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

President Trump.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock)

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?

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Matthew Walther

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.