ABC News(CLEVELAND) — Republicans kicked off their presidential nominating convention in Cleveland with a message of strength and security, after a series of attacks and instability abroad, as well as violent shootings across the United States.
In an effort to rebuke the foreign policy records of Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama, and respond to a national debate over policing and gun violence, GOP officials and the Trump campaign have organized a night of security-focused speeches, grouped around the promise to “make America safe again.”
Delegates will hear from Benghazi attack survivors Mark Geist and John Tiegen, along with a trio of GOP members of Congress with military experience: Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, a Navy SEAL veteran.
Pat Smith, the mother of a State Department IT officer killed in the 2012 Benghazi attack who has become an outspoken Hillary Clinton critic, said the former secretary of state “deserves to be in stripes” for the death of Sean Smith.
“I blame Hillary Clinton for the death of my son,” Smith said, as she recounted her experience after her son’s death, bringing many in the audience to tears. “Donald Trump is everything Hillary Clinton is not.”
Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke, a tough-on-crime conservative icon, will also address the convention, after a series of officer-involved shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, and two deadly attacks on law enforcement officers in Dallas and Louisiana.
Retired Lt. General Michael Flynn, whom Trump considered for vice president, will also speak Monday night, and is expected to criticize Obama’s counter-terror strategy.
Trump, who has repeatedly described himself as the “law and order candidate” in recent weeks, criticized Clinton and Obama as “weak” leaders in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” Sunday.
“We need toughness. We need strength,” Trump said, adding that he would declare war against the terror group ISIS in response to an attack in the French city of Nice, where a man used a truck to plow through revelers celebrating Bastille Day and killed 84 people.
Democrats have also tried to use the recent spate of violence and domestic upheaval to criticize Trump and highlight Clinton’s experience on the national and world stages.
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