If teen pop star Billie Eilish sullenly reading cue cards that monotonously denounced systemic racism were bound to become one of the enduring memes from last week’s Democratic National Convention, then the starkly contrasting image of a fiery-eyed Kimberly Guilfoyle espousing American greatness is its ideological foil.
“I speak to you tonight as a mother, a former prosecutor, a Latina and a proud American,” she began during her speech Monday at the Republican National Convention.
“… As a first-generation American, I know how dangerous their socialist agenda is,” she continued, building up to peak crescendo.
“…Like my parents, you can achieve that American dream. You can be that shining example to the world.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, leaders of the American dream,” she said, brimming with enthusiasm while channeling President Donald Trump’s frequent rally closer, “the best is yet to come.”
Predictably, leftist media already were mocking the former Fox News personality for her passionate enthusiasm before the night was finished.
Guilfoyle, currently the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr., shared a common bond with Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Both are prosecutors who have dated San Francisco mayors.
Guilfoyle was involved with current California Gov. Gavin Newsom during his time overseeing the City by the Bay. Harris benefited from the patronage of former Mayor Willie Brown as she climbed her way up the political ladder (as did Newsom, who spoke at the DNC convention).
But despite those parallel trajectories, it was clear to any watching that Guilfoyle and many of the other RNC speakers were succeeding not only in contrasting the two visions of America, but in projecting a far more optimistic, sincere and accessible alternative to the dark, cynical doom and gloom that Democrats, in their rare moments of genuine candor, espoused.
Gone also were the caustic and non-sequitor mockery of Leftist figures like privileged multimillionaire comedian Julia Louis Dreyfus, as well as the unabashed fundraising pitches that gave the DNC production the unpolished air of a PBS telethon.
If the DNC’s message was all Trump-bashing and fearmongering, then the RNC met the challenge with a clear outline of the president’s policy successes that dismantled the narrative with detailed precision—be it the Paycheck Protection Program that allowed businesses to carry on in the face of unprecedented crisis or the opportunity zones on which the president worked with Sen. Tim Scott, R-SC, to help boost minority communities.
Trump’s support for historically black colleges and universities also resurfaced several times during the evening.
While Democrats spent surprising amounts of airtime in their four nights seeking to poach any disaffected ex-Trump voters they could, broadcasting deep-state alumni to address the “existential” crisis that was posed by the president’s swamp-draining, Republicans answered by trying to woo traditionally Democratic voters of their own.
The evening relied heavily on the representation of both African–American supporters, immigrants and first-generation Americans who saw their inspirational and aspirational stories of hope coming under attack by the impending socialist order.
Among the highlights:
- Sen. Tim Scott, who broke racial barriers by becoming one of the first African Americans to represent his state in Congress since Reconstruction.
- Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, also (like Scott) a prominent South Carolina politician, showing the conservative stalwart state’s openness to diversity
- Georgia State Representative Vernon Jones, a former Democrat who was attacked by his party for his Trump support
- Kim Klacik, a Republican candidate for the Baltimore congressional seat once held by Elijah Cummings
- Former football star Herschel Walker, who attested to his 37-year friendship with Donald Trump
The night also was filled with stories of survivors and those forgotten by the Left’s vision of America.
Among them:
- Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., survivor of an attack by a leftist radical mass shooter
- Andrew Pollack, father of one of the teenage victims of the 2018 Parkland, Fla., massacre
- Bone cancer survivor Natalie Harp, who warned of the Obama administration’s efforts to encourage her to consider assisted suicide
- LSU surgeon G.E. Ghali, a coronavirus survivor who praised Trump’s streamlining of experimental treatments such as remdesivir
- Maximo Alvarez, an immigrant whose family fled the socialist/fascist governments of Franco’s Spain and Castro’s Cuba to settle in what they hoped would be their final destination with nowhere else to go
- A panel of former hostages who spoke with Trump about their grim prospects prior to his diplomatic negotiations
- Mark and Patricia McCloskey, two Second Amendment patriots who were nearly prosecuted for defending their home during race riots in St. Louis
- Capt. Sean Parnell, an Army ranger whose platoon nearly perished in Afghanistan, now challenging a freshman Democratic congressman in one of the recently flipped Pennsylvania districts
The night also featured some of the brightest voices in the GOP establishment, including Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the leader of the Freedom Caucus and ranking minority member of the House Judiciary Committee, who spoke of Trump’s personal concern following the death of his nephew Eli; Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida; Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk; and the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
In every case, the genuine love of country, clarity of vision and positive outlook painted a drastically different picture than that cast by their Democrat counterparts.
While several polls indicated that Trump had made gains in the wake of the DNC convention, though, it seemed unlikely that Democrats, from an optics standpoint, would reap the same benefit following the RNC.
