WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s silent confession lay tightly wrapped inside the trappings of the White House, a fireworks show on the National Mall and a long speech in which he accepted the Republican Party’s nomination and congratulated himself for a job well done.
It’s the quiet part he won’t dare say out loud: as of now, he’s in control here.
“In a new term as president, we will again build the greatest economy in history — quickly returning to full employment, soaring incomes and record prosperity!” Trump said Thursday night from the South Lawn of the White House.
“We will defend America against all threats and protect America against all dangers,” he continued. “We will rekindle new faith in our values, new pride in our history and a new spirit of unity that can only be realized through love for our country.”
It’s not clear what he is waiting for. He has the power now that he says he needs to make the country “great again — again,” as Vice President Mike Pence put it earlier this week.
At the end of a week of dizzying contradictions spun by speakers at the Republican convention, the most brazen was Trump’s implicit assertion that he is responsible for everything good that has happened during his time in office and that others — Democratic mayors, China and “the deep state” high on the list — are to blame for all of the country’s problems.
What Are Your Thoughts?
