Donald Trump officially accepted the Republican nomination for president Thursday night, after a solid majority of delegates from around the country cast their votes for him earlier in the week at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
It was a roller-coaster convention. On Monday, party leaders blocked a noisy anti-Trump delegate challenge to the rules binding them to vote for Mr. Trump. Later that evening, Mr. Trump's wife, Melania, gave the keynote address. News media were soon abuzz with reports that her address had plagiarized two passages from Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2008. The Trump Organization released an official statement on Wednesday explaining that speech writer Meredith McIver accidentally incorporated excerpts from Obama's speech into Mrs. Trump's address.
On Wednesday, Texas Senator Ted Cruz sparked an outcry on the convention floor after choosing to not endorse Donald Trump. Cruz instead instructed Americans to "vote your conscience."
On Thursday, Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of the GOP presidential nominee, shared a softer side of Donald Trump as she introduced her father. Her speech included promises of increased gender equality, asserting that Mr. Trump would "fight for equal pay for equal work ."
Then Mr. Trump took the stage and, in an hour-and-a-quarter-long nomination acceptance speech, he sealed the deal with the Republican Party and set his sights on the November 8th general election.
Did the Trump campaign’s orchestration of the convention allay or heighten the fears of the Republican establishment, some of whom complained that the Trump operation is poorly staffed, inexperienced, and under-funded? If running a nominating convention is any indication how a candidate might run a government, how did the Donald do this week?
We assembled a panel this morning to unpack the recent events of the Republican National Convention. Former Capitol Hill and Annapolis staffer Richard Cross joins us on the phone from Cleveland. Chrys Kefalas joins Tom in-studio. He lost against Del. Kathy Szeliga in the Republican Primary for the US Senate seat that’s being vacated by Barbara Mikulski. Del. Kathy Szeliga will face-off against Congressman Chris Van Hollen in November. Adar Ayira, the Director of Programs at the Associated Black Charities and a member of the Advisory Board of Baltimore Racial Justice Action, is here in Studio A as well.
Due to technical problems, no audio for this segment is available.
