CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA — President Trump on Monday basked in the adorning glow of the Republican National Convention and declared: “Success brings unity.”
Mr. Trump coined the maxim shortly after the convention’s unanimous vote to nominate him for another four-year term, in effect completing the transformation of the GOP into the Party of Trump.
He told the delegates in the Charlotte Convention Center, which is locked down as a precaution against the novel coronavirus, that he had not only united the party but brought Americans together through prosperity, which would return under his leadership.
“We have to win. Our country is counting on it,” said the president.
The scene — beyond the strangeness of the quarantine of the convention hall — reflected a GOP in lockstep with Mr. Trump in a way that was unimaginable four years ago.
His most vocal Republican foes from 2016 have converted to Trumpism, been banished to the political sidelines or embraced Democratic nominee Joseph R. Biden.
“Donald Trump is his own party,” convention delegate and former Rep. Lou Barletta told The Washington Times after announcing Pennsylvania’s backing of the president on the convention floor.
Mr. Barletta, one of the first Congress members to endorse Mr. Trump in 2016, said this year’s convention will show that the enthusiasm is stronger and the party more solidified.
“You saw the unity today. He’s gotten every delegate’s vote and people who I know were not supportive of the president in 2016, I saw their enthusiasm for him today,” he said. “He’s won those over who doubted he could do what he said he could do.”
The roll call vote and the president’s hour-long speech kicked off a four-day convention that will showcase Mr. Trump’s successes and his promise to beat COVID-19 and restore the pre-virus economic boom.
The convention will culminate Thursday night with Mr. Trump accepting the nomination.
The president’s speech Monday broke with the tradition of the chosen nominee making only a brief appearance, often just waving and making no remarks.
Mr. Trump couldn’t resist revving up the crowd.
“As usual he did a great job of energizing his base. He’s kind of larger than life in the room,” said Edmund H. Driggs, a Charlotte City Council member at the convention.
Democrats have attempted to argue that the GOP is divided, highlighting former Republican officeholders who are backing Mr. Biden this year. But they are the exception, not the rule.
“I don’t think that those voices will be any more significant than they were in 2016. These folks were all against Donald Trump four years ago,” said Charlie Gerow, a GOP strategist and senior official with the American Conservative Union.
Mr. Trump did have opponents during the primary, including former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld and former Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois. Between them, they won only one convention delegate, which Mr. Weld claimed in Iowa. Mr. Trump won more than 2,300.
Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton both lost more delegates than that in their 2012 and 1996 re-election primaries.
Even after the GOP contest was over and Mr. Weld and Mr. Walsh dropped out, voters kept showing up, Mr. Gerow said. He pointed to his home state of Pennsylvania as proof. More than 1 million GOP voters showed up for a coronavirus-delayed primary in June, despite having no substantial contested races on the ballot.
“You can only chalk that up to one thing. There was enthusiasm for Trump,” Mr. Gerow said.
He also counts himself as a convert, having not been a big fan of Mr. Trump in 2016.
“I’m all in,” he told The Times.
The unity contrasts sharply with the GOP’s 2016 convention when a ruckus broke out on the floor after delegates tried to force a divisive showdown over rules that prevented some states from voting for non-Trump candidates.
Ken Cuccinelli, then a delegate from Virginia, threw down his credentials and stormed out. He’s now Mr. Trump’s No. 2 man at Homeland Security.
And Sen. Ted Cruz, who gave a speech to the 2016 convention without endorsing Mr. Trump, is one of his biggest backers this year.
Mr. Trump’s rally-style speech to the delegates previewed the messaging of the convention.
Later, during the convention’s prime-time speeches, the same themes of fighting for law and order, individual freedom and economic prosperity were expected to dominate the remarks.
Some of the stars from the Trump orbit slated to take the stage Monday night include Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations, Donald Trump Jr. and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.
In his impromptu afternoon speech, the president pledged to fully fund police and promote school choice, expand urban opportunity zones and plant an American flag on Mars.
Faulting the Obama-Biden administration for neglecting NASA, he said the space agency “had grass growing through cracks in its runways” when he took office.
“We’re going to the moon. We’re going to Mars. We’ll be the first on Mars,” Mr. Trump said.
He also made a pitch for the support of Black and Hispanic voters, boasting of record-low unemployment numbers before the coronavirus crisis.
Mr. Trump accused Democratic governors of keeping states such as North Carolina in coronavirus shutdown mode to inflict economic damage ahead of the Nov. 3 election, and he predicted they will reopen everything when the voting is done.
“On Nov. 4, it will all open up,” he said. “They want to make our numbers look as bad as possible for the election.”
⦁ Stephen Dinan reported from Washington.
