By Jared Holt
Investigative Reporter
Right Wing Watch
Several Republican National Convention speakers used their Monday speaking slots to portray President Donald Trump as a strongman defending “Western civilization” against forces that would seek to destroy it, including Black Lives Matter protesters, so-called “cancel culture,” and the Democratic presidential ticket.
Charlie Kirk, leader of the conservative student group Turning Point USA, opened this year’s RNC speaking in a personal capacity. He told viewers that the 2020 election was a decision “between preserving America as we know it and eliminating everything that we love.” He also likened Trump to the Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln’s preservation of the Union during the Civil War.
“Trump is the bodyguard of Western civilization,” Kirk said. “Trump was elected to protect our families from the vengeful mob that seeks to destroy our way of life, neighborhoods, schools, churches, and values.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Floridatold Republicans that they must reelect Trump and “fight to save America now, or we may lose her forever.”
“The dangerous left need America to be weaker to accomplish their goal of replacing her,” Gaetz said. “We must win this election if we cherish our country as much as we should, for there is no place to run, no refuge for freedom should we fail.”
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said that the Republican Party is “the pro-America party” and that Trump is its “pro-America candidate.”
“This election is about who can preserve the values, principles, and institutions that make America great,” Jordan said.
St. Louis, Missouri, couple Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who pointed firearms at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home and were charged with felonies for unlawful use of a weapon, were presented as righteous Americans who defended their property. Patricia McCloskey warned viewers that what they experienced “could just as easily happen to any of you who are watching from quiet neighborhoods around our country.”
The McCloskeys lamented that one of the Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home that day will likely be elected to serve in Congress this November.
“These radicals are not content with marching in the streets. They want to walk the halls of Congress. They want to take over. They want power,” Mark McCloskey said. “This is Joe Biden’s party. These are the people who will be in charge of your future and the future of your children.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host turned Trump campaign senior adviser, said it was important to reelect Trump because “Biden, Harris, and the rest of the socialists will fundamentally change this nation.” She portrayed the 2020 election as a stand against the radical left. She is currently dating the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr.
“This election is a battle for the soul of America. Your choice is clear. Do you support the cancel culture? The cosmopolitan elites of Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Joe Biden who blame America first? Do you think America is to blame, or do you believe in American greatness? [Do you] believe in yourself, in President Trump, and individual and personal responsibility?” Guilfoyle said.
“They want to destroy this country and everything that we have fought for and hold dear,” she continued. ”They want to steal your liberty, your freedom. They want to control what you see and think and believe so that they can control how you live. They want to enslave you to the weak, dependent, liberal victim ideology to the point that you will not recognize this country or yourself.”
The president’s adult son Donald Trump Jr. echoed many of Guilfoyle’s remarks.
“It’s almost like this election is shaping up to be church, work, and school versus rioting, looting, and vandalism,” Trump Jr. said,“Or in the words of Biden and the Democrats, ‘peaceful protesting.’”
Originally published by Right Wing Watch, 08.25.2020, a project of People for the American Way, a program of Open Society Foundations, under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license.