Welcome to Donald Trump’s Republican Party
Polls following the Republican convention have appeared and show a nice bounce for the Trump/Pence ticket. It was an enthusiastic crowd of 4,000 or so delegates that sent this ticket off to a November battle with the 90-plus New York delegates sitting right in from of the podium due to Donald Trump being a native new Yorker. And those New Yorkers could hardly be happier, taking pictures from their first class seats and sending messages to many back home describing their location.
I have been to several Republican National Conventions, and although I did not attend this convention, I would agree that it was very different from the ones I attended. For one, there were the many Trump family members who helped humanize Mr. Trump. For another, there was a very interesting mix of additional speakers. It’s not to say all conventions do not have good speakers, but this convention really attempted to focus on Trump’s strengths and Hillary’s weaknesses at every turn. There was much less emphasis on platform and philosophy. As they say, welcome to Donald Trump’s Republican Party.
Scott Baio, who grew up in the corner house at 80th Street and 10th Avenue and went to Xaverian during his “Happy Day” years, even mentioned the old neighborhood in his speech. He explained that he had been conservative his entire life and believed it was due to his upbringing in a community in which conservative values were simply a way of life. He did everything except mention Dyker Heights by name.