Mike Pence’s speech was the best on ground for both conventions
Mike Pence made tough criticisms in a tone more of sorrow than of anger, and with the best defence imaginable of the Trump record. If only the Republican ticket were reversed.
Pence gave the standout speech of the Republican convention so far. In fact it was by some distance the best speech at either the Democratic or Republican conventions.
It was solid, sober, well structured, some nice applause lines, a little emotion but not too much, tough criticisms made but in a tone more of sorrow than of anger, and with the best defence imaginable of the Trump record.
Pence’s killer line was this: “You won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America.”
Pence made the most solid defence possible of the Trump record. He charted the economic dynamism that Trump’s policies unleashed before coronavirus, the record low unemployment rates for women and for African Americans, the enabling of American energy development through fracking and deregulation that led to the biggest economy in the world becoming a net energy exporter for the first time in decades. And now, with the intensity of COVID-19 somewhat in decline, the US economy is roaring back.
Pence went beyond the economy, of course. The Trump administration has rebuilt the US military, with the biggest increase in defence spending since Ronald Reagan. In foreign policy, the administration had stood up to China, defeated ISIS, took out the worst Iranian director of terrorism, supported Israel and produced the first Arab-Israeli peace agreement in nearly 30 years.
Pence went through the social agenda. The administration is pro-life. It appointed more than 200 conservative judges.
The Vice-President also launched by far the most effective and strongest attack on Biden. It wasn’t personal and it wasn’t nasty. It was based on Biden’s record and policies. It was devastating.
The Democrats had a four-day conference, Pence observed, and didn’t once mention the violence roiling US cities. Biden has agreed he would shift money from police to social programs. Pence thinks that means Americans will be less safe.
Biden will ban fracking and fossil fuels and the economy will suffer, Pence argued. Biden criticised Trump when he took out terrorist leaders and as vice- president opposed Barack Obama’s decision to order a strike on Osama bin Laden.
Pence also gave the most comprehensive defence so far of Trump’s record on COVID. The worst part of Trump’s handling of the virus was his undisciplined and at times deeply foolish talk. Pence made the case that the actions were better than words — the early ban on travel from China, the rapid manufacture of ventilators and the wide range of aid given to states.
Entirely because of Trump’s undisciplined mouth, his administration will never be able to win this issue in the public mind, but they need to argue their case and reduce it as a negative. Pence did that better than anyone else.
He then prosecuted the two strongest issues for the Republicans — they will be better at reviving the economy, and more determined to secure law and order.
There was a strong pro-life theme through the night. Both sides had a nun speak to their conventions. The Republican, Deidre Byrne, wore the traditional full black habit and praised Trump as the most pro-life president. A narrow small religious point of view from a cloistered mind? It turns out Sister Byrne is a surgeon, has been an army colonel and was a medical first responder at 9/11.
The other highlight came from Richard Grenell, a former US ambassador to Germany and acting Director of National Intelligence, who gave the single most powerful defence of Trumps’ foreign policy.
He is also, incidentally, the first openly gay man to serve in a US cabinet.
It’s still potentially quite a big voting coalition that Trump is aiming for.
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If only the Republican ticket were reversed and Mike Pence, instead of Donald Trump, was the presidential candidate, there would be a much more presidential temperament, with a much more presidential character, in charge at the White House.