CLEVELAND (AP) — Barring a last-minute jolt to the proceedings, Donald Trump is about to attain his party’s presidential nomination.
This, despite efforts to stop him that spilled messily into the opening of the Republican National Convention. As his wife, Melania, put it from the stage on Monday night, “It would not be a Trump contest without excitement and drama.”
Instead of a manicured message of unity, viewers saw the fractured face of a party still coming to grips with Trump as nominee. But the roll call of states Tuesday night is on track to deliver him the prize.
The convention’s opening night had a high note as Mrs. Trump spoke on behalf of her husband. But two passages from her speech strikingly resembled words spoken by Michelle Obama in 2008.
with a theme of “Make America Work Again.”
After years of anemic economic growth, the lowest labor-force participation rate in nearly four decades, and job-killing regulations and legislation like Obamacare, we need leaders who will boost opportunity for all. Rather than crushing middle-class families, the Republican Party will deliver real results that level the playing field and get Americans working again.
Barring something unexpected, Trump will get his triumph tonight as his delegates at the Republican convention officially make him the party’s presidential nominee.
Speakers scheduled to take the stage include House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former presidential hopeful Dr. Ben Carson, and two of Trump’s children: Tiffany and Donald, Jr.
The first day of rallies outside the convention featured angry rhetoric, armed attendees and an arrest, but authorities avoided the sort of violence they fear could still flare up.
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams told reporters Monday evening, “So far, so good.”
Hundreds of Trump supporters and foes had held dueling rallies a half-mile apart.
Williams says bicycle officers moved in several times to keep sniping between groups from becoming violent.
The one arrest involved a person on the city’s Public Square who had a felony warrant and also is being charged with resisting arrest and obstructing official business.
The riverside pro-Trump rally attracted about a dozen attendees who showed up with handguns strapped to their belts as allowed under Ohio law. Blocks away, protesters shouted about police mistreatment.