Grading the First Night of the Republican National Convention

The first night of the Republican National Convention is in the books. The three big story lines were Rudy Giuliani, Melania Trump, and why it went so long. It was sloppy that a military and veteran focused set of speeches weren’t even seen as the national coverage had ended.

It was also interesting why Melania Trump was positioned to speak tonight on a “Make America Safe Again” theme. While her speech was well received, after it finished, more than half the arena cleared out basically taking all the momentum out of the room. There were also a lot of great speeches earlier in the evening that will probably get a lot of play on social media which will add to the intensity of the theme.

Rudy Giuliani (B+)

Giuliani gave a strong and passionate speech that highlighted the “Make America Safe Again” theme. At times it was a little too much and at times hit the mark. He should have worked in some softer moments because it was too intense for the whole speech. Best line, “Speaking of law enforcement, when they come to save your life they don’t ask if you are black or white." The crowd was fired up.

Melania Trump (B+)

With lowered expectations, her speech started a little shaky, but she really hit her stride as she felt more comfortable. Her poise and delivery were elegant. It seemed a little robotic because she had to read the whole speech, but she far exceeded expectations. She received strong reviews from the pundits and passed the first lady test tonight.

Update: Melania Trump has received criticism for apparently using a portion of Michelle Obama's convention speech. Criticism is fair, but the left is overdoing it which may in turn make her more likable. If I were advising the campaign, I'd have her come out and apologize with the same class she showed giving her speech, and that would put this to rest. Her score has been lowered from A- to B+ due to the conversation today.

Lt. General Michael Flynn (C+)

I had higher expectations for this speech, but it got a very slow start. Most people began to leave after Melania’s speech, which totally hurt the momentum. All the networks went to panel discussions and only came back for pieces of this speech losing the context. It was a speech that unfortunately will mostly be forgotten.

Joni Ernst, Jason Beardsley, Ryan Zinke – Incomplete

All national coverage was complete and the only way to watch these speeches were on CSPAN and over the shoulders of the political panels on the cable networks. It was a veterans-themed set of speeches that didn’t get the time they deserved.

Overall Score: B

The Trump campaign lucked out tonight as most people probably were finished watching after Melania’s speech and didn’t see the messy time management of the rest of the evening. People are using the convention to gauge Trump's campaign management and poor execution will get bad press. They need to do better moving forward, but most people probably only saw the best speeches, so it was a good but not great start.

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