How Donald Trump watered down the very idea of American greatness

Make America mediocre again!

Donald Trump campaign hats
(Image credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

Donald Trump has said throughout his campaign that he wants to "Make America Great Again." Greatness implies some kind of aspiration. But Trump's speech capping a wild Republican National Convention wasn't really about greatness. It was more about just barely escaping the present unharmed. The theme felt more like "Make America Minimally Acceptable Again."

Trump promised to restore law and order, enforce America's immigration laws and repel immigrants who would break them, and bring back jobs to the country. Doing all of this sounds like the bare minimum of restoration. Trump is setting the bar for greatness pretty low.

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Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is the founder and editor of The Slurve, a newsletter about baseball. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, ESPN Magazine, Slate and The American Conservative.