Every time the big two American political parties get together to nominate a presidential candidate, they set a theme for the convention. The hope is to make this theme the dominant story of the rest of the campaign.
Normally, the theme—whether Democrat or Republican—is contrived and hinges on slogans or single words that are as meaningful as diluted water. However, this time around the Republicans are building a campaign theme with substance and real-world appeal.
That theme is: Conservatism is a working-class ideology. Conservatism works in practice. Conservatism liberates people, elevates communities, and inspires the pursuit of prosperity and self-determination.
Already with his choice of J.D. Vance for vice president, Donald Trump set this tone for the rest of his campaign. Senator Vance grew up under circumstances that are as familiar to millions of Americans as they are alien to the political elite in Washington. His journey from a childhood with a broken family and abject poverty was echoed on the first day of the GOP convention when other speakers shared their stories.
One of them was Amber Rose, a model, rapper, and mother. She made no qualms about what she first thought of Donald Trump when he ran for president in 2016:
The first person I knew who supported Donald Trump was my father. I was shocked. My entire family is racially diverse. And I believed the left-wing propaganda that Donald Trump was a racist.
When her father asked her to prove it, Amber Rose “looked into all things Donald Trump” and came to a surprising conclusion:
I realized Donald Trump and his supporters don’t care if you are black, white, straight, or gay, it’s all love. And that’s when it hit me: these are my people, this is where I belong.
Tim Scott, the senator from South Carolina, is another person who personifies the old saying that ‘from small things, big things one day come.’ His address to the convention, at times almost sermon-like, was inspiring:
I was raised by a single mom in poverty. We had plastic spoons, not silver spoons. But she taught me to work hard, to take responsibility, and reject victimhood. Thank God for my wonderful mama!
The senator wrapped up his speech with a phrase that, in its simplicity, is both classic and challenging: “America is not a racist country!”
Perhaps the biggest surprise on the stage on the first day of the GOP convention was single mom Sarah Workman. She has no political background that would merit her to be invited to speak to the Republican convention. Her claim to fame is that she works two jobs to stay afloat after losing her husband to drug addiction. Her story, shared by far too many others across America, drove a dagger through the heart of America’s political elite:
If you are watching tonight and you hear your own story in mine, Donald Trump put me on this stage to show that he hears us, he sees us, and we are forgotten no more.
In so many words: Sarah Workman, Amber Rose, Tim Scott, and J.D. Vance make Donald Trump the working man’s president. They are the voices, the examples, of how conservatism is the working man’s hope for a better life.
Republican Convention: Trump is the Working Man’s President
Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP
Every time the big two American political parties get together to nominate a presidential candidate, they set a theme for the convention. The hope is to make this theme the dominant story of the rest of the campaign.
Normally, the theme—whether Democrat or Republican—is contrived and hinges on slogans or single words that are as meaningful as diluted water. However, this time around the Republicans are building a campaign theme with substance and real-world appeal.
That theme is: Conservatism is a working-class ideology. Conservatism works in practice. Conservatism liberates people, elevates communities, and inspires the pursuit of prosperity and self-determination.
Already with his choice of J.D. Vance for vice president, Donald Trump set this tone for the rest of his campaign. Senator Vance grew up under circumstances that are as familiar to millions of Americans as they are alien to the political elite in Washington. His journey from a childhood with a broken family and abject poverty was echoed on the first day of the GOP convention when other speakers shared their stories.
One of them was Amber Rose, a model, rapper, and mother. She made no qualms about what she first thought of Donald Trump when he ran for president in 2016:
When her father asked her to prove it, Amber Rose “looked into all things Donald Trump” and came to a surprising conclusion:
Tim Scott, the senator from South Carolina, is another person who personifies the old saying that ‘from small things, big things one day come.’ His address to the convention, at times almost sermon-like, was inspiring:
The senator wrapped up his speech with a phrase that, in its simplicity, is both classic and challenging: “America is not a racist country!”
Perhaps the biggest surprise on the stage on the first day of the GOP convention was single mom Sarah Workman. She has no political background that would merit her to be invited to speak to the Republican convention. Her claim to fame is that she works two jobs to stay afloat after losing her husband to drug addiction. Her story, shared by far too many others across America, drove a dagger through the heart of America’s political elite:
In so many words: Sarah Workman, Amber Rose, Tim Scott, and J.D. Vance make Donald Trump the working man’s president. They are the voices, the examples, of how conservatism is the working man’s hope for a better life.
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