Republican Convention: Best and Worst Moments From Night 2
Our columnists and contributors give their rankings.
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Alan: I am surprised by the many good things New York Times writers have to say about the Republican National Convention's second night.
I even applaud a number of last night's anecdotal particulars, including Trump's one policy success generating bipartisan interest on prison reform.
That said, I thought the best comment came from Michelle Goldberg who asked "What does 'best' mean in the context of a pageant full of lies meant to entrench fascism?"
Goldberg's concluding comment was equally insightful: "Perhaps the best thing about the night was the speaker who wasn’t there. Mary Ann Mendoza, who was scheduled to speak, tweeted a QAnon thread earlier that day about a Jewish conspiracy to rob and oppress the goyim. She’s a perfect representative of the Trumpist movement, and the producers were smart enough to pull her."
If the curtain were pulled back on the essence of Liar, Cheat, Traitor, Thief, we would see that the crux of The Republican Party, particularly as it manifested in last night's "uplifting" moments, is kin to those Holocaust Concentration Camp officials who promoted "culture."
"Music In Concentration Camps, 1933-1945"
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mp/9460447.0001.102/--music-in-concentration-camps-1933-1945?rgn=main;view=fulltext
You still can't put lipstick on a pig.
And Donald Trump is an unusually porcine person.
Wajahat Ali I can’t pretend what we witnessed was in any way normal, routine or healthy for this nation. I refuse to judge it by a lower standard and rank a best moment, or to choose a least-horrible moment, from a night of gaslighting, falsehoods and fearmongering. I think this only normalizes vulgarity and dysfunction and harms this country. But, because I’m charitable, at least I didn’t laugh out loud this time.
Jamelle Bouie I am not the target audience for this event, so I’m trying to approach it as a neutral observer. From that perspective, the testimonials from ordinary people — emceed by Vice President Mike Pence — were the best produced and most effective moments of the night. The people in question felt genuine, and Pence is a talented performer of political empathy. That segment was also something of a paean to Abraham Lincoln, and I can’t help but appreciate that.
Linda Chavez The most appealing face of the evening: Jon Ponder, the convicted bank robber who turned his life around and founded Hope for Prisoners, a re-entry program. He managed to humanize Trump in a way not even his children could. Trump’s issuing a pardon for Ponder during the convention was an attention-getting stunt, but Ponder certainly deserved it, which is more than can be said for other recipients of Trump’s mercy like Roger Stone and Joe Arpaio.
Gail Collins Ryan Holets: You can’t beat the cop who adopted an addict’s baby.
Michelle Cottle Trump’s pardoning of Jon Ponder. Was this a cheap political stunt? Yep. But it was still an act of decency. Ponder looked weepy. His wife was beaming. And it put the spotlight on criminal justice reform, Trump’s rare bipartisan policy achievement.
Michelle Goldberg What does “best” mean in the context of a pageant full of lies meant to entrench fascism? In another context, the naturalization ceremony might have been inspiring; in this one it was disgustingly cynical. Perhaps the best thing about the night was the speaker who wasn’t there. Mary Ann Mendoza, who was scheduled to speak, tweeted a QAnon thread earlier that day about a Jewish conspiracy to rob and oppress the goyim. She’s a perfect representative of the Trumpist movement, and the producers were smart enough to pull her.
Nicole Hemmer Melania Trump opened her speech not only by acknowledging the pandemic, but also by sympathizing with the millions of Americans whose lives have been undone by it. Yes, I’m praising her for doing the bare minimum. But so far she’s the only headliner to do even that.
Nicholas Kristof Melania Trump’s expressing sympathy for those who have lost loved ones to Covid-19, at a convention where the dead have been largely erased, and highlighting issues of race and opioid addiction.
Matt Labash Whenever in Sin City, I’m typically too liquored-up, or down at blackjack, to visit the International Church of Las Vegas. But after hearing the opening prayer by its pastor, Norma Urrabazo, I might change my itinerary. She prayed for our police officers and those they’ve been in conflict with. She extolled unity, asking for reconciliation with God and each other. She prayed for all Americans, not just Republican ones. These are notes not often sounded nowadays. Here’s hoping Trump wasn’t too busy tweeting insults at “Sleepy Joe” or “MSDNC” to listen.
Liz Mair Daniel Cameron, the attorney general of Kentucky, gave a good speech, but the standout bit was a truthful zinger: “Let’s be honest, no one is excited about Joe Biden.” Harsh? Maybe, but also accurate. Lots of people like Biden, but he doesn’t fire his base up like Obama or Trump. That might turn out to be a good thing.
Daniel McCarthy Abby Johnson testified powerfully to the horrific realities of abortion and the ugly eugenicist history of Planned Parenthood, including the toll it takes on Black lives to this day.
Melanye Price Melania Trump. Her introduction video, though largely fictional, was the first time the convention planners seemed to understand that this is happening in a digital medium that requires some production. Also, her speech was the only one that seemed hopeful and above the fray.
Bret Stephens Nick Sandmann, the recent Covington Catholic High School grad, explained, with eloquence beyond his years, why so many Americans loathe so much of the news media. In his own way he’s the G.O.P.’s best answer to A.O.C.
Mimi Swartz Melania has a fabulous runway walk. That’s the best I can do.
Héctor Tobar Cris Peterson, the Wisconsin dairy farmer who told a story about families pulling together in the wake of a crisis. It didn’t really have anything to do with Donald Trump, though she tried to give him credit for keeping the milk flowing. But the attempts to humanize the president, his party and its policies were canceled by the many speeches with an ideological edge.
Peter Wehner Daniel Cameron, from Kentucky. His speech was elegant, historically literate and masterfully delivered. He was calm, hopeful and spoke about healing America’s wounds. He prosecuted an effective case against Biden while mostly avoiding Donald Trump. Cameron was like a figure from another era; he’s out of sync with the Trump G.O.P. Maybe one day he can help make the Republican Party great again.
Will Wilkinson The night’s best moments were wrapped inside the night’s worst moment: Trump’s using the office of the president for cynical campaign stunts. I was genuinely glad that Jon Ponder got a clean slate with a pardon. And there’s no greater civic joy than a naturalization ceremony. I couldn’t be happier for my freshly minted compatriots, but they deserved better than to be used as campaign props by a virulently anti-immigrant president who reportedly thinks people like them hail from “shithole countries.”
Worst Moments
Wajahat Ali The utter hypocrisy of the messaging. Republicans are against nepotism but many speakers are Trump’s family members. Pence says Republicans are the party of Lincoln, but they are supporting a president who defends Confederate flags and statues. The worst moment was trotting out immigrants of color in front of Trump for a citizenship ceremony. Republicans expect us to believe that the man who caged immigrant kids, promoted the Muslim ban and reportedly asked, “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” actually cares about people of color. I admire the shamelessness.
Jamelle Bouie The naturalization ceremony. Chad Wolf, even though he appears to be performing the duties of the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security outside the bounds of the law, performed a naturalization ceremony at the White House as part of a partisan event. (On Tuesday, Trump tweeted that he would, finally, officially nominate Wolf for the position. Perhaps now we know why.) The five immigrants onstage for that segment were put through what was possibly a sham event for the sake of a political infomercial. It’s disgraceful, and I’m sorry that it happened to them.
Linda Chavez Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, unleashed a torrent of dishonest attacks on Biden’s integrity, suggesting, with no evidence, that he used his office to line his family’s pockets. That’s pretty rich, given the string of ethical lapses by the president, his children and his appointees. From Ivanka’s expedited Chinese patents to the Kushner family’s hawking of entrepreneur visas to Chinese investors to the president’s raking in dough from government and lobbyists staying at his hotels and golf courses, the Trump administration has amassed the most corrupt record in American history.
Gail Collins This has to be a Trump. Tiffany’s “some cynical politicians do not seem to believe in the miracle of America” was deep high-school-rhetoric competition.
Or Eric? Was he looking worried because of the Biden campaign or that new investigation into the Trump Organization’s business practices in New York?
Melania wins for boredom. Definitely not worth tearing up the White House garden for.
Michelle Cottle Pam Bondi, a member of Trump’s impeachment defense team, had the dirty duty of smearing the Biden family. She rehashed the president’s specious claims that, Biden, as vice president, acted corruptly and aided his son Hunter’s business fortunes. She also floated vague charges against another, unnamed “close family member.” So icky.
Michelle Goldberg It’s a tough competition, but Mike Pompeo’s possibly illegal speech from Jerusalem was both a gross politicization of American diplomacy and a sneering statement about how this administration views the laws that bound their predecessors.
Nicole Hemmer The naturalization ceremony. A piece of propaganda for the most anti-immigration and anti-immigrant president in decades, it wasn’t just hypocritical, it made a mockery of a normally powerful ritual. And since this is the metric Trump cares about most: It was also incredibly boring.
Nicholas Kristof The use of the White House and secretary of state for naked political purposes, in breach of historical norms and probably the Hatch Act. Hmm. Maybe it’s fitting: Trump’s legacy will be his assault on norms and institutions, and that’s what he highlighted.
Matt Labash I used to respect Rand Paul as a man of conscience, back when he still had one. But it’s been some years since he called Donald Trump “a delusional narcissist and an orange-faced windbag.” With his speech tonight, Paul seemed to trip off an arms race to become Trump’s most reliable golf buddy/lap dog/apologist. He’d better be careful. It’s a coveted slot, at least for two more months. Lindsey Graham is probably outside the Mellon Auditorium tonight, cutting the brakes on Paul’s car.
Liz Mair Mike Pompeo really phoned it in tonight. If that was the best he could do, he should dispense with any 2024 presidential plans immediately, for everyone’s sake.
Daniel McCarthy Too many schmaltzy videos, like the one starring Mike Pence. The night as a whole seemed like a flashback to the Democratic convention or a pre-Trump Republican convention — feel-good emoting in consultant-crafted packaging.
Melanye Price Trump’s America is very dark and frightening, and if his supporters also see themselves as fighting off barbarians at the gate, it is no wonder that some wave guns against unarmed citizens, protesting on a street. If I bought into this narrative, I would be in full fight-or-flight mode all the time.
Bret Stephens Mike Pompeo’s speech from Jerusalem was, in its way, everything that’s wrong with the Trump administration: It violated protocols and probably rules, and put Pompeo’s political interests ahead of the national interest. Nauseating.
Mimi Swartz Tough choice, with the recently subpoenaed Eric Trump’s breathlessly praising his tough, incorruptible dad and the former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s smearing Biden family members. Runner-up: Mike Pompeo plays politics for Trump on a taxpayer-funded trip to Israel.
Héctor Tobar Trump’s signing a pardon and staging a naturalization ceremony, with grateful people of color. These prime-time acts of White House theater were a cynical attempt to erase years of race-baiting and anti-immigrant rhetoric. We haven’t forgotten, Mr. President: You’re still the same man who questioned Barack Obama’s citizenship, praised white supremacists and caged thousands of immigrant children.
Peter Wehner Mike Pompeo’s speech. It wasn’t the worst speech of the evening, but it was the most cynical. The speech shouldn’t have been delivered; a secretary of state delivering a convention speech from foreign soil was certainly inappropriate. His politicization of the State Department is injurious, the transgression of yet another norm during the Trump era. And his portrayal of Trump’s foreign policy record was deeply misleading. Pompeo is a bright man who knows better. But character matters more than intelligence. Pompeo is a political hack with a prestigious title.
Will Wilkinson Trump’s use of official powers inside the White House as part of his re-election campaign is dangerously authoritarian. He is actively personalizing the powers of the office. He wants us to know that they’re his powers. It’s up to him whether you live as a felon for the rest of your life, whether you get to be a dues-paying member of the national club. The White House is his house, so he’s naturally using it to campaign. But, as Trump sees it, he shouldn’t need to campaign. Because these awesome powers inhere in him, not a temporary constitutional role. That’s the point he’s making.
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