The Republican National Convention is going out with a bang — literally. Fireworks spelling out “Trump 2020” exploded over the Washington monument, yet another example of Trump’s gleeful trashing of the separation between the presidency and political campaigns.
After three nights featuring a parade of speakers singing Trump’s praises, the President himself had the last — extremely long — word. But not before a number of his congressional enablers and cronies took the stage.
“America’s mayor”-turned-Trump-attack-dog Rudy Giuliani was given a prominent speaking slot, where he painted New York City as a hellscape, promising that the rest of America would go the same way without a continued Trump presidency. He also bemoaned the treatment of police officers in the country, while protesters took to the streets to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who has called for a military deployment to quell racial unrest across the country, also spoke. He followed the lead of convention speakers before him and painted Democratic-run cities as descending into a chaos that only Trump can fix. Never mind that he is already the president.
The GOP’s congressional leaders, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) also addressed the convention before verdant backgrounds, listing off dozens of Republican fears that would come to fruition under a Biden-Harris presidency.
But this being the Trump Show, the President closed out the convention with a speech at the White House in front of a crowd of 1,000, global pandemic be damned. Almost none of the audience members wore masks, and the chairs were tightly packed. White House reporters said that they were not tested, and spoke to audience members who weren’t either.
Trump’s meandering address was a kitchen sink speech of his favorite talking points. Seeming detached at times, he came alive most when he was attacking Biden for his supposed love of China or making fun of him for being touchy. The 69-minute was replete with lies and falsehoods and largely based on the delusion that he isn’t actually currently presiding over a pandemic and economic recession.
Follow TPM’s live coverage below.
The Republican National Convention is going out with a bang — literally. Fireworks spelling out “Trump 2020” exploded over the Washington monument, yet another example of Trump’s gleeful trashing of the separation between the presidency and political campaigns.
After three nights featuring a parade of speakers singing Trump’s praises, the President himself had the last — extremely long — word. But not before a number of his congressional enablers and cronies took the stage.
“America’s mayor”-turned-Trump-attack-dog Rudy Giuliani was given a prominent speaking slot, where he painted New York City as a hellscape, promising that the rest of America would go the same way without a continued Trump presidency. He also bemoaned the treatment of police officers in the country, while protesters took to the streets to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who has called for a military deployment to quell racial unrest across the country, also spoke. He followed the lead of convention speakers before him and painted Democratic-run cities as descending into a chaos that only Trump can fix. Never mind that he is already the president.
The GOP’s congressional leaders, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) also addressed the convention before verdant backgrounds, listing off dozens of Republican fears that would come to fruition under a Biden-Harris presidency.
But this being the Trump Show, the President closed out the convention with a speech at the White House in front of a crowd of 1,000, global pandemic be damned. Almost none of the audience members wore masks, and the chairs were tightly packed. White House reporters said that they were not tested, and spoke to audience members who weren’t either.
Trump’s meandering address was a kitchen sink speech of his favorite talking points. Seeming detached at times, he came alive most when he was attacking Biden for his supposed love of China or making fun of him for being touchy. The 69-minute was replete with lies and falsehoods and largely based on the delusion that he isn’t actually currently presiding over a pandemic and economic recession.
Follow TPM’s live coverage below.