Some quick takes from readers on a long acceptance speech from Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Thursday:
▶”The humility he showed was new. A good look for the next president!” — Jim, Phillips, Wisconsin
▶”Kissing the prop uniform with the name of the victim misspelled was an extremely awkward display of unintentionally comical pandering.” — Henry, Milwaukee
▶”He didn’t rank on Joe Biden, yet pointed out the truth, that enemies world-wide are aggressive because we have a weak commander-in-chief.” — Pam, Mondovi, Wisconsin
▶”The speech was a rambling mess of falsehoods.” — David, Mequon, Wisconsin
▶”Love the beginning and the end, the middle got a bit carried away with recalling aspects of last presidency, but ended on strong note.” — AT, Milwaukee
▶”Weird, rambling and narcissistic. Full of lies and exaggerations.” — Ann, Brown Deer, Wisconsin
▶”I liked all of it! God spared this man for us!” — Cynthia, Muskegon, Michigan
▶”A bad speech and wrong message for America. Same old song. Full of gripes.” Peter, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
▶”Said everything he needed to, but it was long.” — Michael, Chicago
▶Lies and fearmongering.” — Bob, Milwaukee
Recounting the assassination attempt a moving moment
Trump opened his speech by describing the events Saturday at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania where a would-be assassin opened fire, grazing his ear, killing a firefighter in the crowd and seriously wounding two other people before a Secret Service agent killed the shooter. Readers who responded to form called it a powerful moment.
“Loved the recount of the assassination attempt and key policy points. Disliked how long it was and how it rambled,” said Marcus from Milwaukee.
Still, he rated the speech as good and set the right tone for the campaign.
“He wants things to be better for all Americans,” he said.
Meade from Oconomowoc rated the speech as OK, but said Trump’s forward charging with a more electric base than he had in his first election win.
“Mr Trump has a shaky history with statistics and meandering with them, so the parts where he focused on this or his catchphrases were familiar and corny,” he said. “But the power of the speech, outreach to his voter base and connection to the people who understand what he’s actually talking about (the same people who don’t tend to get hung up on details in lieu of what they see in their communities) is undeniable, and sadly an invisible factor for out of touch pundits and democrats who live in sanitary political bubbles.”
Dave from Pewaukee said it was a good speech, but it was too long.
“I’m glad he highlighted just how bad things have become for the average American in the last several years,” he said. “The main take I got from his speech is no matter who is on each ticket, it comes down to the vision each party has for the country going forward. Open boarders, high inflation, lawlessness, and weaponization of our justice system is not the vision I have for our democracy.”
Did a different Trump emerge at Fiserv Forum Thursday night?
Following the tragedy on Saturday, many around the former president said he was a changed man and would tone down his harsh rhetoric and focus on unity. Some readers said the couldn’t detect anything different.
“Same old Donald (Trump),” said Nicholas from Milwaukee. “No growth or attempts to learn from past mistakes.”
Mark, from Cedarburg, said he detected little change in Trump.
“Bunch of vague promises with a lack of substantive plans to get anything done. Lots of lies and exaggerations. I appreciated the honoring of fire fighter killed on Saturday,” he said. “I don’t think it was as toned down as was advertised. However, I think it will energize his base.”
Sarah from Nashville said the speech sets a “cult-like” tone for the fall campaign.
“He cannot stop lying, he lies through out the speech,” she said.
David from Mequon said Trump was incoherent, rambling and off base for what’s right and true.
“It was intended by his speech writers to focus on unity but Trump could not help himself and instead went off script bragging about himself and attacking the world. It shows he lacks social discipline and intelligence,” he said. “There were at least 22 falsehoods. He claimed that he suggested a ship design change for a naval contract in Wisconsin and they placated him by telling him he was smart.”
Lynne from Oak Creek said the address set the wrong tone for the campaign.
“Hated every seemingly endless minute of his speech. Same old firehose of lies, grievances and braggadocio coming from his strangely pursed lips,” she said. “Same authoritarian, dark and dystopian view of this wonderful country. Same lack of policies and ideas except to exact retribution on anyone who doesn’t prostrate themselves before his wonderful, magnificent self.”
A few deeper dives on Trump’s RNC speech from readers
James from Milwaukee rated the speech as bad and said it would just set a more divisive tone.
“I think Trump’s speech at the RNC was really disappointing. It felt overwhelmingly negative, with more focus on fear-mongering and attacking his opponents than on presenting a hopeful vision for the future. He barely offered any concrete plans or solutions to the issues we face, which made it seem like he was just criticizing without providing answers,” he said. “The divisive rhetoric and frequent inaccuracies didn’t help either — they just made his message less credible. Overall, it felt like a missed opportunity to bring people together and inspire us, instead of deepening the divisions we already have.”
Carol from Granada Hills, California, said the speech sets a confident tone for the fall campaign.
“Donald Trump is a businessman with a passion for America. He knows how to create wealth. America’s middle class is far too overburdened with the economic weight of carrying this country,” she said. “It’s almost impossible to save, create and maintain family wealth and prosperity in America. We need a leader that can replenish our finances and economy. Money may not buy love but it buys security/freedom.”
Cassie from Milwaukee had high hopes, but left disappointed.
“He seemed a lot more humbled after what happened, but I wish he would have utilized that humility to admit the 2020 election wasn’t stolen and to apologize for committing all the crimes he committed,” she said. “There was some hope, I was there in the crowd. I sensed unity, but it was still among the cultish environment. It just confused me. There’s some parts of him that were changed, but why did he resort back to the same default version of himself.”
David from Fond du Lac said Trump’s speech set a positive forward-looking tone.
“I thought it set a positive forward tone. He seldom mentioned Biden by name rather talked about the failing policies that have led to inflation, crime and the border crisis,” he said. “America has the oil and energy resources to be independent and just a shift in that policy will help to reduce the costs that hurt all families.”
Thank you to all who submitted thoughtful comments.
Trump poised to deliver address at Republican Convention in Milwaukee
It’s a cliché in politics, but it might be true that Donald Trump is making the most important speech of his life tonight at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
It comes just five days after he survived an assassination attempt, and then selected a running mate and watched over a unified GOP gathering from his family box each night of the convention. In a conventional sense, Trump is not a great speaker, but the sea of red “Make America Great Again” hats shows just how effective of a communicator he is.
Donald Trump Jr. says his father is a changed man after shooting
Will a different Donald Trump take the stage tonight?
His son, Donald Trump Jr. said his father is a changed man after the assassination attempt and the tone of unity he is projecting won’t fade away.
“You know, I think it lasts,” Donald Trump Jr. said in response to a question at an Axios event Tuesday of how long the “new Trump” would continue. “There are events that change you for a couple minutes and there’s events that change you permanently. Now again it’s Trump so you’re still going to be reactionary.”
Please share your reaction and feedback as Trump delivers his speech (which is expected sometime between 9 and 10 p.m.) tonight in this form. We’ll update this story as your comments start to roll in tonight:
Thanks for sharing your feedback throughout the week about the Republican National Convention, including:
The selection of J.D. Vance for VP:A Trump clone. Much-needed youth.
Your mood heading into the convention:Here is what you are most looking forward to, and dreading, about the RNC
Reaction to an attempted assassination:How you’re feeling after Saturday’s Trump rally shooting