CLEVELAND, July 20, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on July 19, 2016 shows the scene of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, the United States. New York billionaire Donald Trump clinched enough delegate votes to be officially selected as Republican presidential nominee Tuesday evening in the roll call voting at the ongoing Republican National Convention. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu/IANS)
Cleveland, July 20 (IANS) Manhattan real estate mogul Donald Trump was officially crowned as the 2016 Republican Presidential nominee at the partys convention on Tuesday after a roll call vote overshadowed by dissent and apathy.
Trump sailed to the 1,237-delegate threshold, with his home state of New York putting him over the top, Politico reported.
After winning the nomination, Trump tweeted: "Such a great honor to be the Republican Nominee for President of the United States. I will work hard and never let you down! AMERICA FIRST!"
A giant image of the nominee was beamed into the arena, live via satellite link from Trump Tower in New York City.
"Together we have received historic results, with the largest vote total in the history of the Republican party. This is a movement and we have to go all the way," Trump said.
In the three-minute address, Trump anticipated his big convention speech, rattling through a list of policies such as strengthening the border, "getting rid" of the Islamic State, and "restoring law and order".
"Ill be discussing all that on Thursday night, he said. But together, most importantly, were going to make America great again.
The results were declared on the second day of the Republican National Convention (RNC) here after Trump's son, Donald Trump Junior, announced the 89 delegates that formally clinched the nomination.
"It is my honour to be able to throw Donald Trump over the top in the delegate count tonight with 89 delegates," Donald Junior said, surrounded by three of Trump's other children -- Ivanka, Eric and Tiffany.
Donald Junior was tearing up when he told CNN that putting his father over the top was "one of the more surreal moments of my life other perhaps than the birth of my children. To be able to do that is historic, its awesome."
Trump is scheduled to address the convention via remote from New York on Wednesday evening.
Indiana Governor Mike Pence was also formally nominated on Tuesday night as the Republican Party's choice for Vice President.
The effort to nominate Texas Senator Ted Cruz late on Tuesday afternoon had no chance of success since most of the delegates won by Trump in his Grand Old Party (GOP) nominating victory were bound to vote for him in the roll call under the rules of the Republican primary process.
Cruz's inner circle had adamantly opposed any attempt to involve him in last minute convention floor intrigue, a senior adviser to the Texas senator told CNN.
Trump's name was put into the nomination by Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, an early supporter of the businessman, and was seconded by fellow early supporters New York Representative Chris Collins and South Carolina Lt Governor Henry McMaster.
The business magnate's official nomination is a new apex in the political outsider's campaign to shake up Washington.
His White House bid began last June with a widely panned, rambling speech in which he blasted Mexicans as "rapists" and pledged to build a wall on the southern border that Mexico will pay for, Politico noted.
Trump's campaign has seemingly endured strife almost daily since its inception.
Republican leaders were slow to back his campaign and have continued to condemn his controversial rhetoric and actions. But his message has resonated with an overwhelming number of voters who have propelled him atop the Party.
Particularly outraged with the result was the Washington, D.C., delegation, which held its convention in March and attempted to award 10 votes to former hopefuls Marco Rubio and nine to John Kasich. But convention officials announced the rules merit Trump be award all 19 delegates from the nation's capital, NBC News reported.
"This is an outrage, and this is a reason the Republican Party is turning off a lot of voters," a Kasich delegate from Washington D.C. told MSNBC.
After Trump had clinched the nomination, the Alaskan delegation contested how its vote total was recorded. They originally requested 12 votes go to Ted Cruz, 11 to Trump and five to Rubio, but the RNC recorded all 28 votes to Trump.
However, the appeal was unsuccessful because, RNC Chair Reince Priebus said, all the votes went to Trump because Rubio and Cruz suspended their campaigns.
Trump was declared the "presumptive nominee" on May 3 following his decisive victory in Indiana, which ultimately vanquished Cruz and Kasich from the primary and he entered the convention with 1,543 delegates.
The official nomination followed a rocky first day start of the RNC, the biggest backlash being Trump's wife Melania speech being compared to the one Michelle Obama gave during the 2008 Democratic Convention.
Donald Trump is expected to formally accept the nomination during his prime-time speech on Thursday.
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