Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on Thursday. AP PHOTO / CAROLYN KASTER
CLEVELAND — It was a fitting tribute to one of the most unorthodox and unscripted presidential candidates in recent history: A roller coaster ride that wrapped up Thursday after some remarkable highs and lows, and one final twist.
Donald Trump, the former reality show star, claimed the GOP presidential nomination, culminating a four-day convention that mirrored the chaos of reality television: It was messy, dramatic and prone to veer in unexpected directions.
It ended with Trump painting a dire portrait of America in decline and promising a return to “safety, prosperity and peace.”
Here are five things we learned from the 2016 Republican National Convention about Trump, his campaign and the state of the GOP that could impact the election outcome in Florida and beyond.
'A moment of crisis'
Trump took the GOP by storm by effectively channeling its fears and frustrations on everything from illegal immigration to the economy, terrorism and crime. He promised a get-tough approach and took more extreme positions than any other candidate. It worked in the primary, but some wondered if he'd tone down his rhetoric heading into the general election in an effort to try to appeal more broadly. Instead, Trump doubled down Thursday.
“Our convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation,” Trump began, before launching into a sustained description of everything that Trump views as wrong with the country. He didn't shy away from his most controversial proposals, saying he wants to temporarily ban immigration from any country “that has been compromised by terrorism” — a slight step back from his initial plan to ban all Muslims from the country — and that “we are going to build a great border wall.” He talked about the jobs lost to China and other countries and promised “we are going to start building and making things again.”
Trump is betting that angst about the direction of the country will be the motivating force this election.
There's plenty of evidence that the electorate is unusually anxious about many of the issues Trump is highlighting, but the economy continues to grow — however slowly — and it's not clear that issues such as terrorism and immigration are enough to propel Trump to victory. And his controversial proposals on both fronts continue to alienate significant demographic groups, especially Hispanics, who constitute a large voting block in Florida.
Trump the statesman
While Trump hasn't changed his proposals, he did change his delivery Thursday and showed he can be disciplined when he wants to be.
Trump largely stayed on script and projected a calm, more subdued demeanor that is often lacking in his rambling, finger-pointing rallies. He even ignored a protester — it wouldn't have been a Trump event without one — who unfurled a banner halfway through the speech and was escorted out by security.
One of the biggest concerns many Republicans have about Trump is his irascible and unpredictable behavior. The world was watching Thursday to see if Trump could be more restrained, even statesman-like. He turned in a strong, if somewhat less charismatic, performance. Whether he can keep it up is another question. Trump has toned down his approach in the past, only to revert back to a more free-wheeling style. It's what his fans want, leaving the candidate walking a tightrope between being himself and being measured enough that people can picture him in the White House.
So much for GOP unity
Many Republicans were eager to put the contentious primary season behind them and unite to take on Hillary Clinton in November, and there's no doubt that the vast majority of the party is behind Trump heading out of Cleveland. But U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's dramatic refusal to endorse Trump on Wednesday night exploded any hope of the party claiming a completely unified front coming out of the convention.
The unity question will continue to dog Trump. Whether it makes a difference in November remains to be seen, but even if a small fraction of loyal Republican voters stay home, skip over Trump's name on the ballot or vote for a third-party candidate, it could be significant in a closely contested swing state such as Florida.
Disorganized campaign
There was a lot of talk leading up to the convention about Trump's lack of campaign infrastructure and organization. The convention didn't do much to reassure supporters that the candidate is running a tight ship.
From the quality of the speakers to the campaign's inability to control the message, prevent unnecessary controversies from cropping up and tamp down opposition, there was a sense throughout the four days that this was not top-notch political professionalism at work. The plagiarism accusations surrounding Melania Trump's speech were entirely avoidable, as was the showdown with Cruz.
Trump often seems to thrive on controversy, chaos and defying conventional political wisdom. But good preparation and organization matter in politics, like they do in business and just about everything else in life. With Clinton mobilizing a massive ground game in Florida and other swing states, and pummeling Trump with television ads, the GOP candidate needs to get more professional, and quick, to mount a counter attack.
Pence a good pick
It was overshadowed by Cruz's antics, but the speech delivered by Trump's vice presidential nominee Mike Pence was among the convention's best performances. Pence is everything Trump's not: Modest, self-deprecating and reliably conservative. He may be the best hope Trump has of reaching the type of conservative ideologues who flocked to Cruz and still might be wavering on the GOP nominee. Some Florida Republicans who have kept their distance from Trump, such as incoming House Speaker Richard Corcoran, were effusive in praising Pence's performance.
Trump also has a strong group of surrogates in his children. They gave solid speeches that showed personality and stage presence. As Pence said: “You can't fake good kids.” That Trump's children all seemed to have turned out well could help convince some swing voters that he has the right temperament and values, two areas where he's been criticized. His daughter, Ivanka, made a direct appeal to female voters Thursday, saying her dad is a champion for women in the workplace.
“He hires the best person for the job — period,” she said. She talked about “equal pay for equal work,” helping families find affordable child care and changing the labor laws to help working mothers. Trump needs to win over more female voters and Ivanka could be a big help.
