The emotional highpoints were generated by the many guests in the gallery: The grieving families who lost their daughters to violent gang members; the parents of Otto Warmbier; a policeman who adopted the child of a homeless addict. The most powerful moment belonged to Ji Seong-ho, a man who escaped North Korea on ragged crutches to find freedom in the South.

But the speech focused primarily on the American people. Instead of promising all the wonderful things the government would do, Trump underlined that its citizens were her salvation.

“[T]hey are Americans. And this Capitol, this city, and this nation belong to them,” he concluded. “Our task is to respect them, to listen to them, to serve them, to protect them, and to always be worthy of them.”

The modern Democratic Party believes that the American people belong to the government — and fervently wish the rabble won’t embarrass them so. We’ll find out in November which message is more attractive.

Published in Politics