in a speech from the South Lawn of the White House, an unprecedented venue for an acceptance speech.
The Republican convention comes a week after Democrats, in a mostly virtual event, nominated Biden to challenge Trump in November. They depicted Trump as incompetent and a corrupt threat to democracy and Biden as someone with the decency and experience to tackle difficult problems like the coronavirus.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.