Republican convention: 'Law and order candidate' Donald Trump accepts US presidential nomination

 
Donald Trump's spirited, hour-long address to the Republican National Convention was heavy on law and order, from the crimes of illegal immigrants to terrorism — here are five significant themes.
A triumphant Donald Trump has accepted the Republican White House nomination, promising fearful Americans that "safety will be restored" if they shun Hillary Clinton and politics as usual to make him president.

Trump says Clinton caused 'death' and 'destruction' as secretary of state
Trump's acceptance speech boycotted by many big-name Republicans
Candidate revealed little about his policies

Mr Trump "humbly and gratefully" accepted the nomination before 2,000 raucous Republican Party activists in Cleveland, offering a strikingly populist pitch for the White House.

Between defining chants of "USA" and "Trump, Trump, Trump", the mogul-turned-TV-star-turned-politico cast himself as the "law and order candidate" and vowed to champion "people who work hard but no longer have a voice."



"I am your voice," he declared pointing into the cameras, promising a return to more secure times with "millions of new jobs and trillions in new wealth".

Tapping into popular angst over recent racially tinged shootings and seemingly indiscriminate terror attacks, Mr Trump offered a tough-on-crime message that was reminiscent of Richard Nixon's election-winning strategy in 1968.
"The crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon, and I mean very soon, come to an end," he said.

"Beginning on January 20, of 2017, safety will be restored."

He repeated common controversial themes of his bruising primary campaign — banning foreigners from countries linked to terrorism, building a wall on the Mexican border and renegotiating unfavourable trade deals with China.

"We are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs and the violence, and to stop the drugs from pouring into our communities," he said.

The party rank-and-file lapped it up, offering him standing ovation after standing ovation and displaying none of the divisions that have plagued the four-day convention.
'Death, destruction, terrorism and weakness': Clinton targeted
 
  Photo: The crowd lapped up Donald Trump's criticism of Hillary Clinton. (Reuters: Rick Wilking)

Mr Trump's speech was designed to set the tone for the general election campaign against Mrs Clinton, an answer to Republicans who say the best way he can unify the divided party is to detail why the Democrat should not be elected on November 8.

He said Mrs Clinton's legacy of her time as secretary of state was "death" and "destruction".

"After 15 years of wars in the Middle East, after trillions of dollars spent and thousands of lives lost, the situation is worse than it has ever been before," he said.

"This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness."


As the crowd roared "lock her up," Mr Trump waved them off and said: "Let's defeat her in November."

Mrs Clinton fired off an icy rebuke on Twitter to her rival, telling him: "We are better than this."

Mr Trump also took aim at President Barack Obama, blaming him for racial divisions in the nation.

"The irresponsible rhetoric of our President, who has used the pulpit of the presidency to divide us by race and colour, has made America a more dangerous environment for everyone," he said.
Speech short on policies

Photo: Donald Trump and his family are shown on the big screen as balloons fall from the ceiling. (AFP/Getty Images: Joe Raedle)


Facepalms and awkward air kisses - try to Trump that
The Republican National Convention has been so odd, even the most strange goings-on have started to seem mundane.
The remarks by 70-year-old Mr Trump closed out a four-day convention that underscored his struggle to heal fissures in the Republican Party over his anti-illegal-immigrant rhetoric and concerns about his temperament.

The event was boycotted by many big-name establishment Republicans, such as 2012 nominee Mitt Romney and members of the Bush family that gave the party its last two presidents.

Mr Trump offered little in the way of details about his policies during his speech but rather portrayed himself as a fresh alternative to traditional politicians, willing to consider new approaches to vexing problems and help working-class people who may feel abandoned.

Laying out his case against Mrs Clinton, he denounced nation-building policies that were actually put in place to some extent by George W Bush, without mentioning by name the Republican president who launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Photo: Barron Trump, youngest son of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, pumps fists with his older brother Donald Trump, Jr, beside is mother Melania Trump on the final night of the convention. (AFP: Jeff Swensen)
Daughter says Trump is 'colour blind'

Mr Trump's daughter Ivanka earlier took to the stage to introduce her father, saying he valued gender and racial equality.

"There have always been men of all backgrounds and ethnicities on his job sites and — long before it was commonplace — you also saw women," she said.

"My father values talents. He recognises real knowledge and skill when he finds it.


"He is colour blind and gender neutral. He hires the best person for the job period."

Ms Trump also painted the billionaire as an "outsider" who would be an alternative to the traditional politicians voters had tired of.

"Real change, the kind we have not seen in decades, is only going to come from outside the system and it is only going to come from a man who has spent his entire life doing what others said could not be done," she said.

The former model and New York Times best-selling author also said Mr Trump had a long history of showing compassion for others, an attribute which would serve him well as president.

AFP/Reuters