Trump's RNC speech eventually returns to what got him there — American carnage


Anyone listening to the first half of President Trump’s speech at the conclusion of this year’s Republican National Convention could be mistaken for thinking it was a repeat of his third State of the Union address from January, with its tone of triumphant optimism and its funereal parade of economic statistics.
Where was the chaos and the blood in the streets? Where were the mean-spirited jokes, the impersonations, the comedy bits about the difficulties of walking down a ramp?
It was only when Trump moved to the subject of the coronavirus, when he summarized the cost of another shutdown (rightly) as "increased drug overdoses, depression, alcohol and drug addiction, suicides, heart attacks, economic devastation, and much more," that he began to sound comfortable.
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.
This was not incidental. Whatever his oldest daughter and son-in-law have to say about it, this president does not thrive on peace and optimism. His pitch to the American people remains fundamentally what it was four years ago: this country is a wasteland of crime, addiction, violence, suffering, exploitation, and despair.
Many fair-minded observers, whether they are inclined to support Trump or not, believe that it is still all of those things. This, I think, is why ultimately Trump’s remarks turned from a dreary recitation of his ostensible successes to the issues he feels more comfortable discussing and, perhaps above all, the perfidy of his opponents, including Joe Biden, that "Trojan horse for socialism.”
It was not just that the tone changed. Trump also began to depart from what was evidently his prepared text. "Arsonists” became "anarchists.” A paean to the flag was extemporized. By the time he arrived at his conclusion about the virtues of Davey Crockett and Annie Oakley and the fighting men of Iwo Jima, the message had become unmistakably clear: Only Trump could deliver the people of this country from American carnage and restore a vanished golden age.
Which is exactly what he was telling us four years ago.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.
-
Music reviews: Chance the Rapper, Cass McCombs, and Molly Tuttle
Feature "Star Line," "Interior Live Oak," and "So Long Little Miss Sunshine"
-
Film reviews: Eden and Honey Don't!
Feature Seekers of a new utopia spiral into savagery and a queer private eye prowls a high-desert town
-
Critics' choice: Three chefs fulfilling their ambitions
Feature Kwame Onwuachi's grand second act, Travis Lett makes a comeback, and Jeff Watson's new Korean restaurant
-
Gavin Newsom's Trump-style trolling roils critics while thrilling fans
TALKING POINTS The California governor has turned his X account into a cutting parody of Trump's digital cadence, angering Fox News conservatives
-
Costco is at the center of an abortion debate
Talking Points The decision to no longer stock the abortion pill came following a pressure campaign by conservatives
-
What does occupying Gaza accomplish for Israel?
Talking Points Risking a 'strategic dead-end' in the fight against Hamas
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardon
Talking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
Does depopulation threaten humanity?
Talking Points Falling birth rates could create a 'smaller, sadder, poorer future'
-
Gavin Newsom mulls California redistricting to counter Texas gerrymandering
TALKING POINTS A controversial plan has become a major flashpoint among Democrats struggling for traction in the Trump era
-
The Supreme Court and Congress have Planned Parenthood in their crosshairs
Talking Points Trump's budget bill and the court's ruling threaten abortion access
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't