The former president who sparked a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol less than four years ago took the stage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Thursday night claiming to desire an end to the "discord and division in our society."
But Donald Trump's record, rhetoric throughout the 2024 campaign, insidious plans for a second term, and remarks as he accepted his party's presidential nomination give the lie to his fleeting attempt to posture as a unifying figure, critics said in the wake of the former president's speech, which came days after an attempt on his life in Pennsylvania.
"What we witnessed tonight were just empty words," said Christina Harvey, executive director of Stand Up America. "This is the same twice-impeached, convicted felon who botched the Covid response, repeatedly tried to take healthcare away from millions of Americans, incited an insurrection to cling to power after voters rejected him, and to this day brags about appointing the justices that 'killed' Roe v. Wade."
"Let's be clear—Trump hasn't changed. He's only gotten more extreme," Harvey added. "If elected, he will enact the radical Project 2025 plan that allows employers to stop paying overtime, takes away health protections for preexisting conditions, and lets the government monitor Americans' pregnancies to potentially prosecute them if they miscarry. The damage of a second Trump term won't just last for four years. Trump would appoint more MAGA justices to the Supreme Court who will continue eroding our freedoms for decades. We must vote this November to keep Trump out of the Oval Office and protect our democracy and fundamental freedoms."
Not long after pledging to "be president for all of America, not half of America," Trump reverted to well-worn falsehoods about his 2020 election defeat, claiming that the Democratic Party "used Covid to cheat."
The former president also decried the supposed "invasion at our southern border" and reiterated his disastrous plan to "launch the largest deportation operation in the history of our country" as convention attendees hoisted signs that read, "Mass Deportation Now!"
"This is a very bad speech by a very weak, beatable candidate."
While claiming to support the working class, Trump—whose campaign is backed by more than a dozen billionaires—launched into an attack on United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain, declaring that the labor leader who helped guide his union to historic contract victories at the nation's largest car manufacturers "should be fired immediately."
The UAW said in response that "Donald Trump is a scab and a billionaire and that's who he represents."
"We know which side we're on," added the union, which endorsed President Joe Biden earlier this year. "Not his."
To progressive observers, Trump's rambling, lie-filled, often incoherent convention address underscored that the November election is very much winnable for Democrats and that fatalism about the outcome is deeply wrongheaded.
"This is a very bad speech by a very weak, beatable candidate," said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible.
Those who have urged Biden to exit the race and pave the way for a candidate perceived as a stronger matchup against Trump—a deeply unpopular figure—reiterated their case during the former president's speech, which dragged on for more than 90 minutes.
"The party that runs someone who isn't Trump or Biden will win this election," wrote progressive organizer Aaron Regunberg. "We just need to make sure that's our party."
In recent days, Democratic congressional leaders and prominent members of the party—including former President Barack Obama—have expressed concerns about Biden's ability to defeat Trump in November. A survey released this week found that 65% of Democratic voters want Biden to drop out of the race.
One unnamed senior Democrat toldThe Financial Times on Thursday that the pressure on Biden to exit has become "insurmountable" and predicted he would be "out by Monday."
"Other people close to the party leadership said it could happen earlier," the newspaper added.
