OPINION:
Donald Trump stuck to the script during his victory speech Tuesday night and, in doing so, delivered some devastating blows to rival Hillary Clinton.
“Hillary Clinton turned the State Department into her private hedge fund. The Russians, the Saudis, the Chinese, all gave money to Bill and Hillary and got favorable treatment in return. It’s a sad day in America when foreign governments with deep pockets have more influence in our own country than our great citizens,” Mr. Trump said.
Amen.
“The Clintons have turned the politics of personal enrichment into an art form for themselves,” he said. “They’ve made hundreds of millions of dollars selling access, selling favors, selling government contracts, and I mean hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Mr. Trump then continued to hit Mrs. Clinton on her use of a private server — putting the security of the country at risk — and linking her to a third Obama term where the nation’s debt has climbed, crime has risen, schools are failing and the nation’s infrastructure has collapsed.
Just as some establishment Republicans were beginning to question Mr. Trump’s ability to act more presidential, he delivered the most presidential speech of his short political career. He hit on all the elements that have made his campaign so successful — putting America first in foreign policy and on trade deals. Bringing back jobs to the economy. That the only way to fix a corrupt system is through an outsider.
But most importantly, he attacked Mrs. Clinton. Although some in the GOP are still questioning whether to support the business mogul one thing is certain: Every Republican thinks Mrs. Clinton is ethically unfit for the White House.
Mr. Trump’s speech rattled the Democratic punditry — as it should.
“Trump is hitting his marks tonight in this speech — getting back to the themes/topics that have worked best for him this season,” tweeted David Chalian, CNN’s political director.
Mo Elleithee, former communications director for the Democratic National Committee, replied: “Exactly. Why he can’t be underestimated. Question is if he can stick to it.”
Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster, said “if Trump’s speeches for the next 5 months sound like last night’s victory speech, he will be tough to defeat.”
Newt Gingrich agreed.
“If [Trump] can stay on this path and stay this disciplined he’s going to be very formidable & will beat Hillary very badly,” he told Fox News Tuesday night.
Mr. Trump doesn’t have to read all of his speeches off the teleprompter? No. His supporters love the fact he’s not politically correct, and tells it like it is. It’s the reason for his success. But also wrapped up in that success is his promise to make America great again, deliver high paying jobs, improve the economy and return the government to the people. It’s for the Republican Party to become winners again and defeat Mrs. Clinton.
If he can stick to this message and drive it home, Democrats should be concerned.
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