Donald Trump to Accept Republican Nomination: What Will He Say?

posted July 22, 2016

CLEVELAND, OH — Tonight Donald Trump accepts the presidential nomination of the Republican Party, and what he says in the grand finale of the GOP convention will matter.

It will matter because large segments of the party aren't convinced he should be their candidate.

It will matter because campaign pros believe his organization isn't capable of running a national campaign.

It will matter because so many Republicans believe Hillary Clinton would be the worst possible president.

And for that reason, many establishment Republicans have swallowed their pride and held their noses and supported the 70-year-old billionaire New York businessman, though he thumbed his nose at them for an entire year as he blustered his way to the nomination and a four-day jamboree in his honor.

If the Republican Party isn't entirely his party, the four-day Cleveland convention definitely has been.

The most interesting and effective speakers — aside from Ted Cruz, who lit a flaming bag of principled disdain on Trump's front porch, rang the bell and ran away — have been the Trump children.

Even so, they haven't painted a particularly effective or insightful portrait of the man behind the public persona, the man they call Dad.

Ivanka Trump, 34, his eldest daughter, favorite child (even her sibling say it's so), and partner in business, will introduce him to the nation. She, perhaps, knows what's in his heart better than anyone else. Tonight, the task of humanizing her father for a general electorate falls to her and her alone.

What's in Trump's heart, however, has many fearful of a Trump presidency. His ideas have been divisive, even nasty. He wants to build a wall, deport millions of people, put Muslims into a national database, keep Muslim immigrants out of the country, bomb the hell out of ISIS terrorists, and even suggested our obligation to our NATO allies is "negotiable."

On Wednesday night, Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, tried to liken the candidate to Ronald Reagan. The party, fractured after a nasty primary that saw 17 people vie for the right to challenge Clinton, is trying to come together behind him. Reagan did that better than any Republican president since the 1950s.

Can Trump do that? Can Trump persuade not only the Republican faithful by the independents essential to winning in November to get behind his ideas?

On Thursday, the only thing that seemed to unite a significant number of Republicans was the nasty reaction to Ted Cruz's convention speech in which he urged Republicans to "vote your conscience." Some were downright apoplectic, and the Trump campaign boasted the party was united in its censure of Cruz.

But shared anger is a weak bond.

Weaker yet is the Trump campaign organization. Political pros who could help him with on-the-ground organization are staying away.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich hasn't set foot in the convention arena for the last four days even though this grand old party is in Cleveland, Ohio. Kasich has been in town, however, meeting with delegations and talking politics and the future. He pointedly has avoided talking about Trump, whom he's refused to endorse.

Even worse, news broke this week that the Trump organization in the spring broached the subject of offering "the most powerful vice presidency in history" to Kasich, giving him control of both domestic and foreign policy should he agree to be Trump's running mate.

What, Kasich's man asked, would Trump do?

"Make America great again," was the answer, according to a New York Times report. Sounds like a boss who asks his No. 2 to do all the work while he takes all the credit, doesn't it?

Kasich said no. And he's avoided Trump ever since. No Republican presidential candidate has ever won the White House without winning Ohio, a key battleground state. Trump can't count on Kasich's help nor the help of the pros who run campaigns here.

Trump believes he can win without them.

Those who love and support Trump and his candidacy look past what others perceive as fatal flaws. They believe America is not as great as it once was. They see unabashed nerve in the man, and they think we need that in the White House.

Too many neighborhoods are unsafe. Too many enemies neither fear nor respect us. Too many jobs are leaving our country for foreign lands. Too many people remain underemployed or unemployed. And too many politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, are too blame.

Trump is not a politician. He doesn't follow the same rules as politicians. He doesn't adhere to the same political calculus. He is bringing "average" people into the political process. You can see that in the many Trump delegates who've never before been to a convention. And he relies on political newcomers to help run his campaign and formulate policy.

That makes him dangerous to some and appealing to others.

He is opportunistic and unpredictable.

With all of his weaknesses politically, Trump could very well lose the election. The Clinton campaign machine is nothing if not powerful and adept.

And Trump, it would appear, already knows who to blame if he does.

On Thursday, Trump met with 300 donors and told them he could win the election even if he ran as an independent against Clinton and a Republican.

"If I ran independent I promise you the Republicans would have had zero chance, OK?” Trump said, according to a Politico report citing four sources who were in the room. "The independents would beat the Republicans!"

Trump also said the RNC better get out the vote for him and hire good people, according to Politico.

For better or worse, they are now in this together.

Most of the four-day RNC convention has been spent beating up Hillary Clinton, mercilessly, viciously, coldly. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tried to make the case for prosecuting Clinton and sending her to prison. Pat Smith, the mom of a foreign service officer killed in Benghazi, blamed Clinton for the death of her son. Mike Pence hammered her again with the line "at this point, what does it matter," suggesting Clinton callously dismisses those under her care and command. Dr. Ben Carson even suggested Clinton is in league with the devil.

There was much angry, bleak, dark talk at this convention.

The theme for this final day is "Make America One Again." The question is, what does that mean to Trump?

Pastor Mark Brown, an early speaker Thursday night, delivered a sermon with verve and passion, imploring the crowd to chant with him "all lives matter, all lives matter" and concluding with the admonition that "the only colors that matter are red, white and blue."

Can Trump present a more complete vision that reluctant Republicans and undecided independents can buy into? Tonight, we hear from Trump's most trusted confidante, his loving daughter, and we hear from Trump himself.

What will they say?

Day 4 Republican Convention Coverage

• 'I Am Not a Servile Puppy Dog,' Says Ted Cruz, 'This is Personal'
• Wall Off Trump Instead of Building Trump's Wall, Say Demonstrators
• 'I'm Just in the Middle ... Pissed Off'
• WATCH: Fist Bumps and High Fives for the Police at the Republican National Convention
• RNC Photo and Video Gallery: God, Guns and Protesters in Cleveland

Day 3 Coverage

• 'Vote Your Conscience' and Other Words Ted Cruz Said at the GOP Convention
• Texas Sen. Ted Cruz Booed Off Stage at Republican Convention
• 2 Felony Arrests After Officers Punched in Flag-Burning Protest Near GOP Convention
• Caitlyn Jenner, Authentic Republican, on God, Public Toilets and the Constitution
• Peter Thiel First Openly Gay Speaker at RNC in 16 Years
• Wall Off Trump Instead of Building Trump's Wall
• Cleveland Cops Support Autism Awareness at Republican National Convention
• NH Trump Delegate on Hillary: She Should be ‘Shot for Treason’
• Watch Stephen Colbert Stump Illinois Delegate in 'Trump or False'
• RNCinCLE Day 3: Ted Cruz: 'Vote Your Conscience' | 2 Cops Hurt in Flag Burning; 17 Arrests | Speechwriter Confesses

Day 2 Coverage

• Trump Made 'We Are the Champions' His Jam and Ignored Sony 'Request to Desist'
• Melania Trump's Speech Controversy: Pish! Say GOP Delegates
• Donald Trump Writer Takes Blame For Melania Trump Speech Plagiarism
• 'Finest Governor in the United States' ... is Bruce Rauner?
• Hillary Clinton Sees 'Wizard of Oz' Performance by Donald Trump in Cleveland
• RNCinCLE Day 2: Roger Ailes Leaving Fox News? | A Baldwin Brother Touts Trump | Singing Cowboy Says 'Trump is Our Last Chance'

Day 1 Coverage

• Melania Trump's Speech Cheat Exposed and Campaign's 'No Time for Losers' Moment Backfires
• Best Jokes About Melania Trump's Plagiarized RNC Speech
• Benghazi Mom Rages at Hillary Clinton on GOP Convention's Opening Night
• Chris Christie Was Really, Really Unhappy About Trump VP Snub: Reports
• No Water Guns Near GOP Convention But Real Guns Are OK — Cops Are Worried
• RNCinCLE Day 1: 'No Time for Losers' | Chris Christie's Anti-Christie | Benghazi Tears and Fury