RIP GOP
There was no better place that an Irish bar for some Republicans to mourn the death of their party as Donald Trump formally accepted the presidential nomination.
Former and current Republicans gathered for a traditional Irish wake in The Dubliner bar, a Capitol Hill institution in Washington popular with Democrats and Republicans alike.
Patrons were greeted at the bar by a wreath of white flowers surrounding a sign that read "R.I.P. GOP" [Grand Old Party]. Inside, on the bar, a photograph of Ronald Reagan sat in front of a small coffin next to portraits of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight D Eisenhower.
"We said we should get together and have a drink and toast the death of the party, as we sit here and watch it dying on us," Chris Scheve, one of the event organisers, told local Washington station, WTOP.
L-G-B-T-Q-induced giggles in Utah
Watching Trump’s acceptance speech from the convention floor next to the delegation from
Utah
(conservative Ted Cruz country), there were chuckles around me at the billionaire’s attempts to spell out “L-G-B-T-Q” when he vowed to protect the community from Islamic terrorism in the wake of the attack on the gay nightclub in
Orlando
that left 49 people dead. Some of the Utah delegates appeared bemused not just at his pronunciation but the number of letters he included.
To the respectful applause from the crowd around the arena, Trump went off-script in response: “I have to say, as a Republican, it is so nice to hear you cheering for what I just said. Thank you.”
Google said that there was a 15,000 per cent rise in searches of the acronym on Thursday night. Well, at least the mention and the increased interest is some kind of progress.
Ex-KKK leader OKs Trump’s agenda
Former Ku Klux Klan
leader
David Duke
declared himself on Friday a candidate for the US senate in
Louisiana
. In a video announcing his candidacy, he said: “I’m overjoyed to see Donald Trump and most Americans embrace most of the issues that I’ve championed for years. My slogan remains ‘America first’.” Trump drew fire in February from fellow Republican, US House of Representatives speaker
Paul Ryan
and many others, for not immediately disavowing Duke’s support back in February, in one of the most controversial moments of the primary campaign. Let’s see how quickly he responds this time as the party’s presidential nominee.
Quote of the day
“I humbly and gratefully accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States” – Trump in a rare moment of humility at the start of his extremely long speech
Number of the day
76 – number of minutes Trump spoke for in his acceptance speech, the longest since Democrat George McGovern in 1972. His address was longer than Mitt Romney’s and Barack Obama’s speeches combined in 2012. Why are we surprised? He likes the sounds of his own voice (and everything else about himself).
