Star of opening night of Republican National Convention: Hillary Clinton in jail
The theme of the opening night of the 2016 Republican National Convention was "Make America Safe Again," and among the gloomy and downright terrifying picture of the world painted by the night's roster of speakers, one unsurprising culprit emerged: Hillary Clinton. Clinton, a former U.S. senator, first lady, and current presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has not held a government job since she stepped down as secretary of state in early 2013, so the Republican convention planners spent a good portion of the night talking about the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, as well as the more recent Clinton scandal involving her use of a private server as secretary of state.
It was during the Benghazi section that the Republican delegates started chanting, "Lock her up!" Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a Trump military adviser and former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, followed Melania Trump later in the night, and in the video below, you can watch him deciding to join in the chanting:
Then he really got into it, telling the chanters: "Damn right. You're damn right. There's nothing wrong with that!"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who followed Flynn on stage, just smiled and said, "That's right," when the chants resumed. This isn't exactly normal fare for political conventions, or even mainstream political discourse, as several people noted:
On NBC News, former George W. Bush spokeswoman Nicole Wallace said the chants of "Lock her up" were not what Trump needed on the first night of his convention:
Wallace's fellow GOP operative, Liz Mair, disagrees:
And given how wrong the media has been so far about Donald Trump and Republican-leaning voters, perhaps Mair is right.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
‘How can I know these words originated in their heart and not some data center in northern Virginia?’instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Can Trump deliver a farmer bailout in time?Today's Big Question Planting decisions and food prices hang in the balance
-
Tips for seizing control of your digital well-beingThe Week Recommends A handy mix of technology and self-motivation
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified filesSpeed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DCSpeed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operationsSpeed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rulesSpeed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Actspeed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in VenezuelaSpeed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young RepublicansSpeed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
