Donald Trump gave his nomination
acceptance speech last night, and to say it was the opposite of Ted Cruz’s
speech from the night before would be an understatement.
Where Cruz was succinct, organized, and
packed strong statements of principle into twenty minutes of stage time, Trump
rambled for over an hour, making it the longest convention acceptance speech in
history. In that time, he swerved from one point to the next, shouting the
words off the TelePrompter, sounding like a used car salesman, and making his
characteristic hand gestures all the while.
Where Cruz was mainly positive and
forward-looking, painting a clear contrast between the conservative and liberal
vision for America, Trump conjured an image of America as a nation struggling
to survive, and that only he could singlehandedly bring about a new dawn for
American civilization. (Of course, before that he had to engage in a few
minutes of bragging about how much he wins, and how many votes he’s gotten. He’s
a Christian because all the evangelicals love him!)
And where Cruz focused on the ideals of
liberty, freedom, federalism, and limited government, Trump hinted at dramatic
expansions of federal power to bring about the change he was promising. Liberty
and federalism were themes notably lacking in the nominee’s acceptance speech.
In short, last night was everything we’ve
come to expect from Donald Trump, and his loyal Trumpeteers were there to cheer
on every word. The only real surprise was that he somehow refrained from
attacking “Lyin’ Ted”, something I half expected him to do.
Meanwhile, conservatives and pro-Cruz
delegates in attendance sat stone-faced, while viewers of all ideologies lucky
enough to be at home abandoned the spectacle after the first forty-five
minutes. And Hillary Clinton smiled.
If only it was Ted Cruz speaking last
night instead.
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