Trump strength and Trump tough. That's what the country needs and that's the subject of the riff. All eyes will be on President Donald Trump tonight, as he gives the keynote speech at the Republican convention here in Milwaukee and accepts his party’s third nomination for president. It will be Mr. Trump’s first speech since the horrific assassination attempt on his life, where God intervened to prevent the unthinkable from happening. "I was saved by the grace of God," the former president said.
My guess is, virtually the entire world will be watching this speech and my expectation is that Mr. Trump will continue a theme he was developing before the assassination attempt. That is, successful, common-sense policies will unite the country. Here, take a listen to how President Trump summed it up.
TRUMP: "Every day we are welcoming more Americans to our ranks, African Americans and Hispanics, Asian Americans, young people, old people, you union members and union members. Basically, everyone is joining our movement because it's a movement of common sense."
He may well speak about his personal feelings after the assassination attempt, and how providential interference may have changed him. Everyone will be looking for those things. In terms of his policy messaging, I hark back to his platform, which is the growthiest in over four decades—tax cuts, deregulation, drill baby drill, secure the border. Here, take a listen:
TRUMP: "The biggest problem is that their policy are no good. Their policies are horrible. Americans want strong borders, not open borders. We want low taxes, not high taxes. // We want American energy independence, not all electric cars like the Green new scam. It's a great scam. Above all, we want America first, not America last."
Mr. Trump’s speech was previewed by Senator JD Vance’s vice presidential acceptance speech last night, where he emphasized his hard-scrabble background, his Marine Corps service and his reaching out to working families. Take a listen:
JD VANCE: "The lack of good jobs, of course, led to stagnant wages and then the Democrats flooded this country with millions of illegal aliens. So, citizens had to compete with people who shouldn't even be here for precious housing. Joe Biden's inflation crisis, my friends, is really an affordability crisis and many of the people that I grew up with can't afford to pay more for groceries, more for gas, more for rent. That's exactly what Joe Biden's economy has given them."
Powerful stuff! Perhaps more than anything else, Donald Trump will be standing in front of the GOP convention, on his feet, with plenty of energy, and a message that is wildly popular among voters. The Joe Biden Democrats have attacked him, impeached him, weaponized the judicial system with lawfare against him, tried to bankrupt him, and then a crazy person actually tried to assassinate him, but Mr. Trump will be there tonight, standing tall, with strength, and toughness for all the world to see.
I call it "Trump strength." I call it "Trump tough." I think it’s the kind of leadership that all of America and America’s friends around the world are yearning for. That’s my riff.
This article is adapted from Larry Kudlow’s opening commentary on the July 18, 2024, edition of "Kudlow."
