Trump RNC Speech: 'I Profoundly Accept This Nomination For President of the United States'

Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination for president in a speech closing the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Thursday in which he’s expected to argue voters can’t trust Joe Biden to navigate the coronavirus pandemic or heal the nation’s racial divisions.

“I profoundly accept this nomination for president of the United States,” Trump said. “In a new term as president we will again build the greatest economy in history, quickly returning to full employment, soaring incomes and record prosperity.”

Trump “came to Washington for one reason and one reason alone: to make America great again,” his daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump said in remarks introducing him. “My father has strong convictions. He knows what he believes and says what he thinks.”

She said past presidents didn’t have “the guts” of his father to make needed changes.

“When the economy is good, they settle for good, and when things are bad, they don’t have the will or ability, so they kick the can until it’s someone else’s problem,” she said. “He was right. If my father didn’t take on these fights, no one would.”

Trump delivered his address accepting the GOP nomination for president from the South Lawn of the White House, less than 24 hours after catastrophic Hurricane Laura struck Louisiana. Four people were killed when trees fell on their homes, Governor John Bel Edwards said.

“Our thoughts are with the wonderful people who have just come through the wrath of Hurricane Laura,” Trump said. “While the hurricane was fierce, one of the strongest to make landfall in 150 years, the casualties and deaths were far less than thought possible only 24 hours ago.”

His speech capped a four-day gathering that sought to bolster -- or in some cases, re-make -- his image as a promise-keeper defending traditional American values against Biden and Democrats. Trump’s opponents have been portrayed as socialists and radicals intent on irreparably damaging the very nature of the U.S.

Trump is expected to defend his response to the pandemic that has killed more than 180,000 Americans and threatens his re-election. About 62% of voters believe the struggle against the coronavirus is “going badly,” according to a CBS News poll released Sunday, while just 27% of Americans say things are going well overall.

Trump is also expected to address protests and riots that have erupted across the country since the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May, Murtaugh said. The latest epicenter is in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where police shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, on Sunday.

Trump and Republicans at this week’s convention have nodded at the right to protest racial injustice. But more emphasis has been placed on support for police and what Trump has repeatedly called the need for “law and order” on U.S. streets.

“I have seen his true conscience,” a Black aide at the White House, Ja’Ron Smith, said in a convention speech. “I just wish everyone could see the deep empathy he shows to families whose loved ones were killed in senseless violence.”

Trump was also tweeting about law and order before his speech, saying the most dangerous cities in the U.S. are run by Democrats and that Biden didn’t mention “the Anarchists, Agitators, Looters and so-called ‘Peaceful Protesters’” at the Democratic convention last week.

The president is expected to herald an economic recovery from the pandemic, though the country continues to suffer about 1,000 deaths each day from the virus and and initial jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 22 topped 1 million again on Thursday. About 14.5 million Americans are still claiming unemployment benefits.

While Trump’s top concern is persuading Americans that the pandemic has been better managed and more contained than they think, his advisers have indicated he’ll also look to outline a second-term agenda on Thursday. The president has struggled repeatedly in recent interviews to articulate any policy goals or ambitions if he’s re-elected, beyond further tax cuts.

On Sunday, his campaign released a 50-point “2nd Term Agenda.”

The theme of Thursday night’s program is “land of greatness,” and Trump will describe his “uplifting and optimistic view of the United States, its history and its founding and our values” compared with “doom and gloom” from Democrats, Murtaugh told reporters.

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