CLEVELAND — Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump capped his party’s convention here with a speech that depicted a “moment of crisis for our nation,” while also trying to soften some of his sharper edges for a general-election audience.
“We will be a country of generosity and warmth,” he said. “But we will also be a country of law and order.”
Mr. Trump, who was greeted with loud cheers and chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!” when he took the stage, reprised many of the themes that have dominated the convention, and his campaign. He pledged to wall off the U.S. Border with Mexico, and castigated his Democratic rival, saying “the legacy of Hillary Clinton” was “death, destruction and weakness.” He repeated his opposition to multi-country trade deals, pledging that “Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo.” And he warned of terrorism from abroad and violence at home, saying Americans were haunted by “chaos in our communities.”
Never one for half-measures, Mr. Trump pledged that “the crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end. Beginning on January 20th, 2017, safety will be restored.” But in this and other policy areas, Mr. Trump offered few policy specifics, relying largely on familiar proposals like reducing taxes, repealing Obamacare, and getting rid of regulations.
Mr. Trump promised a “straightforward assessment of the state of our nation,” but he arguably portrayed the country’s plight as more dire than it is. While crime has spiked in major cities this year, for example, that follows a substantial and lasting nationwide decline in violent crime rates. FBI statistics released last year showed that violent crime in 2014 was down nearly 7 percent since 2010, and more than 16 percent lower than in 2005.
According to a version of the speech leaked to media outlets early Thursday evening, the address also reached out to communities that have been put off by Mr. Trump’s proposals and rhetoric. The speech lamented poverty rates among African-American and Hispanic communities and he pledged to ask whether his policies “make life better for young Americans in Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Ferguson”– cities that have been flashpoint of violence and disputes with police.
And in noting the mass shooting of 49 people in an Orlando dance club, the speech pledged to “protect our LGBT citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology.” Activists have faulted other Republicans, including Florida Gov. Rick Scott during his own convention speech this week, for glossing over the fact that the shooting victims were gay.