Night one of the Republican National Convention featured lumps, thumps and Trump. Several moments brought lumps to your throat. Several brought severe thumps on Joe Biden and his socialist allies. And then there was President Trump. 

It also brought the both amusing and disturbing image of Donald Trump aboard the “It’s a Small World” ride at Disney World. 

Former Running Back Takes It All the Way

The Disney image came courtesy of former NFL star Hershel Walker, who’s been “a deep personal friend” of Trump for nearly 40 decades. 

Walker talked about watching Trump up close. “I watched him treat the janitors, security guards and waiters the same way he would treat a VIP. He made them feel special because he knew they were.” Trump told him, “make an effort to get to know people. Remember their names.” 

“One time, I had planned to take his kids to Disney World with my family. At the last minute, Donald said he’d like to join us. So there he was, in a business suit, on the ‘It’s a Small World’ ride. That was something to see. It just shows you what a caring, loving father he is.” 

The football star blasted the notion that Trump is a racist. He finds it “insulting” people would think he would be friends with a racist. “Growing up in the Deep South, I’ve seen racism up close. I know what it is. And it isn’t Donald Trump.” 

Herschel Walker's full remarks at the @GOPconvention#RNC2020 pic.twitter.com/AAfSuuhieR

— Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) August 25, 2020

South Carolina Represents 

Sen. Tim Scott also grew up in the Deep South. And he gave a soaring, happy testimonial to the greatness of America. “My family went from the cotton fields to congress in one lifetime.” He did get tough on Democrats, reminding viewers how Democrats called his police reform bill a “token.” They might as well have called him an “Uncle Tom.” Heck, after the speech, CNN’s Chris Cuomo accused Scott of “carrying water” for Trump.  Scott also reminded Americans of Biden’s recent racially charged statements. But Scott, being a genuinely upbeat person, returned quickly to his positive message. 

Our nation’s arc always bends back toward fairness. We are not fully where we want to be, but I thank God almighty we are not where we used to be. We are always striving to be better. When we stumble, and we will, we pick ourselves back up and try again. We don’t give in to cancel culture, or the radical — and factually baseless — belief that things are worse today than in the 1860s or the 1960s.

Fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley also shared her journey from being the daughter of Indian immigrants to becoming United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Haley described the U.N. as “a place where dictators, murderers and thieves denounce America — and then put their hands out and demand that we pay their bills.”

The former governor spoke of how her state came together after the horrible massacre at Mother Emmanuel Church. Black, white, Republican, Democrat. “It is now fashionable to say that America is racist. It is a lie,” she said, “America is not a racist country.” (To which Democratic talking head Leslie Marshall tweeted, “Says a white woman.” (Apparently, when you’re a conservative female, you’re white, even if both your parents are Indian.)

He Fled Cuba for Freedom

The most emotional testimony came from Cuban immigrant turned businessman Maximo Alvarez. Having fled the totalitarian regime in Cuba as a teen, he warned with voice quivering against America taking the socialist path. 

I heard the promises of Fidel Castro. And I can never forget all those who grew up around me, who looked like me, who suffered and starved and died because they believed those empty promises. They swallowed the communist poison pill.

Listening to the same promises from the Democrats today, Alvarez said, “I hear shadows of what I thought I had outrun.”

He spoke emotionally of his love for America, and uttered a line you wouldn’t hear in today’s Democratic party: “This is the greatest country in the world. If I gave away everything I have today, it would not equal 1% of what I was given when I came to this great country of ours: The gift of freedom.”

 

Average Citizens 

Some of the most powerful moments came average citizens telling their story.

Cancer survivor Natalie Harp, who told how Trump’s Right to Try law saved her life. 

West Virginia nurse Amy Ford, who shared how Trump’s embrace of Telehealth has saved countless lives.

Andrew Pollack, who lost his daughter in the Parkland massacre. Pollack recalled Trump’s kindness and his actions to prevent future school shootings. 

A group of first responders stood with President Trump in the White House, sharing their COVID-related experiences. This gave voters a chance to see what the mainstream media rarely shows: Donald Trump casually interacting with average folks, hearing their stories, peppering them with questions, generating chuckles. 

The RNC used this device a second time, with Trump sitting in the White House with six of the score of hostages Trump has managed to free from foreign lands. Trump heard their stories, accepted their heartfelt thanks, and promised more would be freed soon. (Does that include Biden from his basement?) 

Kimberly Guilfoyle and Her Boyfriend

The first night of the convention went so smoothly, with so many compelling, uplifting stories, the media could do little more than recite their pre-written talking points. Oh, and mock Kimberly Guilfoye for her “scary,” “loud,” “bizarre,” speech. “Kimberly Guilfoyle Yells at America for 6 Terrifying Minutes,” wrote New York magazine.  The former Fox News host, Trump campaign fund-raiser and girlfriend to Don, Jr. did give them some material. The Kimberly’s thermometer was up and she let loose. It was a Mama Rose of a speech, better delivered to a full theater or arena. A barn burner? It could have taken out a full farming community. 

But was she wrong in anything she said? Nope. She spoke of the dystopian disaster California has become, a “land of discarded needles in parks, riots in streets and blackouts in homes. In President Trump’s America, we light things up, we don’t dim them down. We build things up, we don’t burn them down.”

She warned that if Democrats take power, the U.S. will follow the socialist path of Cuba and Venezuela. And she had a message for Latinos and other minorities:

Don’t let the Democrats take you for granted. Don’t let them step on you. Don’t let them destroy your families, your lives and your future. Don’t let them kill future generations because they told you and brainwashed you and fed you lies that you weren’t good enough.

Donald Trump, Jr. had the punch line of the night, calling Biden “the Loch Ness monster of The Swamp.” Don Jr. also painted a bleak vision of life if Biden is elected. BBC wasn’t impressed, calling him “the son who is Trumpier than Trump.” But he must have been effective, because the Hollywood crowd was left mocking his watery eyes. “Did Kimberly G. yell at him?” wondered the once entertaining Bette Midler. 

Friends, when the best the media’s got is volume and watery eyes, you know it was a strong night for the Republicans.

Can they keep up the pace? 

Tonight features First Lady Melania Trump from the newly revamped Rose Garden, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from Jerusalem, Abby Johnson, along with a much-anticipated appearance by Covington Kid Nick Sandmann. With cameos from a certain former reality star who happens to be leader of the free world.

 

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream and co-author, with @JZmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl. And if you aren’t already, please follow The Stream at @Streamdotorg.