Donald Trump, a multi-billionaire businessman and reality TV star, has been officially nominated as the Republican candidate in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. His coronation came Thursday night at the end of the Republican National Convention, a program that Trump promised would be an unforgettable spectacular. He got that half right: The four days of the convention will certainly be unforgettable; spectacular is another matter, however. The official program was marked more by who was not present than who was: leading lights in the GOP, such as all former presidents and presidential nominees, took a pass, save for former Sen. Robert Dole. Many congressional representatives in tight races were elsewhere. Speakers included B-list celebrities, Trump friends and family members, and some individuals whose presence defied explanation.
But if many of these speakers' messages will prove evanescent, the themes and images that are likely to endure will prove troubling for Trump and the GOP. Therein lies the grand failure of this week's Republican National Convention: The gathering of the faithful is supposed to demonstrate party unity and present ideas that will convince other voters that Trump and the GOP should occupy the White House. This week's convention was marked by disunity and an absence of ideas that could rally the country.
The problems began on the first day, when Melania Trump, the candidate's wife, gave a well-received speech — until it was discovered that two paragraphs had been lifted from a 2008 speech by first lady Michelle Obama. After a day denying any plagiarism, a staffer admitted to having borrowed the language. The incident should not be too important, but it hints at two troubling tendencies. First, the refusal to admit there was a problem feeds the image of an embattled and stubborn team that does not know how to deal with crisis. Second, the failure to catch the plagiarism ahead of time indicates a lack of attention to detail, a damning indicator when the entire convention is supposed to unfold in ways that focus all attention on the candidate in a positive sense.