Trump accepts presidential nomination, paints bleak picture of America

Cleveland, July 22 (IANS) Donald Trump after formally accepting the Republican party's presidential nomination, painted a bleak picture of America sliding deeper into poverty, violence and corruption and declared himself the only person who could avert disaster.

Accepting the Republican nomination in Cleveland on Thursday on the last day of the National Convention, the Manhattan billionaire twice pledged to be a "voice" for working Americans, restore law and order and to confound elites and doubters by winning the White House in the upcoming November 8 elections, CNN reported.

"Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it," Trump said, adding "My message is that things have to change -- and they have to change right now."

Trump, whose unpredictable campaign has broken every rule of politics, portrayed America as a broken nation that only he could fix, CNN said.

"I have a message for all of you: the crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end," he said, adding "Beginning on January 20, 2017, safety will be restored."

He then went on to say, "Our convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation. The attacks on our police, and the terrorism in our cities, threaten our very way of life."

Trump also promised to create millions of new jobs by building “the roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, and the railways of tomorrow.”

The real estate magnate was introduced by his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump.

"For more than a year, Donald Trump has been the people's champion and tonight, he's the people's nominee," she said.

"This is the moment and Donald Trump is the person to make America great again," CNN reported citing Ivanka as saying.

The evening included historic moments. Tech billionaire Peter Thiel became the first platform speaker ever to tell the Republican National Convention that he was proud to be gay.

In Trump's lengthy address - at 75 minutes, the longest convention acceptance address since 1972 - he said the nation's security is under threat from immigrants and illegal immigration and linked them to the rising number of crimes in the country.

"Nearly 180,000 people with criminal records ordered deported from our country are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens," NBC News quoted Trump as saying.

He stuck to his controversial campaign promise to build a wall on the Mexican border but slightly adapted his equally inflammatory proposed ban on Muslims entering the US.

“We must immediately suspend immigration from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism until such time as proven vetting mechanisms have been put in place,” The Guardian reported citing Trump as saying.

“We are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs and the violence, and to stop the drugs from pouring into our communities,” added Trump.

To conclude his speech, he lashed out at Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by blasting Clinton’s foreign policy record as secretary of state - citing the bloody tumult in Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Libya - saying her legacy is “death, destruction, terrorism and weakness” and a “change in leadership” is needed, Fox News reported.

“Hillary Clinton’s legacy does not have to be America’s legacy,” he said.

Drawing a contrast with Clinton’s campaign slogan “I’m with her”, he declared: “I am with you”, Fox News said.

“I am your voice,” he pledged, stressing each word carefully as if claiming the popular will as his own.

Trump was officially declared as the Republican presidential nominee on Tuesday after he sailed to the 1,237-delegate threshold, with his home state of New York putting him over the top.

The results were declared on the second day of the Republican National Convention (RNC) here after Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., announced the 89 delegates that formally clinched the nomination, Politico reported. He was declared the "presumptive nominee" in May after both hopefuls Ohio Governor John Kasich and Texas Senator Ted Cruz withdrew their candidacy.