Full transcript of Donald Trump’s acceptance speech at the RNC
Below is a complete transcript of Donald Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016. Also see our fact check of Trump's speech.
Friends, delegates and fellow Americans: I humbly and gratefully accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States.
And that the Republican Party would get 60 percent more votes than it received eight years ago. Who would have believed it? The Democrats on the other hand, received 20 percent fewer votes than they got four years ago, not so good.
Together, we will lead our party back to the White House, and we will lead our country back to safety, prosperity, and peace. We will be a country of generosity and warmth. But we will also be a country of law and order.
Our convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation. The attacks on our police, and the terrorism in our cities, threaten our very way of life. Any politician who does not grasp this danger is not fit to lead our country.
Americans watching this address tonight have seen the recent images of violence in our streets and the chaos in our communities. Many have witnessed this violence personally. Some have even been its victims.
I have a message for all of you: The crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon — and I mean very soon come to an end. Beginning on January 20th 2017, safety will be restored.
The most basic duty of government is to defend the lives of its citizens. Any government that fails to do so is a government unworthy to lead.
It is finally time for a straightforward assessment of the state of our nation. I will present the facts plainly and honestly. We cannot afford to be so politically correct anymore.
So if you want to hear the corporate spin, the carefully-crafted lies, and the media myths — the Democrats are holding their convention next week. Go there.
But here, at our convention, there will be no lies. We will honor the American people with the truth, and nothing else.
These are the facts:
Decades of progress made in bringing down crime are now being reversed by this administration's rollback of criminal enforcement.
Homicides last year increased by 17% in America's fifty largest cities. That's the largest increase in 25 years.
In our nation's capital, killings have risen by 50 percent. They are up nearly 60 percent in nearby Baltimore.
In the president's hometown of Chicago, more than 2,000 have been the victims of shootings this year alone. And almost 4,000 have been killed in the Chicago area since he took office.
The number of police officers killed in the line of duty has risen by almost 50 percent compared to this point last year.
Nearly 180,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records, ordered deported from our country, are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens.
The number of new illegal immigrant families who have crossed the border so far this year already exceeds the entire total of 2015.
They are being released by the tens of thousands into our communities with no regard for the impact on public safety or resources.
One such border-crosser was released and made his way to Nebraska. There, he ended the life of an innocent young girl named Sarah Root. She was 21 years old and was killed the day after graduating from college with a 4.0 grade point average. Her killer was then released a second time, and he is now a fugitive from the law. I've met Sarah's beautiful family. But to this administration, their amazing daughter was just one more American life that wasn't worth protecting. One more child to sacrifice on the altar of open borders.
What about our economy? Again, I will tell you the plain facts that have been edited out of your nightly news and your morning newspaper:
Nearly four in 10 African-American children are living in poverty, while 58% of African-American youth are now not employed.
2 million more Latinos are in poverty today than when the president took his oath of office eight years ago.
Another 14 million people have left the workforce entirely.
Household incomes are down more than $4,000 since the year 2000. That is 16 years ago.
Our trade deficit in goods reached — think of this — our trade deficit is $800 hundred billion dollars. Think of that. $800 billion last year alone. We will fix that.
The budget is no better. President Obama has almost doubled our national debt to more than $19 trillion, and growing.
Yet, what do we have to show for it? Our roads and bridges are falling apart, our airports are in third world condition, and 43 million Americans are on food stamps.
== To be continued ==