I en tale i Washington torsdag erklærte Donald Trump høytidelig at han aksepterer nominasjonen som kandidat ved det amerikanske presidentvalget. Aldri før har velgerne hatt et klarere valg mellom to partier, to visjoner, to filosofier eller to dagsordener, sa Trump i talen, som ble holdt på plenen utenfor Det hvite hus torsdag kveld amerikansk tid.

Etter å ha gitt anerkjennelse for myndighetenes håndtering av orkanen Laura, og takket både familien sin og visepresident Mike Pence, lovet Trump ny økonomisk fremgang for USA, og beskyttelse av landet mot alle farer etter gjenvalg i november.

Presidenten tok patriotisk til orde for å gjenvinne stoltheten over USAs historie og optimismen på landets fremtid:

We will LEAD AMERICA into new frontiers of ambition and discovery, and we will reach for new heights of national achievement. We will rekindle new faith in our values, new pride in our history, and a new spirit of unity that can ONLY be realized through love for our country. Because we understand that America is NOT a land cloaked in darkness, America is the torch that enlightens the entire world.

Trump fremhevet noen av de historiske skikkelsene hvis monumenter den senere tiden har vært utsatt for trusler fra den identitetspolitiske stemningsbølgen i kjølvannet av Black Lives Matter-protestene, som Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson og Ulysses Grant.

The Donald feiet også den amerikanske eksepsjonalismen:

What united generations past was an unshakable confidence in America’s destiny, and an unbreakable faith in the American People. They knew that our country is blessed by God, and has a special purpose in this world. It is that conviction that inspired the formation of our union, our westward expansion, the abolition of slavery, the passage of civil rights, the space program, and the overthrow of fascism, tyranny and communism.

Men USA er nå truet, advarte presidenten: Det vi har oppnådd, står på spill. Presidentvalget står mellom å bevare den amerikanske drømmen, eller å la en sosialistisk agenda knuse den, sa Trump.

It will decide whether we rapidly create millions of high paying jobs, or whether we crush our industries and send millions of these jobs overseas, as has foolishly been done for many decades.

Your vote will decide whether we protect law abiding Americans, or whether we give free reign to violent anarchists, agitators, and criminals who threaten our citizens.

And this election will decide whether we will defend the American Way of Life, or whether we allow a radical movement to completely dismantle and destroy it.

Joe Biden har vært 47 år i politikken, og har på den tiden bidratt til å flagge ut amerikanske industriarbeidsplasser, ikke minst til Kina, og starte kriger som ikke tar slutt, fremholdt Trump.

Demokratene har også et grunnleggende negativt syn på USA som bringer tankene hen på undertrykkende regimer, hevdet han:

In the left’s backward view, they do not see America as the most free, just, and exceptional nation on earth. Instead, they see a wicked nation that must be punished for its sins.

Our opponents say that redemption for YOU can only come from giving power to THEM. This is a tired anthem spoken by every repressive movement throughout history.

Amerikanere setter ikke sin lit til karrierepolitikere, men til Gud, fastslo Trump, som sa at han gikk inn i politikken fordi han var lei av å se på at andre land utnyttet USA.

I could not sit by as career politicians let other countries take advantage of us on trade, borders, foreign policy and national defense.

From the moment I left my former life behind, and a good life it was, I have done nothing but fight for YOU.

Trump tok æren for å ha gjort om på ufordelaktige handelsavtaler og trukket USA fra Paris-avtalen, styrket grensekontrollen, forhindret videre outsourcig, gjort landet energiuavhengig og kuttet ned på skatter og reguleringer. Resultatet ble verdenshistoriens sterkeste økonomi, sa han: Ledighetstallene har aldri vært lavere for svarte og latinamerikanere.

I have done more in three years for the black community than Joe Biden has done in 47 years—and when I’m reelected, the best is yet to come!

Presidenten minnet også om at han hadde trukket USA fra atomavtalen med Iran, eliminert Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi og Qasem Soleimani, og flyttet USAs ambassade i Israel til Jerusalem – uten at dette har ført amerikanerne ut i nye kriger.

Unlike previous administrations, I have kept America OUT of new wars – and our troops are coming home.

Vi har reparert skader som Joe Biden har anrettet de siste 47 årene, hevdet Trump.

Biden’s record is a shameful roll call of the most catastrophic betrayals and blunders in our lifetime. He has spent his entire career on the wrong side of history. Biden voted for the NAFTA disaster, the single worst trade deal ever enacted; he supported China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, one of the greatest economic disasters of all time. After those Biden calamities, the United States lost 1 in 4 manufacturing jobs.

Biden er Kinas foretrukne president, mente Trump:

As Vice President, he supported the Trans Pacific Partnership which would have been a death sentence for the U.S. Auto Industry; he backed the horrendous South Korea trade deal, which took many jobs from our country. He repeatedly supported mass amnesty for illegal immigrants. He voted FOR the Iraq War; he opposed the mission to take out Osama bin Laden; he opposed killing Soleimani; he oversaw the rise of ISIS, and cheered the rise of China as «a positive development» for America and the world. That’s why China supports Joe Biden and desperately wants him to win.

Det er derimot om å gjøre at Kina stilles til ansvar for å ha spredt koronaviruset verden rundt, fortsatte Trump. Biden på sin side ønsket ikke engang å stanse trafikken fra Kina:

Unfortunately, from the beginning, our opponents have shown themselves capable of nothing but a partisan ability to criticize. When I took bold action to issue a travel ban on China, Joe Biden called it hysterical and xenophobic. If we had listened to Joe, hundreds of thousands more Americans would have died.

Biden vil avvikle utvinningen av fossile energikilder i USA, hevdet Trump:

Biden has promised to abolish the production of American oil, coal, shale, and natural gas – laying waste to the economies of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Den demokratiske presidentkandidaten er derimot sjenerøs overfor ulovlige innvandrere, fortsatte han:

Joe Biden’s campaign has even published a 110-page policy platform co-authored with Far-Left Senator Bernie Sanders. The Biden-Bernie Manifesto calls for suspending ALL removals of illegal aliens, implementing nationwide Catch-and-Release; and providing illegal aliens with free taxpayer-funded lawyers.

He promised to end national security travel bans from Jihadist nations, and he pledged to increase refugee admissions by 700 percent.

Abortmotstanderen Trump anklaget også sin motkandidat for å ønske en ekstrem liberalisering av abortloven:

Joe Biden claims he has empathy for the vulnerable – yet the party he leads supports the extreme late-term abortion of defenseless babies right up to the moment of BIRTH.

Alle barn har en gudegitt rett til liv, konkluderte Trump.

Biden er sosialismens trojanske hest og i lomma på radikalere, hevdet Trump.

Biden is a Trojan horse for socialism. If Joe Biden doesn’t have the strength to stand up to wild-eyed Marxists like Bernie Sanders and his fellow radicals, then how is he ever going to stand up FOR you?

When asked if he supports cutting police funding, Joe Biden replied, «Yes, absolutely.» When Congresswoman Ilhan Omar called the Minneapolis police department a cancer that is «rotten to the root,» Biden wouldn’t disavow her support and reject her endorsement – he proudly displayed it on his website.

Hvis Biden blir president, kommer alle byene i landet til å se ut som demokratstyrte Portland, advarte Trump, som erklærte at han alltid står på politiets side.

We must remember that the overwhelming majority of police officers in this country are noble, courageous and honorable. We have to give law enforcement, our police, back their power.

Alternativet er kaos, mener Trump:

[W]hat we can never have in America – and must never allow – is MOB RULE. In the strongest possible terms, the Republican Party condemns the rioting, looting, arson and violence we have seen in Democrat-run cities like Kenosha, Minneapolis, Portland, Chicago, and New York.

Biden har aldri fordømt den senere tidens kriminalitet de byene som Demokratene styrer, hevdet Trump, men står snarere på vandalenes, brannstifternes og plyndrernes side, la han til, innen han konkluderte at Biden er svak.

Etter en ny hyllest av USAs historie avsluttet han den timeslange talen med store ambisjoner på landets vegne:

For America, nothing is impossible.

Over the next four years, we will prove worthy of this magnificent legacy. We will reach stunning new heights.