Trumps Triumph

Trumps Triumph

The Republican National Convention came to a close on Thursday night during a dramatic week marred by controversy.  GOP nominee Donald Trump’s critics have seized on the unrest to paint a picture of an amateur campaign struggling to unite a divided party. 

But Trump’s supporters are confident they’re leaving Cleveland in better shape than when they arrived.

“The bottom line is, there is no question we have more unity, more unanimity of thought, more enjoyment, more camaraderie, and the progression is peaking perfectly,” said Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin. "If I had to imagine what he's thinking and wanted, he got pretty much everything he wanted."  

Here is what created a triumph contrary to the paid consultants and pundits assurance of a riotous spectacle.

The Finale Night

The final night of the convention was drama-free and sent the party off on a high note.

Influential Christian leader Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, announced his endorsement for Trump. Perkins’s support could go a long way in helping the nominee rally the social conservatives who have remained on the sidelines.

The Trump campaign put on a display of diversity with a fiery performance from black South Carolina pastor Mark Burns, gay Silicon Valley entrepreneur Peter Thiel, Rep. Marsha Blackburn(R-Tenn.), Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, and Dr. Lisa Shin, who is Korean.

Ivanka Trump set her father up with a string of personal stories about him.  Trump followed with a powerful speech about the harsh realities the U.S. must face and having a leader that can accomplish the tasks. This electrified the crowd.

The vice president

Mike Pence’s big moment was overshadowed by the Cruz snub. But conservatives cheered Pence’s performance, which put to rest any fears he would be overwhelmed by the Trump persona. Pence was confident, relaxed and humble. He forcefully made the case for a Trump presidency and pointedly contrasting him to his rival Hillary Clinton.

He has an understated demeanor befitting of a Midwest governor, the respect of the Republican establishment in Washington, and credibility among social conservatives. Republicans see a winner.

The Cruz fiasco

Trump offered Cruz, one of his former primary rivals, a prime-time spot on stage even though the Texas senator would be the only convention speaker who hasn’t endorsed the nominee.

Cruz was given a chance to follow his other fellow contenders (except Kasich) to endorse the Republican Nominee. However, he created a huge distraction that will hurt him in the future. It is also true that Cruz was booed off the stage by convention-goers who were furious that he had the gall to slight their nominee at his own convention.

Trump supporters believe Cruz was exposed for having put political ambition ahead of party unity and say it will benefit their candidate in the long run. “Honestly what Ted Cruz did last night in a weird way it kind of unified people behind Trump in a way they hadn't before," said Georgia delegate Buzz Brockway, who initially supported Marco Rubio's bid. "There was some sympathy for him."

Organizational strength

Trump will be outspent and outmanned by Clinton. However, it will not be about the money in this election. In the internet age, people get their own news from their trusted sources. The Hillary machine cannot control that. Expect the Media to do their part though.

Last week they tested the joint whip operations, getting Trump’s positions codified into the party’s platform and striking down efforts to strip the national party of control over the primary process. This week the whip operations flew into overdrive, muscling through a rules package over the objection of several factions of insurgent candidates. The RNC and Trump campaign convinced delegates from a handful of states to back away from petitions that could have resulted in trouble on the convention floor. And “The Never Trump”  movement was put down with only a whimper as the RNC and Trump campaign leaned hard on the rebels and those who considered joining them.

The end result was that on Tuesday night, in perhaps the greatest showing of unity the party displayed throughout the convention, the delegates overwhelmingly nominated Trump as their nominee with essentially no objection from the floor.

The expected protests fizzled instead of exploding

Republicans and the media arrived in Cleveland bracing for the worst. Many of Trump’s events have attracted masses of protesters and have been marred by incidents of violence. Trump is fashioning himself as the “law and order” candidate, so the last thing the campaign needed would have been screaming headlines about arrests or clashes between protesters and the police. There were ultimately a few tense moments but nothing more.