Six Takeaways From the Republican Convention

Donald J. Trump ended a buoyant gathering in Milwaukee with a speech that started solemn, turned rambling and showcased his all-encompassing power over his party.

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Trump Accepts the Republican Nomination

Former President Donald J. Trump concluded the Republican National Convention on Thursday with a speech that ran for more than an hour and a half.

[music: “God Bless the U.S.A.” by Lee Greenwood] I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America. Because there is no victory in winning for half of America. So tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for President of the United States. Thank you. We will very quickly make America great again. Thank you very much.

Former President Donald J. Trump concluded the Republican National Convention on Thursday with a speech that ran for more than an hour and a half.Credit

Donald J. Trump’s dramatic acceptance of his party’s nomination just days after a failed assassination attempt put an exclamation point on a triumphant week for a Republican Party that emerged from its convention confident and unified.

It was an evening of raw emotions, as Mr. Trump, for the first time on Thursday, recounted how a bullet “came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life.” Warning a rapt crowd that he would tell this tale only once because it was “too painful” to repeat, he spoke in a deliberate, almost meditative, cadence. He described being saved by providence and emerging “more determined than ever” to take back the White House.

The near-universal Republican embrace of Mr. Trump this week — after a deadly riot at the Capitol, an impeachment, four indictments and one criminal conviction since his last nomination — was all the more vivid because Democrats were tumbling further into turmoil over President Biden’s viability.

Trump being Trump, his remarks stretched past midnight on the East Coast, shattering his own record for the longest nominating speech. By the end, his meandering resembled the familiar grievances of his rallies. But nearly every ad-lib and scripted line was gobbled up by a party that has never seemed more in his grip.

Here are six takeaways from the consequential week of the Republican National Convention.

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The mood in Milwaukee was ebullient, so much so that one Republican governor warned of overconfidence.Credit…Jon Cherry for The New York Times

Trump recast himself. Then he relapsed.

It began with more restraint than red meat, at least by Trumpian standards.

“Just one time,” Mr. Trump said as he promised not to attack President Biden by name more than that. He soon lapsed. But the avoidance of his rival was not just a rhetorical tactic but a strategic imperative, given the uncertainty swirling around Mr. Biden.

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