First day of the Republican Convention: Trump candidate and Biden centre of all attacks
The Republican National Convention kicked off this Monday morning, and for four days there will be videos and messages supporting Donald Trump for re-election as President of the United States. But instead of being a celebration of American Republicanism, the Convention has become a celebration of 'Trumpism'.
The evening's comments, along with Trump's speech to delegates convened in Charlotte, North Carolina, a Republican stronghold, were a reminder of Trump's dominance of the party.
After the confirmation that the American tycoon will be the Republican candidate in the elections on 3 November, the first part of the virtual meetings took place with several leading figures: the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and the former US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikkie Haley. Speaker after speaker denounced the Democrats and warned citizens of a future controlled by the "radical liberals", while praising the Trump Administration.
The XL screens and high resolution videos promoting Trump's actions to mitigate the pandemic showed that the Convention was being held in 2020, but the messages of the 'Trumpists' were reminiscent of old 20th century speeches: "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want a cultural revolution. A fundamentally different America. If we let them, they will turn our country into a socialist utopia", warned the first-born of Trump's sons. "Trump is fighting the forces of anarchism and communism," said Máximo Álvarez, a Cuban exile at the Convention.
The Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, was at the centre of all the attacks. "Joe Biden is good for Iran and Daesh, great for communist China, and a blessing for all those who want the United States to apologize, abstain and abandon our values," Haley argued during her speech.
Trump has been heavily criticised for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that has left more than 176,000 people dead and close to six million infected, causing the Democratic candidate's poll estimates to plummet. But in response, the President had a strong defense of his role in controlling the pandemic and appeared in two videos recorded at the White House where he was seen surrounded by workers who were on the front lines during the pandemic. "Today our hearts overflow with appreciation for the incredible frontline workers who risked their own health and safety to keep Americans safe," Trump said.
During the Convention, we also heard the interference that, for the 'Trumpistas', the Democrats are making with the mail voting system. "They are trying to steal the election from the Republicans," the president said, without showing any evidence, and referring to the "espionage" that, according to Trump, was carried out by Barak Obama and his then vice president, Joe Biden.
Other participants in the Republican party, such as the couple from St.Louis who left their mansion to point guns at the demonstrators for racial justice, maintained the leitmotif of the Convention: if Biden is president, the United States will become hell.
The Republican Convention will continue until Thursday, with the intervention of the first lady, Melania Trump, and Vice President Mike Pence, and the final touch will be made by the US president himself.