The Republican Party formally nominated Donald Trump for president of the United States Tuesday, capping a roller-coaster campaign that saw the billionaire tycoon defeat 16 White House rivals. / AFP PHOTO /
CLEVELAND, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump’s eldest son on Tuesday electrified the Republican National Convention with a passionate speech painting his “best friend” and father as the candidate most qualified to lead America.
It was a sweeping speech peppered with personal anecdotes seeking to humanize his father and which sought to expand Trump’s paltry appeal among minorities, presenting him as a man who can do the impossible.
Donald Trump Jr, a married father of five, touched on themes of economic inequality, job creation, and promised healthcare for “our most vulnerable citizens” and to improve public education.
“My siblings and I growing up were truly fortunate to have choices and options that others don’t. We want all Americans to have those same opportunities,” the 38-year-old told the convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
He portrayed his father as a businessman who had elevated blue collar workers, spent his career with “regular Americans” hanging out “with guys on construction sites” and who valued their opinions.
He went the furthest the Trump campaign has done so far in reaching out to African American and minority voters, and referenced the loss of hundreds of lives in inner city Chicago since 2009.
He spoke of immigration — one of the most divisive aspects of his father’s campaign — by saying that the current system “drives down employment and wages for Hispanics, African Americans.”
“We will unleash the creative spirit and energy of all Americans. We will make our schools the best in the world for every single American of every ethnicity and background,” he said to applause.
As president, he vowed he his father would reform the taxation system, end special loopholes for the wealthy and reform immigration to give citizens jobs.
“We are going to put Americans first, all Americans, not a special class of elites at the top,” he said.
“We are the only children of billionaires comfortable in a caterpillar as we are in our own cars.”
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