On the second night of the Republican National Convention, President Trump didn’t just make promises but used the full muscle of the presidency to demonstrate the ideals and agenda he will pursue in a second term.
At the White House, Mr. Trump pardoned a Nevada bank robber who turned his life around in prison.
He deployed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Jerusalem to deliver a recorded address extolling the strength of Trump foreign policy.
And he hosted a naturalization ceremony at the White House for five new U.S. citizens.
“You’ve earned the most prized, treasured, cherished and priceless possession anywhere in the world — it’s called American citizenship,” Mr. Trump told the new U.S. citizens, handing them their citizenship documents. “There is no higher honor and no greater privilege.”
In virtual real-time, voters saw Mr. Trump perform an act of compassion and justice; his top diplomat showcase historic foreign policy wins fighting Islamic terrorism and forging Middle East peace; and Mr. Trump embrace legal immigration in stark contrast to his get-tough stance on border jumpers.
It was a prime-time TV show of presidential action that Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden can’t match.
Democrats and the left-leaning news media hated every minute of it.
CNN White House reporter Jim Acosta said on Twitter, “A naturalization ceremony, a pardon, and a Secretary of State speech all at a political convention. Trump is putting the government to work for his reelection.”
The Democratic National Committee huffed in an email to journalists, “Trump Doesn’t Care About Immigrants Unless He’s Using Them As Props. Trump has repeatedly tried to cut legal immigration and slowed down the naturalization process.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Mr. Pompeo’s speech “appalling.”
Her House Democrats launched an investigation over its propriety, saying Mr. Pompeo may have broken State Department rules or federal law by engaging in partisan activity while on official business.
Former Obama administration national security official Ben Rhodes tweeted of the second night of the convention, “The RNC is infused with the illegal and unethical use of everything from the White House to the presidential pardon power to the Secretary of State on official travel. Like the Trump presidency, it’s a criminal enterprise with the American people picking up the bill.”
Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh countered on Twitter: “Liberals are more upset about the use of government buildings than they ever were about the use of the FBI to target political opponents.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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