REPUBLICAN CONVENTION - DAY THREE

Donald Trump does it again, and that's not a compliment.

The day began with a speechwriter in the Trump campaign taking responsibility for the few plagiarized lines in Melania Trump's Monday night speech.  It sounded like a perfectly believable set of blunders.  But the campaign's stonewalling over two days diminished the admission, and turned what could have been a minor stumble into a semi-crisis.  The speechwriter offered her resignation, but it was refused, showing at least some graciousness in the Trump camp.  There was almost no more talk about the issue.

The rest of the day went surprisingly well for the Trump campaign.  Mike Pence gave an excellent acceptance speech for the vice-presidential spot, showing how valuable his political skills are.  So did Newt Gingrich, who made the best case yet for the Trump candidacy.  Eric Trump, another Trump child, continued the rhetorical winning streak for the Trump children, one more articulate than the next.

Ted Cruz was the bump in the night.  He made, in his usual way, a brilliant speech supporting conservatism, but he did not endorse Trump, bringing a chorus of boos from the crowd.  He was essentially booed off the stage.  Many felt that Cruz was acting the sore loser, more concerned about himself and his feelings than party unity.  Others believed he was expressing true principles.  I frankly think this will hurt him in his political career, especially if Trump loses by a slim margin in November.   But I was once again impressed by his eloquence and his devotion to the Constitution.

The atmosphere, with the exception of the Cruz bump, was remarkably positive.  The hall was alive with the feeling of victory, if not complete unity.

And then...kaboom.

Toward the end of the evening it was revealed that Donald Trump had just given an interview on foreign policy to The New York Times.  As David Axelrod, former campaign strategist for Barack Obama, and a CNN commentator, immediately asked, why would a presidential candidate give an interview on complex subjects to a hostile newspaper on the eve of the most important moment of his campaign – his acceptance speech at his national convention?  An absolute blunder.

And the interview, which we'll discuss tomorrow, was a disaster.  Trump came off as incoherent, lacking knowledge and depth, and given to absurd statements, like questioning whether he'd come to the aid of a NATO country under attack until he looked up how that country met its obligations.  Sorry, Donny, it's a treaty obligation.  He also suggested that the United States, because of its own internal problems, should not be pressuring other countries on human rights – a position negating more than a half century of Republican foreign policy, and a view held by such worthies as Russia and China.

The interview will be used against Trump, to the extent that we can figure out what he was saying.

Trump will formally accept the Republican nomination tomorrow (Thursday) night.  It will be the speech of a lifetime.  For the first time in memory, a presidential candidate will have to give a speech in which he exhibits more intelligence, poise and maturity than his own children.  It's a tall order for Donald Trump.  He's been built up as this fatherly captain of industry.  He'd better come off that way.

July 20,  2016