Days after being shot at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump addressed the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Accepting the party’s nomination for President, Trump said the GOP is “four months” away from “an incredible victory” and “the four greatest years in the history of our country.”
“I stand before you this evening with a message of confidence, strength, and hope. Four months from now, we will have an incredible victory, and we will begin the four greatest years in the history of our country,” he began.
“Together, we will launch a new era of safety, prosperity and freedom for citizens of every race, religion, color, and creed. The discord and division in our society must be healed. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart.”
A speech that began with mentions of healing and unity slowly devolved into more polarizing comments about policy and governing. More specifically, he claimed that “our cities are flooded with illegal aliens” and “Americans are being squeezed out of the labor force and their jobs taken.” Later, he said, “We will not have men playing in women’s sports” before claiming that “greatness” is a birthright for Americans and criticizing past president’s handling of international conflicts.
“I was the first president in modern times to start NO NEW WARS. There was peace in Europe and the Middle East. Under President Bush, Russia invaded Georgia. Under President Obama, Russia took Crimea. Under the current administration, Russia is after all of Ukraine. Under President Trump, Russia took nothing,” he continued.
“We defeated 100 percent of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, something that was going to take five years, and I did it in two months. I stopped the missile launches from North Korea. Iran was weak, broke, and wanted to make a deal—they were not spending money on Hamas, Hezbollah or other carriers of terror, and Iran was never going to have a nuclear weapon. Now, they can have one within 90 days, and they have $300 billion dollars to spread terror across the region.”
By the end of his lengthy speech, Trump reportedly issued more than 20 false claims and statements. As a result, his speech drew backlash from many, including Democratic strategist David Axelrod and President Joe Biden.
“People, I’m sure, responded very positively to his appeals to unity that were written on the teleprompter, and then he just ripped the bejesus out of everybody…all his political enemies and so on,” Axelrod told CNN.
“I have to tell you…Chris Wallace said this, ‘This is the first good thing that’s happened to Democrats in the last three weeks.'”
Meanwhile, the President was a bit more direct, calling it a “distinct misfortune” to watch the speech.
“I’m stuck at home with COVID, so I had the distinct misfortune of watching Donald Trump’s speech to the RNC. What the hell was he talking about?” President Biden asked.
“Let’s start with this. Donald said he ‘did a great job’ with COVID. Folks, this is the same guy who told us to inject bleach while over a million Americans died. Donald claimed he’s ‘going to protect Social Security and Medicare.’ This is a flat-out lie, folks. Trump proposed cutting Social Security and Medicare every year he was in office. And he’ll do it again. He bragged about giving “the biggest tax cuts ever” to his billionaire buddies. But the deal is that his Project 2025 agenda would raise taxes on the middle class. He said he’ll end inflation, but even the Wall Street Journal published an article agreeing: Trump’s Project 2025 would cause even more inflation. My economic plan is lowering costs and inflation.”
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will have the opportunity spar again when they meet for the second presidential debate on September 10, 2024 on ABC.
