Thirteen months after launching an improbable bid for the White House, Donald Trump captured the 2016 Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday, having vanquished 16 party rivals, warred with much of its establishment and provoked controversy at every turn.
His eldest child, Donald Trump Jr., announced the support of New York, their home state, during a roll-call vote at the Republican National Convention, ensuring Trump had the majority of delegates-1,237-needed to contest the Nov. 8 US presidential election against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Reuters reported.
With three of the candidate’s other children at his side, the younger Trump said: “It is my honor to be able to throw Donald Trump over the top in the delegate count tonight.”
“Congratulations, Dad. We love you,” he said.
Trump’s Democratic rival, Clinton, who has been the target of withering verbal attacks during the convention, was quick to respond to the vote, tweeting: “Donald Trump just became the Republican nominee. Chip in now to make sure he never steps foot in the Oval Office.”
Trump won with 1,725 delegates, followed by US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas with 475 delegates, Ohio Governor John Kasich with 120 and US Senator Marco Rubio of Florida with 114. Three other candidates emerged with a total of 12 delegates.
The result has not really been in doubt for months, but now it’s a reality. The Republican Party’s nomination for president of the United States is Donald Trump’s to accept when he takes the stage on Thursday night.
After the presidential nominating vote, the convention by voice vote nominated Indiana Governor Mike Pence, 57, Trump’s choice for his vice presidential running mate.
Restore Law in the US
Speaking to the convention for the first time since winning the nomination, Trump appeared on a video screen from New York promising to win the election in November, create jobs, strengthen the military, safeguard US borders and “restore law and order” in the United States.
The state-by-state vote to put Trump’s name in nomination took place a day after opponents staged a failed attempt to force a vote opposing his candidacy at the start of the four-day convention, and after a speech by his wife, Melania, drew accusations of plagiarism.
A former secretary of state under Obama, Clinton, 68, was due to be formally nominated at the Democratic National Convention next week in Philadelphia.
Trump trails Clinton in many opinion polls after a bruising Republican primary season. Trump narrowed his deficit against her to 7 percentage points from 15 points late last week, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.
Politics of Fear
In a campaign marked by insults and inflammatory rhetoric, Trump tapped into a deep vein of unhappiness running through white Middle America, giving voice to millions who felt left behind in the rush to globalization and who eschewed traditional establishment Republicans like Bush in favor of a brash political outsider who promised to “Make America Great Again”.
Opponents brand Trump a bigot with his calls to ban the entry of Muslims and to build a border wall with Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants.
Underscoring the problems Trump has faced with US allies abroad, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Trump threatened US and world security with his “politics of fear and isolation.”
Steinmeier told Reuters in a written interview that he was concerned about what he called Trump’s ambiguous vows to “make America strong again,” while simultaneously reducing its engagement overseas.
