I didn’t watch Donald Trump’s speech last night, but I saw Twitter blow up but not in the usual way.
The speech was being received by all but the most diehard #NeverTrump-ers as the long-awaited “pivot,” a reasonable policy and campaign speech read from a teleprompter.
The prepared text of the speech is here. It’s quite good. But ….
It’s not exactly the “Let Trump be Trump” pivot we all were expecting with the naming of Breitbart News Chairman Steve Bannon to lead the Trump campaign. With Paul Manafort resigning from the campaign this morning, one would have expected Trump’s pivot to be more aggressive. The speech, however, appeared to be the opposite of letting Trump be Trump, at least if Trump being Trump was what we have seen the past year on the campaign trail.
Here’s an excerpt from the opening [quotes from speech below from prepared text]:
I’d like to take a moment to talk about the heartbreak and devastation in Louisiana, a state that is very special to me.We are one nation. When one state hurts, we all hurt – and we must all work together to lift each other up. Working, building, restoring together.Our prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones, and we send them our deepest condolences. Though words cannot express the sadness one feels at times like this, I hope everyone in Louisiana knows that our country is praying for them and standing with them to help them in these difficult hours.We are one country, one people, and we will have together one great future.
And some more in what is being called the “regrets” move:
As you know, I am not a politician. I have worked in business, creating jobs and rebuilding neighborhoods my entire adult life. I’ve never wanted to use the language of the insiders, and I’ve never been politically correct – it takes far too much time, and can often make more difficult.Sometimes, in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don’t choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that, and I regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues.But one thing I can promise you is this: I will always tell you the truth.I speak the truth for all of you, and for everyone in this country who doesn’t have a voice.I speak the truth on behalf of the factory worker who lost his or her job.I speak the truth on behalf of the Veteran who has been denied the medical care they need – and so many are not making it. They are dying.I speak the truth on behalf of the family living near the border that deserves to be safe in their own country but is instead living with no security at all.Our campaign is about representing the great majority of Americans – Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Conservatives and Liberals – who read the newspaper, or turn on the TV, and don’t hear anyone speaking for them. All they hear are insiders fighting for insiders.These are the forgotten men and women in our society, and they are angry at so much on so many levels. The poverty, the unemployment, the failing schools, the jobs moving to other countries.I am fighting for these forgotten Americans.
And an appeal to groups that have not traditionally voted Republican [this wording varied a little in the delivered speech]:
To be one united nation, we must protect all of our people. But we must also provide opportunities for all of our people.We cannot make America Great Again if we leave any community behind.Nearly Four in ten African-American children are living in poverty.I will not rest until children of every color in this country are fully included in the American Dream.Jobs, safety, opportunity. Fair and equal representation. This is what I promise to African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and all Americans.
And a direct appeal for black votes:
Finally, we are going to bring this country together. We are going to do it by emphasizing what we all have in common as Americans. We are going to reject the bigotry of Hillary Clinton, which sees communities of color only as votes and not as human beings worthy of a better future.If African-American voters give Donald Trump a chance by giving me their vote, the result for them will be amazing. Look at how badly things are going under decades of Democratic leadership – look at the schools, look at the 58% of young African-Americans not working. It is time for change.What do you have to lose by trying something new? – I will fix it. This means so much to me, and I will work as hard as I can to bring new opportunity to places in our country which have not known opportunity in a very long time.Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party have taken African-American votes totally for granted. Because the votes have been automatically there, there has been no reason for Democrats to produce.It is time to break with the failures of the past, and to fight for every last American child in this country to have the better future they deserve.
Does this sound like the Trump being Trump we saw on the campaign trail so far?
This speech was quite different in tone and delivery from the rousing off-the-cuff speeches that won Trump the nomination. It was a controlled, focused approach to the concerns of citizens abandoned and betrayed by the political and media elites.
It’s not as if he didn’t take it to Hillary, he did:
Aren’t you tired of a system that gets rich at your expense?Aren’t you tired of the same old lies and the same old broken promises? And Hillary Clinton has proven to be one of the greatest liars of all time.Aren’t you tired of arrogant leaders who look down on you, instead of serving and protecting you?That is all about to change – and it’s about to change soon. We are going to put the American people first again….So while sometimes I can be too honest, Hillary Clinton is the exact opposite: she never tells the truth. One lie after another, and getting worse each passing day.The American people are still waiting for Hillary Clinton to apologize for all of the many lies she’s told to them, and the many times she’s betrayed them.Tell me, has Hillary Clinton ever apologized for lying about her illegal email server and deleting 33,000 emails?Has Hillary Clinton apologized for turning the State Department into a pay-for-play operation where favors are sold to the highest bidder?Has she apologized for lying to the families who lost loved ones at Benghazi?Has she apologized for putting Iran on the path to nuclear weapons?Has she apologized for Iraq? For Libya? For Syria? Has she apologized for unleashing ISIS across the world?Has Hillary Clinton apologized for the decisions she made that have led to so much death, destruction and terrorism?
Time and Trump’s Twitter feed will tell if this marks a new chapter in the Trump campaign, and whether it is too late to be successful.
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