The Republican Convention Begins Enraged and Confused

Just like Fox News with no commercials: The opening speakers at the Republican convention vied with one another as to who could come up with the scariest Hillary-as-president scenario and who could hurl the best insults in her direction. Only Trump’s wife, Melania, took a higher road.

Donald Trump has a keen sense for what works when it comes to sloganeering. He expropriated the nostalgic/optimistic “Make America Great Again” from Ronald Reagan who promised as early as 1980 to lead America back to its former glory. And because Trump loves terse sentences and clear messages, the first night of the Republican convention could be subtitled “Make America Safe Again.”

The promise to ensure security and to protect Americans (or at least those who vote Trump) from the dangers of the world is a major message in Trump’s campaign. He appeared onstage to the strains of Queen’s “We Are the Champions” and shouted “we’re gonna win so big” as he introduced his wife, Melania, at 10:20 p.m. local time. He wasn’t scheduled to speak until Thursday but the real estate mogul just can’t resist partying.

Trump disappeared again as soon as he introduced his media-shy wife. The 46-year old said “The Donald” loved the U.S. as much as she did. The audience responded with thunderous applause when she said “I was very proud to become a citizen of the United States — the greatest privilege on planet Earth.”

Melania is wearing a closely-fitted white dress and talks about how her parents in Slovenia had always taught her that working with her family was the most important work she would ever do, and that one always had to keep promises made to others. Those were values, they stressed, that had to be passed down to future generations.

Melania says her husband is extremely loyal to his family, his business partners and to his country. “There is a great deal of love in the Trump family. That is our bond and that is our strength,” she said. Yes, her husband thinks large-scale but that’s expected of presidents. She says only he can break through the stagnation and lead the world and adds that he “intends to represent all… Christians and Jews and Muslims… Hispanics and African-Americans and Asians.”

Hillary Clinton Was Described as a Security Risk and Liar

Melania says that even after he’s elected president, drama and excitement will be ever-present as far as Donald Trump is concerned, but Melania assures us he will always concentrate first and foremost on America and improving the lives of women, children and the poverty-stricken. Her appearance ends with her message that “Donald J. Trump is ready to serve and lead this country as the next president of the United States.” The couple posed and kissed for the cameras and the 70-year-old Trump gestured proudly toward his wife. That was prior to the discovery that key phrases in her speech had been directly lifted from a speech given eight years earlier by Michelle Obama.

After Melania Trump’s appearance, the Republicans quickly returned to their world of insecurity and intense anger. The evening resembled a Fox News broadcast minus the commercial breaks. Why the run-up to the Republican convention was billed as “Benghazi Eve” – the night in September 2012 when four Americans died in the U.S. Consulate in Libya — became instantly clear to all. A video with the tantalizing title “What Really Happened in Benghazi” heaped allegation upon allegation that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had reacted carelessly to the attacks on the Libyan compound.

Two members of the security team complained they had not been dispatched on an emergency rescue mission. Despite the fact that not even congressional Republicans were able to substantiate that claim, the two men continue to repeat the lie. Pat Smith, whose son died in Benghazi, says, “I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son. She lied to me and then called me a liar.”

Whether Senator or Reality TV Star, Hardly a Single Speaker Has an Optimistic Vision

So it goes for three hours: Black Wisconsin Sheriff David Clarke – a near-permanent guest on Fox News – bellows “Blue lives matter!” and rejects any and all criticism of the police as undeserved. The Republicans project an image of a fearful party cowering in the corner. No matter whether it’s a reality TV star, an ex-lingerie model or a senator, hardly any of the speakers show any optimism at all.

In contrast, we’re presented with a constant litany of doomsday predictions and attacks on the “socialists” Obama and Clinton. Rudy Giuliani grumbles that a majority of Americans feels unsafe and claims Trump would wipe out radical Islamic terrorism. Another ridicules Hillary’s preference for wearing pant suits and suggests sending her an email telling her to wear an orange one – standard prison garb in the United States.

And of course the public can’t get enough of shouting “USA! USA! USA!” along with “Build the wall!” Two mothers and one father recount how their children were murdered by illegal alien criminals – naturally horrifying stories — but here they serve to play one element of society off against another. The implied message here, of course, is that Obama and a “criminal Hillary” massacred their children.

That the fact checker sites update their material minute by minute and use Twitter to keep readers abreast of the most current developments as they reveal half-truths, hyperbole and lies is ignored by most in the Quicken Loans Arena audience, and the mood among conservatives is generally upbeat. That afternoon, the anti-Trump rebels failed in their final attempt to block the billionaire from being crowned the official nominee by those using procedural tricks.

In order to repress the revolt, Trump personnel were outfitted with earplugs and given pre-printed appeals to wavering delegates urging them to withdraw their support for the mini-coup.

Although Trump himself never served in the armed forces, large crowds of military personnel turned out at the convention to meet Senators Joni Ernst and Tom Cotton who did serve their country overseas and who now criticize Obama as weak for not doing likewise – apparently oblivious that Trump is also in that same category.

Especially notable for this occasion, the final speaker and the prime time slot went to the man best known for calling Hillary Clinton “the anti-Christ”: Trump – who promised this convention would have a more “showbiz” feel was never far from the spotlight. In the midst of it all he gave Fox News an 11-minute telephone interview thereby hogging all the attention for himself.

There was very little evidence of unity, tolerance and bipartisanship here. How much faith Trump put into internalizing his Reagan references and making meaningful statements will be shown by those speakers yet to come. Tomorrow the convention continues with “Make America Work Again” prior to the renewed offensive against Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama titled “Make America First Again.”

When Donald Trump accepts his party’s nomination with a speech, the motto of the evening will be “Make America One Again.” That’s when the most unpopular presidential candidate in history (7 out of 10 Americans don’t like him) may have to prove that he can heal this deeply fractured nation.

How that’s even possible following this evening packed with rage and frustration is still a mystery.