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By Reuters 
15h ago
Jeff Mason and Joseph Ax
Washington – A defiant President Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination for a second term on Thursday with a scathing attack on his rival Joe Biden, claiming that a Democratic victory in November would only exacerbate the racial struggle and the coronavirus pandemic that plagues the nation.
Speaking from the South Lawn of the White House despite criticism that he was using executive residence as political endorsement, Trump portrayed Biden, a career politician with a long record as a moderate, as a far-left extremist who would brand the beginning of a dangerous and lawless America. .
“This election will decide whether we protect law-abiding Americans or unleash violent anarchic and criminal agitators who threaten our citizens,” Trump said on the fourth and final night of the Republican National Convention in a speech that lasted plus. from one hour.
“No one will be safe in Biden’s America.”
Despite the pandemic that has killed more than 180,000 Americans, Trump delivered his remarks before a crowd of more than 1,000, standing in front of dozens of American flags and chanting chants of “Four more years!” and use!”
Although he is a headline, Trump is still a self-described outsider, an approach that earned him the White House, his first elected office, in 2016 on a promise to end the crime and violence that he said was afflicting the country.
After days of civil unrest and violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where police shot a black man, Jacob Blake, in the back on Sunday, Republicans on Thursday sought to take advantage of the chaos by claiming that Biden would “defund the police.” . Biden has rejected that position.
As the night progressed, Biden responded on Twitter, writing: “When Donald Trump says that tonight you will not be safe in Joe Biden’s America, look around you and ask yourself: How safe do you feel in the United States? United of Donald Trump? “
In trying to paint Biden as a tool of the “radical left,” Trump also distorted the political positions of the Democrats on a number of other issues, including immigration, guns, law enforcement, abortion, and energy production.
“Given the opportunity, it will be the destroyer of American greatness,” Trump warned.
The made-for-TV scene, befitting the first reality TV host to serve as president, was in stark contrast to Biden’s acceptance speech last week, which was broadcast live from a largely empty arena in a nod to the disease. .
After the speech, fireworks exploded over the Washington Monument as the president and his family watched, giving Trump and the convention a powerful closing picture.
The crowd, sitting in white chairs inches apart, showed little evidence of social distancing or face masks despite the recommendations of health experts. But the Trump campaign said it had taken the proper health precautions when hosting the South Lawn event.
In a reminder of the country’s divisions, attendees were able to hear anti-Trump protesters honking their horns near the White House as he spoke, a noise occasionally heard on the live broadcast.
Trump, a former New York real estate developer, seeks to reverse a re-election campaign that has been largely overshadowed by a health crisis that has left millions of Americans out of work and killed more people than in any other country, according to a Reuters tally.
His campaign also comes in the context of a new wave of protests over the latest high-profile police shooting of an African American. In Kenosha, relative calm returned after three nights of civil unrest that ended Tuesday, which included arson, vandalism and deadly shootings.
In his speech Thursday, Trump repeated his claim that China is to blame for the pandemic and vowed in his second term to impose tariffs on any company leaving the United States to create jobs abroad, one of the rare concrete policy proposals of the night.
He also vowed to rebuild what Republicans have called the “largest economy” in history and attacked Biden for saying he would shut down the country if necessary to slow the spread of the disease. Many health experts blame the resurgence of coronavirus cases on states that reopened businesses too soon.
“Joe Biden’s plan is not a solution to the virus, but a surrender,” Trump said.
While Trump’s popularity with Republican voters remains high, dissent within the party is on the rise. In three open letters published Thursday and Friday, Biden won the endorsement of more than 160 people who worked for former Republican President George W. Bush or former Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and John McCain, the New York Times and Politico reported. .
Thursday’s show aimed to counter those defections, with a video showing former Democratic voters saying they now support Trump and comments from U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who left the Democratic Party to join Republicans after voting in against Trump’s impeachment this year.
The show featured several emotional appeals, including those from the parents of Kayla Mueller, a humanitarian worker who died after being held captive for months by Islamic State militants in Syria. Mueller’s parents said they blamed the Obama administration for failing to rescue Mueller.
Trump kicked off the week Monday by accusing Democrats of trying to steal the election by advocating for voting by mail. His previous high-profile speeches have also emphasized grim themes, including his inaugural address in January 2017 that described the “American carnage.”
With the conventions of both parties now complete, the campaign will enter its final and frantic stretch. Biden, who has largely avoided in-person events since March due to the pandemic, said at a fundraiser Thursday that he hopes to travel to various battle states after early September, albeit in a way that he described as responsible.
Trump, who has visited several battle states during the pandemic, also plans to increase his campaign trips.
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