"I don't attack the dem, I don't want to divide the country". Melania Trump's lesson to the Republicans. And the president 'pardons' a former prisoner: "A second chance"
On the second evening of the convention, speeches by Trump's children, Tiffany and Eric, also attacked Democrats and the media. Mike Pompeo: "With Trump, the world is safer. The slogan 'America First' may not be liked in all foreign capitals, but it worked"
"He loves this country and knows how to do things. He is not a traditional politician, America is in his heart. Donald wants to keep your families safe, and make sure you succeed. Voting for him doesn't mean giving. a partisan vote, but for America's values. And to you, who are suffering from the pandemic, I will say one thing: I want you to know that you are not alone. "
With this message, Melania Trump closed the second evening of the Republican convention, speaking from the new Rose Garden of the White House, in front of an audience of about seventy people, most of whom appeared without masks, who warmly applauded the speech.
Until now, the First Lady, 50, the president's third wife, Barron Trump's mother, had chosen to stay off the political track. The speech, according to her staff, was not under the control of the president or her staff, but was written by Melania and her spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham. "Every word belongs to her," added the spokesperson, author of all of Melania's official speeches since the beginning of 2018.
The First Lady was excited, very tense, with her English with a strong foreign pronunciation. the comparison with the speech of Joe Biden's wife, Jill, will be made today, in any case diametrically opposed style and content.
The First Lady followed a classic, institutional framework, allowing only an emotional passage when she recalled the day she obtained American citizenship.
Melania praised her husband's obstinacy in "trying in every way a vaccine to defeat the virus". Donald "firm and determined", Donald caring husband who "supported" all his initiatives. Melania defined herself as "proud to give the vote" to her husband, she thanked her parents for giving her the opportunity to reach her goals.
But there was also ample space for the message to the Americans. From traveling to hospitals to meet sick children, including those of the Infant Jesus of Rome, to traveling to Africa to hear the "tragedy of slave journeys", Melania wanted to present herself as a moral example, saying that "helping children is a duty ", convinced that the" illuminating example can inspire other gestures of solidarity all over the world ".
The First Lady then launched a collective call, from the media to nurses and teachers, for help to combat addiction to drugs and medicines, one of the plagues that cross the country.
Towards the conclusion, the only reference to the party opponents, but with a stance that for those who followed the entire Republican convention seems almost a criticism: "I don't want to use this time to attack others", because in this way "they divide only the country as we saw in the democratic convention ".
Most of the interventions were recorded. Trump's live presence wasn't on the schedule but, as he taught the first day in Charlotte, surprise could be in the air. And so it was.
There have been two. The president attended a ceremony for the naturalization of five immigrant citizens, a Bolivian entrepreneur, a Lebanese mother of three, an Indian software expert who arrived in the US at the age of 13, a Sudanese mother of three, and a Ghanaian arrived in 2015, specializing in the medical field, who were sworn in with his right arm raised, led by Chad Wolf, Secretary of Homeland Security.
Eventually the applause broke out. "Congratulations - commented Trump - great achievement. What you went through was not easy, you earned the most coveted award in the world, to be called American citizens". After her he accompanied his wife, Melania, to the Rose Garden to attend her speech. The images of him showed him very focused, and proud, in hearing his wife's words.
An hour before the departure, the president had announced the pardon of Jon Ponder, an African American convicted of robbing a bank but who in prison started a program to help former cellmates get back into society. "Jon's life is a wonderful testament to the power of redemption," said Trump, who emphasized "the importance of second chances". A reference to re-election?
But it was the family picture that dominated the second evening entirely made in Washington: in addition to the First Lady, two children of the president spoke, Eric and Tiffany Trump, the only daughter had by ex-wife Marla Maples, seen campaigning for the father more than the other brothers.
She also spoke at the 2016 convention. Tiffany recalled graduating in the midst of the pandemic, praising her father for being the man who gives "a second chance to everyone" and, in Trump's footsteps, attacked the media to "manipulate information "and" attacking democracy ".
"We must get out of the comfort zone - added Tiffany - if they take away our freedom there will be nowhere else to go. Cultivating hope is not a sign of weakness, believing in miracles is a gift that comes from God". "My father - she continued - he is the only person who has defied the establishment, he has attacked the bureaucracy. Making America great is not a slogan, but a promise that my father has kept."
The attacks on the Democrats came, in unexpected tones, from former Florida attorney general, Pam Bondi, a former member of the president's super legal team during the impeachment. Bondi attacked HunterBiden, the son of the Democratic candidate, pulling out the Ukrainagate. "He joined the board of directors of Burisma (the Ukrainian energy company, ed) only thanks to his father", accused Bondi.
Hunter, added the former prosecutor, has occupied a role of responsibility and with a super salary without having the titles. The allegations have been part of the workhorse of many Republicans in recent months, who questioned Biden's integrity at the time he was Barack Obama's vice president. Bondi accused the Democratic candidate of nepotism. "His career of him - she said she - has been a handbook on the abuse of power for 40 years. Hunter had only one quality to fill that position: he was the son of the man who was to give American funds to Ukraine." .
The evening went on alternating praise to Trump and attacks on opponents, following the classic pattern of these conventions. The way of communicating in times of pandemic has changed, but not the language.
A little unscheduled was the exclusion from the list of speakers of the evening of Mary Ann Mendoza, mother of a policeman killed by a drunk driver. The woman had relaunched a tweet of insults to Jews a few hours earlier. The woman apologized publicly, but it was not enough to stay in the evening.
Mendoza's presence was also cumbersome for another reason: she is on the board of Steve Bannon's organization, "We Build the Wall," involved in a donor fraud investigation.
The rest went as planned. The theme of too many regulations imposed by democratic governments was introduced by the intervention of Cris Paterson, a dairy producer from Wisconsin, a key state for the November victory. Many Republicans believe a victory in this Midwestern state could bring the president with 269 votes to just one vote from re-election with his ten votes. Without, while conquering all the other states, Trump would stop at 259. "With the president - said the entrepreneur, followed by the intervention of another businessman from Wisconsin - our cows have produced three times the milk from before ".
The following roundup, contained in a video, brought the testimony of entrepreneurs whose business was in danger of failure due to "too many constraints imposed by Barack Obama". "Trump improved his jobs, improved health, cut taxes, I could go on for an hour and a half," commented a WWII veteran.
The picture was closed, at an institutional level, with the intervention of the president's economic advisor, Larry Kudlow who, despite the data on infections in the US, we have exceeded 5 million and 700 thousand, and the deaths of 178 thousand (source Johns Hopkins University ) stressed how Trump's leadership has led to the "return of the economy and health in order to combat the coronavirus". Kudlow then launched the choice to the voters: "Do you want the government of optimism or the one that would make us return to the dark times of stagnation and pessimism?".
The bond between President Trump and the American evangelical community was officially strengthened with the message of Cissie Graham Lynch, grandson of the famous evangelist Billy Graham. "Trump - said the woman - is giving hope to people of faith all over the world". "The president - she added - was the first to speak to the United Nations about the importance of religious freedom".
In reality, according to a fact-checking carried out by CNN, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, his father George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan had done it before him.
The intervention of Graham's niece followed that of the anti-abortion activist, Abby Johnson, a former employee at an abortion assistance center, who called termination a "barbarism", a "not unreal act. but concrete, something that smells of life ".
The story of Nicholas Sandmann, on the other hand, served to launch yet another attack on the world of "media", bearers of "fake news", Trump's great workhorse: the boy, who had participated in a pro-life march, he had ended up in the net like the one who had scornfully challenged a native during a protest. The media had indicated him as a racist, but the facts had turned out to be different: the boy was silent, trying not to trigger reactions.
The native himself had explained that together they had prevented the situation from escalating. "Do you know why it happened? - commented the boy - because the media did not care about the truth". Nicholas and his family have received millions of dollars in compensation from some national media.
In closing space for Daniel Cameron, 34, the first African American to fill the role of federal attorney in Kentucky, and considered a rising star of the Republicans, as well as being listed as the heir to the leader of the Conservatives in the Senate, Mitch McConnell. Cameron defended the values of African Americans and respect for the law. And took up the phrase Biden later apologized for, the one in which he said that "if you vote Trump you are not black".
"I'm black - Cameron said, ideally addressing Biden - I'm not in chains, I think with my head, dear vice president. Joe Biden has an old mentality, he wants to destroy work and raise taxes". The choice is clear, he added: between the Democrats who want to open up to all immigrants, and the Republican party, "heir to that of Abraham Lincoln".
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The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, spoke symbolically from Jerusalem to confirm who are the friends of the United States, Israel, and who the enemies: the "China of the virus, Korea and Iran". "The president - he explained - has taken courageous steps in almost all corners of the world. And he has made NATO stronger".
