Capping improbable nomination, Trump vows to ‘go all the way’ for GOP
Billionaire businessman gets on video link to welcome ‘great honor’ of being Republican party’s candidate for US president; Trump children say they are proud
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Billionaire Donald Trump on Tuesday welcomed as a “great honor” the Republican nomination for president of the United States, within minutes of securing the required number of delegate votes.
“Such a great honor to be the Republican Nominee for President of the United States. I will work hard and never let you down! AMERICA FIRST!” he tweeted to his nearly 10 million followers.
Appearing via video link later at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, Trump told delegates he was “so proud” to be their nominee for president and vowed to “go all the way” and win the White House in November.
The New York billionaire, who has never previously held public office, said it had been “a very special day” to watch his adult children declare New York’s delegate count that put him over the top.
Such a great honor to be the Republican Nominee for President of the United States. I will work hard and never let you down! AMERICA FIRST!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2016
“What we did getting the party’s nomination, I will never forget it,” he said. “With your vote today, this stage of the presidential process has come to a close. Together we have achieved historic results.”
Trump will address the convention in person on Thursday when he will formally accept the nomination and promised to outline “how we build a brighter and more hopeful future for all Americans.”
“We are going to win the presidency and bring real change and leadership back to Washington,” he said to applause. “We will win in November.”
He praised his pick for vice president, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, as an “incredible man” who would make “a great vice president.” Pence was also formally nominated.
The nomination caps the billionaire businessman’s stunning takeover of the GOP, defeating 16 rivals, and propelled him into a November faceoff with Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump’s campaign hoped the formal nomination would both end the discord surging through the Republican Party and overshadow the convention’s chaotic kickoff, including a plagiarism charge involving Melania Trump’s address on opening night.
Clinton responded to the news by firing off a fundraising tweet.
“Donald Trump just became the Republican nominee. Chip in now to make sure he never steps foot in the Oval Office,” she wrote, followed by a “Let’s do this” post.
Donald Trump just became the Republican nominee. Chip in now to make sure he never steps foot in the Oval Office. https://t.co/GjshXP4BAG
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 19, 2016
Let's do this. pic.twitter.com/DtYYBDTWE6
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 19, 2016
“It’s my honor to be able to throw Donald Trump over the top in the delegation count tonight,” the candidate’s son Donald Trump Jr told delegates earlier Tuesday at the Republican National Convention which erupted in cheers and applause.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s surreal. I’m so proud of my father,” Trump’s eldest daughter and businesswoman Ivanka Trump, often described as his secret weapon, told CNN on the convention floor.
“He’s the ultimate outsider and he did it. We are so proud of him,” she said.
The real estate mogul is expected to formally accept the nomination in a speech to the convention on Thursday.
The delegation of Trump’s home state of New York cast the deciding votes which put him over the threshold of 1,237, the majority-plus-one of delegates to the convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
There were flurries of dissent on the convention floor as states that Trump did not win recorded their votes, but he far outdistanced his primary rivals.
Convention officials gave some delegates won by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich to Trump, including all 19 from the District of Columbia. But for the most part the state delegations closed ranks behind the nominee, after a fractious opening day, when chaos broke out on the floor as anti-Trump delegates launched a short-lived revolt.
Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions opened the nominating process with a hearty endorsement of Trump, declaring him “a warrior and a winner.”
This week’s four-day convention is Trump’s highest-profile opportunity to convince voters that he’s better suited for the presidency than Clinton, who will be officially nominated at next week’s Democratic gathering. But the rocky start raises fresh questions about his oversight of his campaign, which gives voters a window into how a candidate might handle the pressures of the presidency.
The plagiarism accusations center on Monday night’s speech by Trump’s wife. Two passages from Mrs. Trump’s address — each 30 words or longer — matched a 2008 Democratic convention address by Michelle Obama nearly word-for-word.
Trump’s campaign managed only to keep the controversy alive on Day 2 of the convention by insisting there was no evidence of plagiarism, while offering no explanation for how the strikingly similar passages wound up in Mrs. Trump’s address. The matter consumed news coverage from Cleveland, obscuring Mrs. Trump’s broader effort to show her husband’s softer side.
Clinton pounced on the tumult, saying the Republican gathering had so far been “surreal,” comparing it to the classic fantasy film “Wizard of Oz.”
“When you pull back the curtain, it was just Donald Trump with nothing to offer to the American people,” Clinton said during a speech in Las Vegas.
Top Trump adviser Paul Manafort said the matter had been “totally blown out of proportion.”
“They’re not even sentences. They’re literally phrases. I was impressed somebody did their homework to think that that could be possibly done,” Manafort told The Associated Press.
Conventions are massive organizational undertakings, with thousands of attendees to manage and dozens of speakers to oversee. But the weeklong gathering pales in comparison to the scope of a president’s responsibilities as head of the US government.
Republican leaders hoping to leave Cleveland with a strong show of party unity also found themselves answering unwelcome questions. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said he “probably” would have fired his own speechwriters under similar circumstances and acknowledged the matter was a distraction.
It was unclear whether the controversy would have any bearing on how voters view Trump. The businessman has survived numerous politically perilous moments that might have doomed other candidates.
Manafort, a longtime Republican operative, has emerged as a controversial and pivotal figure in Trump’s Cleveland operations. He led efforts to successfully tamp down a rebellion on the convention floor Monday, though the campaign still had to contend with angry outbursts from anti-Trump delegates.
The campaign chairman also upended Republicans’ unity message by slamming Ohio Gov. John Kasich in his home state. He called Kasich “petulant” and “embarrassing” for not endorsing Trump or attending the convention, drawing quick condemnation from other GOP leaders worried about angering the popular governor of one of the most important election states.
Following the roll call vote, a parade of Trump’s former campaign rivals, Republican leaders who are lukewarm about his nomination and more family members are scheduled to take center stage. Republicans will be closely watching House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has endorsed Trump despite disagreeing with him on numerous issues.
The Times of Israel Community.