Former President Donald Trump crushed the record for the longest-ever nomination acceptance speech on Thursday night at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, speaking for 92 minutes — past midnight on the East Coast — just days after surviving an assassination attempt.
ABC News and others reported that the 92-minute speech was a record. Trump often speaks off-the-cuff for more than an hour at campaign rallies, but to do so after nearly being killed, and late at night, was a signal that he is stronger than ever.
The contrast to President Joe Biden was implicit, but clear. With aides suggesting Biden is only at his prime from the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and with Biden publicly pledging to go to bed earlier, Trump showed his stamina.
CNN panned the speech, with Van Jones quipping, “Trump dodged a bullet on Saturday. Democrats dodged a bullet tonight.” Fellow panelists piled on, calling the latter part of the speech merely a collection of Trump’s “greatest hits.”
The beginning of the speech, they agreed, was riveting, as Trump described his personal experience of surviving the assassination attempt, and paid tribute to fallen firefighter Corey Coperatore, who was killed in the hail of bullets.
But the CNN panelists were convinced that Trump’s return to rhetorical form would turn off voters watching at home, even though he only used the word “Biden” once, and spent far less time on attacking his opponents than usual.
For fans of Trump, the return to form — including cracking jokes at his own expense — was a signal that he really is all right, though his ear remained bandaged and his gait appeared to have slowed since the horrific attack last Saturday.
And for those in the audience, for whom this Republican National Convention was a bonding experience as much as a political rally, Trump’s speech prolonged the joy of the week, which he predicted they would all miss when it was over.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
