Trump Wins Nomination in Low-Key Day Two

By James Arkin, Real Clear Politics–

CLEVELAND — After a contentious primary that left many Republicans frustrated, bitter and unsuccessfully searching for an alternative candidate, the GOP officially nominated Donald Trump for president of the United States Tuesday night.

The nomination came on the heels of a bizarre and less-than-perfect opening day of the convention. First, the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign battled anti-Trump delegates making last-ditch efforts to vote against their nominee, and second, those same officials had to push back against allegations that Melania Trump plagiarized part of her Monday evening speech from a 2008 address by Michelle Obama.

Still, the nominating process went off without a hitch for Trump Tuesday evening, capped by his son, Donald Trump, Jr., a New York delegate, announcing the tally from the business mogul’s home state that put him over the required number to seal the nomination.

“Congratulations, Dad. We love you,” Trump Jr. said as the delegates in the arena erupted into applause and the scoreboard in Quicken Loans Arena flashed a glitzy “Over The Top” message. The crowd danced to a rendition of “New York, New York.”

Trump, appearing by video from Manhattan right in the heart of prime time, called it a “very, very special day” and “something I will never, ever forget.”

“A little over one year ago, I announced my candidacy for president, and with your vote today, this stage of the presidential process has come to a close,” he said. “Together, we’ve achieved this result with the largest vote total in the history of the Republican Party. This is a movement, but we have to go all the way. I’m so proud to be your nominee for president of the United States.”

Tuesday’s speeches — delivered under a “Make America Work Again” banner to a half-empty Quicken Loans Arena — were meant to highlight Trump’s business successes and economic know-how. For the most part, they hammered home general Republican messages and opposition to Hillary Clinton, but the program was a marked improvement on the opening night of the convention.

Trump’s children, who many have said are his most effective surrogates, proved their worth during their time in the spotlight.

Tiffany, his second-youngest child who recently graduated from college, said in her remarks that she never expected to speak to such a large audience, but was “grateful” for the chance to talk about her father, calling him “so friendly, so considerate, so funny and so real.”

Trump Jr., in what was the most well-received speech of the night, touched on a wide range of topics, from his relationship with his father to Trump’s business background and economic message, immigration, gun rights, the attack in Benghazi and Clinton’s negatives.

“We need to elect a man who has a track record of accomplishing the impossible,” Trump Jr. said. “When people tell him it can’t be done, that guarantees he gets it done. When someone tells him that something is impossible, that’s what triggers him into action.”

Most of the other speeches focused on hammering President Obama and Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee hoping to succeed him. Even New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the elected official perhaps closest to Trump, who has known him personally for years and was a finalist for his vice presidential pick, spent the vast majority of his speech attacking Clinton and laying out a prosecutorial case against her instead of touting Trump’s record or credentials.

Still, the crowd in Quicken Loans Arena loved it, giving Christie roaring applause and chanting, “Lock her up.”

Lawmakers taking the stage Tuesday night included House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, along with the entire freshman class of Republican senators, meant to project party unity. Other national figures spoke, including Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White and female golf pro Natalie Gulbis.

Other than Trump’s children, Gulbis and White made perhaps the most personal pitches for Trump, with White talking about how Trump supported the Ultimate Fighting Championship business before it was a worldwide sensation, and Gulbis talking about how he encouraged her business career.

While the Trump children and business associates focused on the personal, the lawmakers and politicians focused on messages of policy and opposition to Clinton.

McConnell attacked Clinton as unfit to be president and listed Senate priorities that failed under Obama — including repealing Obamacare and creating the Keystone XL pipeline — that he said Trump would sign as president. McConnell also pointed out there would be a Supreme Court vacancy awaiting him if and when he gets elected. Ryan adopted his signature positive tone, calling for the party to rally around conservative ideas while declaring, “The Obama years are almost over. The Clinton years are way over.”

“So what do you say we unite this party, at this crucial moment when unity is everything?” Ryan said. “Let’s take the fight to our opponents with better ideas — let’s get on the offensive and let’s stay there.”

While Ryan was calling for party unity, there were signs GOP factions were slowly coming together, albeit in a reluctant, half-hearted way. Anti-Trump delegates didn’t exactly support Trump, but neither did they create chaos on the floor Tuesday (unlike Monday), when Trump was officially nominated. Even Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who has been outspoken against Trump throughout the week, conceded the fight against him was over.

“This is Donald Trump’s night, and he’s got the nomination,” Lee told RealClearPolitics. “Let’s let him enjoy it. I don’t want to rain on that parade.”

Asked if he was enjoying himself, he said, “It’s like the Super Bowl. It’s exciting. Regardless of what happens, regardless of whether you like every call by every referee, whether it’s the outcome you want, it’s exciting.”

The campaign avoided any of the messy mistakes, distractions and controversy of the opening day of the convention, but Tuesday’s program did little to establish a cohesive narrative for Trump beyond the notion that Clinton broke the law and is unfit to serve as president.

Sen. Tom Tillis of North Carolina told RCP the anti-Clinton message was a natural course after the long, divisive Republican primary.

“You compress the amount of time post-primary to get all the pieces together so you start messaging against a flawed candidate in Hillary Clinton,” he said. “Two weeks from now, it won’t be the story. It will be the story of their focus on things that are very clear differences between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.”

RealClearPolitics National Political Reporters Rebecca Berg and Caitlin Huey-Burns contributed to this report.