'We are going to win the presidency' - Trump

CLEVELAND -- Donald Trump told the Republican National Convention on Tuesday that he would win the White House in November, saying he was "so proud" to be their nominee for US president.

"This is a movement. But we have to go all the way. I am so proud to be your nominee for president," he told delegates by video link.

The New York billionaire, who has never previously held public office, said it had been "a very special day" to watch his adult children declare New York's delegate count that put him over the top.

"What we did getting the party's nomination, I will never forget it," he said. "With your vote today, this stage of the presidential process has come to a close. Together we have achieved historic results."

Trump will address the convention in person on Thursday when he will formally accept the nomination and promised to outline "how we build a brighter and more hopeful future for all Americans."

"We are going to win the presidency and bring real change and leadership back to Washington," he said to applause. "We will win in November."

He praised his pick for vice president, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, as an "incredible man" who would make "a great vice president."

source: interaksyon.com

Cleveland on security knife edge for Republican convention

CLEVELAND - Cleveland deployed overwhelming security Sunday, bracing for possible violent protests as delegates poured into town for the Republican National Convention that will anoint Donald Trump the party's US presidential nominee.

The killing of three police officers Sunday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana only added to the tensions in Cleveland, where law enforcement agencies have thrown a ring of steel around downtown.

Authorities in the city on the shores of Lake Erie have erected eight-foot-tall (2.5-meter) metal fencing around the Quicken Loans Arena, closed off streets and deployed thousands of armed police officers.

The four-day political jamboree, which kicks off Monday, will see the bombastic billionaire secure the nomination for the Party of Lincoln after a thumping primary victory that confounded the US establishment.

Roads in the Ohio city are lined with concrete barriers and helicopters patrol overhead, as light aircraft, paid for by sponsors, trail anti-Hillary Clinton slogans.

Law enforcement is on edge, braced for protests from demonstrators enraged by Trump's divisive presidential campaign and preparing for the worst after anti-police violence erupted in Louisiana.

At least three officers were shot dead and three others wounded in Baton Rouge, one of America's most racially segregated cities, which has seen days of protests against the treatment of blacks by law enforcement. The motivation for the latest shooting was not immediately clear, however.

Cleveland, a Midwestern city of nearly 400,000, has taken out $50 million in protest insurance, and Ohio's open-carry law, allowing people with proper permits to carry a loaded weapon on the streets, has inflamed fears of violence.

"We have policies in place for mass arrests through our prosecutor's office, our clerk's office and our court system," Cleveland police chief Calvin Williams told a news conference.

Williams said barricades had also been erected downtown to thwart any potential terror attack after a truck bomber killed 84 people in the French city of Nice last Thursday.

"We use blocking vehicles, we use concrete barriers and things like that at positions that we think may be vulnerable to attacks like that which happened in Nice," he said.

Declare war against ISIS

Trump, a New York tycoon who has never held elected office and who opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, vowed in his latest interview to wage war against the so-called Islamic State extremist group, which is also known as ISIS.

"We're going to declare war against ISIS. We have to wipe out ISIS," he told CBS in excerpts aired on the eve of the convention, which will culminate with a Trump speech accepting the nomination on Thursday.

"I am going to have very few troops on the ground. We're going to have unbelievable intelligence, which we need, which, right now, we don't have. We don't have the people over there," said Trump.

US Special Forces are already operating on the ground against IS, backed by US-led air strikes.

Trump made the remarks in his first joint interview with his pick for vice president, Indiana's conservative governor Mike Pence, an evangelical Catholic.

Trump's choice of Pence, announced Friday, has been welcomed by 61 percent of Republicans and conservatives in critical battlegrounds, states likely to decide the November election, according to a CBS News poll.

The survey found that these voters believe Pence brings stability to the ticket and will boost Trump's chances of defeating Clinton. Pence, however, is not well known beyond the party rank and file.

National polls show Trump tied with Clinton, who was branded "extremely careless" by the FBI in handling classified material in a long-running email scandal dating from her time as secretary of state.

Critics and protests

But Trump faces a herculean task to win over legions of critics.

His salty rhetoric and populist message have outraged many conservatives, raising fears he has fanned a racial backlash and prompting a battle for the soul of the Republican Party.

Unusually, the Cleveland convention features no former presidents, few party luminaries and only a smattering of elected officials. Instead it is expected to hand a starring role to Trump's family to make his case.

The first major anti-Trump protest was to kick off at around 4:00 pm (2000 GMT) Sunday, advertised as a "march against racism, Islamophobia, attacks on immigrants and on LGBTQ people and endless war" and was expected to draw 1,000 people or more.

Another "Stop Trump" march has been permitted by the city for noon on Monday, just hours before the convention launch.

The US homeland security secretary, Jeh Johnson, told Congress last week that he was concerned about demonstrations getting out of hand.

US authorities have been on alert since a gunman intent on killing white policemen went on a rampage and shot five Dallas officers dead earlier this month.

US political conventions, quadrennial affairs, are designed to bring a party together, formally select its presidential nominee and catapult the candidate and party towards November's election.

source: interaksyon.com

In circuitous speech, Trump touts VP pick Pence as man to unify party

NEW YORK  - US presidential hopeful Donald Trump on Saturday presented his vice presidential running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, as the man who can unify a fractured Republican party and help him bridge the gap created by the candidate's outsider status.

In a wide-ranging speech in which he touted his own "landslide" victory in the Republican primaries, Trump cast Pence as a perfect complement for the White House: a veteran of government, a man with a Midwestern sensibility and strong Republican credentials as a job creator and budget balancer.

"Indiana Governor Mike Pence was my first choice, I've admired the work he's done, especially in the state of Indiana," Trump said at an event in New York City.

"And one of the reasons is party unity, so many people have said, party unity. Because I'm an outsider," he added in explaining his decision.

Trump and Pence made their debut just two days before the beginning of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, where delegates from around the country will convene to officially nominate the pair as their party's ticket for the Nov. 8 election.

Frequently straying from the notes on the lectern, Trump talked about himself and likely Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, often detouring from the purpose of the event: to introduce a little-known politician to the broader public.

"Back to Mike Pence," Trump said, interrupting himself during a lengthy explanation about why evangelical voters support his candidacy. He then read a series of statistics highlighting the job growth in Indiana.

"He looks very good," added the New York real estate mogul, who is known to comment openly on people's appearances.

Trump had a bit of a winding path to settle on Pence, a devout Christian and conservative. He postponed his planned Friday announcement after the deadly attack in Nice, France and saying he had not made his "final, final decision," Trump privately had second thoughts on who to pick in late-night conversations on Thursday, said a Republican source familiar with the situation.

Trump had been annoyed that the element of surprise had been taken away by the leaking of Pence's name, the source added. Trump ended up announcing Pence as his running mate on Twitter on Friday.

Saturday's event in a New York City hotel ballroom had few of the traditional hallmarks of what is arguably one of the most important decisions for a presidential candidate. Before it started, supporters listened to the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want," a tune in regular rotation at Trump events.

There were no "Trump Pence" signs distributed to the crowd or adorning the room. The two appeared together on stage only briefly - each standing out of view while the other one spoke.

On stage, they made scant eye contact and shook hands rather than raising arms together in the classic pose of running mates. Neither offered anecdotal stories about their private time together.

'Come together'

Pence, in sharp contrast to Trump, delivered a prepared speech, discussing the love of his wife and country and his adoration for Ronald Reagan. He gave a full-throated call to fellow Republicans to back Trump.

"Lets come together as a party, as a people, as a movement, to make America great again and that day begins when Donald Trump becomes the 45th president of the United States of America," Pence said.

Trump has struggled to bridge the gap between himself and the establishment and conservative wings of the party. The drastically different styles highlighted Pence's ability to provide a complementing tone to the presidential ticket.

It's unclear when the two will appear together again. Pence heads back to Indiana for a solo event on Saturday night, and the Trump campaign hasn't released a schedule for the convention that would include a joint appearance.

The pair recorded an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" that is scheduled to air on Sunday night.

One of their big challenges will be to brook their policy differences in public. Pence gave a nod to that by saying "strong Republican leadership can bring about real change."

Trump has made renegotiating trade deals a central theme of his campaign, while Pence has spoken in favor of trade agreements. In an appearance on Friday night on Fox News, Pence offered a moderated take on trade, saying he agrees with Trump that deals should be renegotiated.

He also softened his vocal opposition to Trump's call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States.

"I am very supportive of Donald Trump's call to temporarily suspend immigration from countries where terrorist influence and impact represents a threat to the United States," Pence told conservative Fox News commentator Sean Hannity.

Pence added that he supports Trump's call for building a wall along the US border with Mexico. (Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Cleveland)

source: interaksyon.com