President Donald Trump stood on stage on the South Lawn of the White House and addressed a large, non-socially-distanced crowd on the final evening of the Republican National Convention.
He descended the White House steps with first lady Melania Trump to the tune of "God Bless the U.S.A." At the end of his acceptance speech — which lasted over 70 minutes, the longest in recent history — he was joined on stage by Donald Trump Jr., 42, Ivanka Trump, 38, Eric Trump, 36, Tiffany Trump, 26, and Barron Trump, 14. Kicking off his speech, he said, "All of my children and grandchildren, I love you more than words can express."
During his remarks, Trump touted his record over the past four years and how he handled the coronavirus pandemic.
He claimed his administration has pioneered treatments and that America “has among the lowest case fatality rates of any major country in the world.” NBC News reports that COVID-19 has killed more than 180,000 people in the U.S. since the end of February and has neared 6 million cases.
Trump also promised to have a COVID-19 "vaccine before the end of the year, or maybe even sooner."
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in July that the U.S. will know by the end of the year or beginning of 2021 whether a coronavirus vaccine is safe and effective.
The president also cited his support for police.
"My administration will always stand with the men and women of law enforcement," he said. "Every day police officers risk their lives to keep us safe, and every year many sacrifice their lives in the line of duty."
He added that Democratic nominee Joe Biden supports defunding the police. Biden "does not believe that police should be defunded," campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement in June.
“We must never allow mob rule," Trump said on Thursday of the recent civil unrest across the country. "In the strongest possible terms, the Republican party condemns the violence, the looting, the arson and violence we have seen in Democrat-run cities."
Ivanka Trump addressed the same crowd earlier in the evening to introduce her father and highlighted her father's “promises made and kept” to working families in his freshman term and how he's "changed Washington."
"But Donald Trump did not come to Washington to win praise from the Washington elites. Donald Trump came to Washington for one reason: to make America great again," Ivanka Trump said. "I recognize that my dad’s communication style is not to everyone’s taste. And I know that his tweets can feel a bit unfiltered, but the results, the results speak for themselves."
The White House adviser also noted his affinity for his 10 grandchildren. She said her 6-year-old son, Joseph, built his grandfather a Lego replica of the White House.
“The president still displays it on the mantel of the Oval Office … so he can show world leaders he has the greatest grandchildren on earth,” she laughed. “I agree.”
Earlier in the week, Trump's two oldest sons and youngest daughter, Tiffany, addressed the convention. Donald Trump Jr. spoke on Monday night, and Tiffany and Eric Trump followed on Tuesday.
