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Donald Trump’s performance in Milwaukee on Thursday night may have determined the outcome of the 2024 election in a way that is almost unprecedented in recent American political history.
The former president avoided the polarization and division that characterized many of his previous statements, mentioning the 2020 election only a few times in his speech formally accepting the Republican nomination. When speaking about topics like inflation and especially immigration, Trump was able to get his key messages across in a compelling and arguably engaging way that spoke to the fundamental concerns of the American people.
I don’t say this to exaggerate. I have never been a Trump supporter, and I never will be. But as a political analyst, I have to acknowledge reality. And the reality of this speech is simple: Trump talked about the American Dream, he talked about uniting people, he talked about helping African-Americans, Hispanics, and those who have been left behind.
So Trump did something that almost no one has done before: he spoke to all Americans. As Trump said, he wanted to speak to 100 percent of Americans, not just 50 percent.
Days after assassination attempt, Trump accepts Republican presidential nomination and urges unity
Trump also understood that now was not the time to attack President Joe Biden personally or by name. His one-off mention of Biden was an aside to get his perspective across to his Milwaukee audience, and indeed to audiences across the country, at a time when the incumbent president was still reeling from a poor debate performance and the effects of COVID-19, not to make Trump look like a victim. Rather, Trump was able to convincingly crystallize the challenges Americans have with the current administration and offer some reassurance that things would be different under his leadership.
To be sure, Trump offered no specific policy proposals in his speech beyond closing the borders and cutting taxes, but his remarks carried a level of optimism and confidence that was noticeably absent from the more gloomy and pessimistic speeches the 45th president of the United States has delivered over the years.
Donald Trump formally accepts Republican presidential nomination, reflects on assassination attempt
He also spoke with grace and empathy about what happened to him last Saturday in Butler Township, Pennsylvania. I was familiar with the incident and had seen the video multiple times, but I was riveted by his account of his experience during the assassination attempt.
In other words, the entire speech and its presentation made Trump a much more likeable and relatable persona than he had been in the past.
Certainly, however difficult and challenging the circumstances were to get to this point, they certainly worked in the former president’s favor, but by any standard, he rose through them to offer Americans something vital that has been lacking under this administration: hope, strength, and a sense that the country’s best is yet to come.
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I am absolutely certain that Trump’s approval ratings will rise as a result of this week, not just because of Thursday night’s speech but because of the entire convention, which was one of the best, if not the best, staged and choreographed conventions I’ve seen in my 50 years of watching American political conventions.
The effort to reach out to working people and those who enjoy sports like professional wrestling and UFC speaks to the Republican Party’s desire to broaden its base and cement its position as the party of working Americans.
I also believe that if my prediction is correct and Trump’s polling improves after the Republican Convention, Joe Biden’s support, which has been steadily declining since his terrible debate performance just three weeks ago, will rise even further and the pressure for him to drop out of the race will be relentless. In fact, it already seems inevitable.
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It is unclear how Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, or whoever the Democratic nominee is, will respond to this speech and the events of this week, and I am convinced that the success of the Republican Convention will only deepen the divisions within the Democratic Party.
As an American, I am pleased and proud that the Republican Party is clearly, and perhaps for the first time, trying to unify the country and set aside the hatred and resentment that has been so frequently evident in the past.
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As a Democrat, I don’t know how my party will respond to candidacy Trump in another month or so. For now, suffice it to say that the challenges facing the party have only grown larger and more serious after this week’s speech and convention were nothing short of a complete success. The Milwaukee event and speech will likely stand up to any attempts by the mainstream media to discredit Trump and his speech (and they have already begun).
Some may say that Trump’s speech on Thursday night was too long, and that may be true, but Americans, unlike political pundits, don’t simply turn off the TV and deduct points for candidates’ speeches being too long.
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