Good evening from the quicken loans arena in cleveland where we witnessed a moment few could have predicted a year ago. Donald trump, Real Estate Developer turned real estate star who barrelled through 17 primary opponents on a wave of populist anger was officially nominated as a republican partys candidate for president. The new york delegation led by his son, donald trump, jr. , putting himself over the top, and trump, himself made an appearance by video at the convention for the second night in a row. All of it coming on what should have been a crowded moment for the now official gop nominee, but marred by controversy swirling around him, and well hear from two of Donald Trumps children headliners tonight, and here on the panel is chuck todd, Savannah Guthrie and nicole wallace. Who thought wed be here . I dont think anyone. Indiana primary, i fully believed this moment was going to happen. It has happened, and as we said, 17, we started with 17. Talk about the tone weve seen tonight already. Yesterday, it was make america safe again. Tonight was make america work again. But we heard, seems to me, savannah, more about Hillary Clinton than we heard about the economy. You look through the speeches that were given tonight, it was far more about a prosecution of Hillary Clinton than it was a building up of donald trump, and i used that word prosecution advisedly. We had two former federal prosecutors, three if you count the governor of arkansas, making the case against Hillary Clinton. The crowd went wild. The crowd loved it. We heard chants of lock her up, but can donald trump make up the real deficit he faces right now with the American People . Whats the case for him, not against Hillary Clinton, but whats the affirmative case for donald trump. Thats what were waiting to see. My partner in crime, mark murray is tracks protrump to anticlinton, 15 speeches, ten an anticlinton, five protrump. Thats actually an improvement from last night. When it comes to testimonials. We want to go to the podium right now donald trump, jr. Is walking out, about to miss remarks for the evening. Good evening, im donald trump, jr. [ cheers and applause ] thank you. Thank you. Im the father of five Young Children from 2yearold chloe to ky who just turned 9, husband to vanessa, amazing wife and mother, and son of a great man. Im an american, and tonight, i want to talk to you about the country we live in. The country our children will grow up in. For my generation, this is the most important election of our lifetime. One that will determine the future of our country, and in turn, the future of the world. For too long, the world ignored problems, punting them down the road for future generations to deal with. In business, i was trained by my father to make tough investments in Business Today to ensure a Brighter Future tomorrow. Weve actually started to believe that solving our great problems is an impossible task. Thats why we need to elect a man with a track record of accomplishing the impossible. [ applause ] for the first time, parents no longer think their kids will be as well off as we were. Weve lost the confidence in our leaders and the faith in our institution. Remember one thing, were still americans. Were still one country. Were going to get it all back. [ applause ] were going to get it back better than ever before. I know well get it back because i know my father. I know that when people tell him it cant be done, that guarantees that he gets it done. [ applause ] i know that when someone tells him that something is impossible, thats what triggers him into action. When people told him it was impossible for a boy from queens to go to manhattan and take on developers in the big city, rather than give up, he changed the skyline of new york. [ applause ] ive seen it time and time again, that look in his eyes when someone says it cant be done. I sauna look over a year ago when he was told he couldnt possibly succeed in politics. Huh, i guess he did. For my father, impossible is just the starting point. Thats how he approaches business projects. Thats how he approaches life. Whether its teaching his granddaughter how to swing a golf club or tackling the toughest negotiations, hes always fully committed. Thats why the person who would never run for office before stood on the stage 11 months ago in this very arena with 16 professional politicians, and this week, that same man will stand before you as our partys nominee for the president of the United States of america [ applause ] as a proud son and family member, it was one of the great honors of my life to be able to put him over the top in the delegate count earlier today. [ applause ] his unrelenting determination is why hes going to become our next president and why i know when my father says he can fix the country, he means it. You want to know what kind of president hell be . Let me tell you how he ran his businesses, and i know because i was there with him by his side on job sites in Conference Rooms by the time i could walk. He didnt hide out behind the desk in an executive suite. He spent his career with regular americans. He hung out with the guys on construction sites, pouring sheet rock and hanging pouring concrete and hanging sheet rock. He listened to them and vamed their opinions as much, and often more than the guys from harvard and wardon locked in offices away from the real work. He has the talent and drive that all americans have, promoting people based on character, street smarts, and their work ethic, not paper credentials. To this day, many of the top executives in our company are individuals that started out in positions that were blue collar, but he saw something in them, and he pushed them to succeed. His true gift as a leader is that he sees the potential in people that they dont even see in themselves. [ applause ] the potential that other executives would overlook because their resumes dont include the names of fancy colleges and degrees. I know he values workers and quality in people because those are the individuals he had my siblings and me work under when we started out. That he would trust his own childrens formative years to these men and women is all you need to know about donald trump. [ applause ] we didnt learn from mbas. We learned from people who had doctorates in common sense. [ applause ] guys like vinny who taught us how to drive heavy equipment to operate tractors and chain saws, who worked his way through the ranks to become a trusted adviser of my father, and only children of billionaire who are as comfortable in a caterpillar as we are in our own cars. [ applause ] my father knew those were the guys and gals who would teach us dignity of hard work from a very young age. He knows the heart of the American Dream is the idea that whoever we are, wherever were from, we can get ahead, where everyone can prosper together. [ applause ] the other party also tells us they believe in the American Dream. They say we should worry about economic inequality and immobility. You know what . They are right. They dont tell you it was their policies that caused the problem. It was their policies that have no accountability. [ applause ] they gave us the worst immigration system in the world. One that imports immobility, one that drives down employment and wages for hispanicamericans, for africanamericans, for everyone. An immigration system that favors illegals over those tries to go through the process legally. And at times, even over lawabiding citizens. It was Bernie Sanders himself who warned a large tide of new workers keep wages low and poverty high. The other party gave us Public Schools that far too often fail our students, else those who have no options. Growing up, my siblings and i, we were truly fortunate to have choices, and options that others dont have. We want all americans to have those same opportunities. [ applause ] our schools used to be an elevator to the middle class. Now they are stalled on the ground floor. They are like soviet Era Department stores run for the benefit of the clerks, not the customers. For the teachers and the ad min straiters and note the students. Why do other countries do better in k12 . They let parents choose where to send their own children to school. [ applause ] thats called competition. Its called the free market. And its what the other party fears. [ applause ] they fear it because they are more concerned with protecting tenure teachers than serving the students in need of a good education. [ applause ] they want to run everything topdown from washington. They tell us theyre the experts and they know whats best. The other party dpagave us a regulatory state on steroids. Doddfrank was a thousand pages long and already spun off 22,000 pages in regulations. Imagine trying to digest all that before you even open your doors for business. That doesnt help consumers. What it does is destroy Small Business in favor of big businesses who can afford the vast number of lawyers and accountants needed to comply. Doddfrank is Consumer Protection for billionaires. We produced the thickest network of patronage and influence of any country at any time in world history. Its composed of the selfsfi selfsatisfied people at the top. The new aristocrats. We cant live that way any longer. Its too risky. Let me talk a little bit about risks. The other party is party of risk. Ive spent many time with many great americans who have served this country in the military, and they know whats at stake. When we have weak leaders in positions of power, americans risking their lives for our freedoms are less safe. Now almost daily i get a call or text from a real american hero. His name is mark, proud to call him a friend. He was part of a Security Team at the annex on the grounds of the conflict of benghazi, mark, one of the men who received frantic calls from his buddies at the compound, calls he and his team tried to answer. Calls that didnt save all his friends because secretary Clintons State Department ignored request for help both on the night in question and even in the weeks and months leading up to the attack. It was a tragedy and one that would be repeated were she to win the election. Ask mark who is fit to lead. Who has the judgment to lead . Who will take that call at 3 00 in the morning . Or better yet, ask yourselves if youre in mark shoes that night, who would you rather call . If Hillary Clinton is elected, shes the first president who couldnt pass a basic background check. Its incredible. Hillary clinton is a risk we cant afford to take. Executive orders to take away americans guns, appoint judges to abolish the second amendment. Just look how effective the laws have been in inner city chicago. City with the toughest gun laws in the nation, 70 people murdered last month alone, and where over 3400 american lives have been lost since this Administration Took Office in 2009. You know why the laws fail . Because criminals by definition dont follow laws. [ applause ] rather than prosecute real criminals, she strips hard working lawabiding citizens to protect themselves and their families. Shell throw every possible obstacle in the path of safe, Reliable Affordable Energy produced in america by americans for american businesses and families rather than being energy independent. Our country will be forced to remain beholding to our buddies in the middle east. Those are risks we cant afford to take. And when we win, were not going to have to. Theres so much work to do. We will not accept the current state of our country because its too hard to change. Thats not the america i know. Were going to unleash the creativity of all americans, making our schools the best in the world for every single american of every single ethnicity and background. [ applause ] were going to put americans first. All americans. Not a special class of crony elites at the top of the heap. [ applause ] were going to elect a president who works with everyone to pass legislation that will make our country great again. A president who gives us a tax code that frees the American Economy and special loopholes for the wealthy, a president who gives us an Immigration Law that protects american citizens and gives them jobs. [ applause ] a president who will repeal and replace obamacare without leaving our most vulnerable citizens without health care and who will do it without destroying medicare for seniors as Hillary Clinton proposed. A president who knows we cant simply delete our problems, but that we have to tackle them head on. [ applause ] a president who wont allow pc culture to put our children and loved ones at stake, a president who does not bow to nations that shudder at the thought of americas existence. A president more concerned with the safety and comfort of his fellow americans than the feelings of those hostile nations abroad who, if given the option, would wipe america off the face of this earth. [ applause ] a president who is not beholding to special interests, foreign and domestic, and one who funded his entire primary run out of his own pocket just to prove it. [ applause ] a president who will secure and defend the borders of the United States and will appoint judges who believe freedom requires a limited government. A president who wont use the highest office in the land as a path to personal enrichment. [ applause ] a president whos actually create the real jobs, whos actually signed the front of a paycheck, and who does not just talk about it in theory. A president who has real people families and livelihoods dependent on his success and the success of his company for decades. A president who speaks his mind and not just when it behooves him to do so, doesnt run a focus group or Data Analytics in order to form a simple opinion. [ applause ] says what needs to be said and not just what you want to hear. A president who will unleash the greatness in our nation and in all of us who will give the hard working men and women who built this great country a voice once again. That president can only be my mentor, my best friend, my father, donald trump. [ applause ] and when we elect him, well have done all that, well have made America Great again, greater than ever before. [ applause ] thank you and god bless. [ applause ] donald trump, jr. Making what began as the affirmative chase for his father and evolved into a policy speech and echoes many of the things weve heard tonight, which is really a take down of Hillary Clinton. Ill have to say, though, very helpful in the beginning. I was surprised how negative he went at clinton. We were all talking about this. We all were because the family is sort of the positive optimistic, and they have been this whole campaign, three kids involved in the campaign, eric trump, don, jr. , have been more of the light, and hes been the cans in the heap, hes been the light, and don, jr. Came with heat. You know interesting, too, all the controversies that attack themselves to the candidates, donald trump or anyone else, really never attach themselves to family. The familys sort of this nogo zone, immune from political, viewed as less partisan for a reason. It was a risk for him to make attacks to clinton, but the language a little more than his father would use. And hearing about the Chris Christie speech and this speech from donald trump, jr. Than any other speech tonight. It was effective, but not without risk for donald trump, jr. Candidates family members talk policy, but as you mentioned, he effectively made the case. How did it go on the floor . Halle jackson with the new york dell nation. How did everybody seef receive it . I had one man say to me, whats better than his son to explain how his father is feeling. That seemed to be the theme of donald trump jr. s speech and Tiffany Trumps speech as well. The idea that the children are helping to make donald trump, himself, more relatable. One woman met Tiffany Trump back when she was a baby, 21 years ago in a casino at a trump event, a sign of just how long the children have been in the spot lights just like their father. Their message, aspirational, the idea of the campaign trying to personalize donald trump, show that theres more to him than public often sees on stage, and at least for the delegates out on the floor tonight, savannah. A lot of delegates have said they think those children are such a credit to donald trump, and they are performing the task of character witness tonight. Peter alexander on the floor in the vip booth and a lot are watching. Donald trump, jr. Got a standing ovation from the siblings. They just ran out, mike pence there as well. As soon as juniors speech was done, looked at the siblings, gave a thumbs up, wow, and i two of the siblings looked at me giving thumbs up, confident it was the welldelivered speech, the speech they hoped meliania would have given, and whats striking its a pageant about a family and personality. Six trumps speaking this week, just four nights of the convention. All right, a lot of real estate in the convention, peter alexander, thank you. The convention trying to get back on message, and that leads us to the story that hung over the place like a cloud all day, the plagiarism controversy over melanias trump wellreceived speech last night, watching in los angeles, he noticed something in that speech sounded like something heard before in obamas 2008 convention speech. He tweets out, the rest is history. It blew up here in a matter of minutes, before discussing more, take a look at two key portions of the speeches side by side. We were raised with so many of the same values. Like that you work hard for what you want in life. That your word is your bond, that you do what you say youre going to do. That you treat people with dignity and respect because we want our children to know that its only limited to the height of your achievements, the reach of your dreams and willingness to work hard, to work for them. Nicole, have we made more of this, or did the campaign make more of it by mixed spongss to this . Yeah, the campaign really handled this badly. I want to Say Something about spouses. Both those women are beautiful, powerful, effective speakers on behalf of their husbands, and Melania Trump does not bear responsibility for what happened but is paying the price for her husbands campaign, and it is so ironic to me that the chaos their husband embraces ended up really tarnishing her near perfect image so far in the campaign season. You know what was notable today, lester, we didnt hear from donald trump on this subject. They issued a statement, and then there was an array of surrogates coming out, and for the better part of the day saying theres no there there. Theres no plagiarism, any similarities are coi coincidental. One said, you know, my little ponys character also expressed some of the same sentiments, and yet people heard it side by side. The similarities are striking. Its not the end of the world. Its a sloppy mistake. By having come on and deny it, it stretched the story out and ensured that it was continued to be discussed right up until this evening. It also highlighted and reminded us weve been this is a campaign thats just not got all of it thats its not running on full speed here. Theres too many gaps in it, and it was only a matter of time that they were going to pay a price for it, and of all people to pay the price, the candidates wife. Andreas working down at the podium and was there last night in the speech, andrea, what are your thoughts . So, fist of all, it was a beautifully delivered speech. It was a home run from her perspective, but it was a firing squad today because you had, you know, trump surrogates, Campaign Managers and others blaming other people, and even blaming trumps family and herself, and it would have faded much more quickly as only a media story if they had not made such a big deal of it. The people who are not making a big deal of it, one official in the Clinton Campaign is Hillary Clinton and any other surrogate. They ignored it. They are, obviously, enjoying watching the Trump Campaign squirming over this, but they are not piling on at all, but there is one thing they are doing, lester. Hillary clinton now pleaded about a very strong speech against her, and she has tweeted, if you think Chris Christie lectu lectures anyone on ethics, we have a bridge to sell you. You mentioned that, were taking a break in a short time to play all of that, and thats what he did. Came in, announced it, presenting like a proximate resu prosecutor, got the crowd fired up the crowd. Best received. The response is a theme of tonight, and its been effective, all night long. All the callin responses have worked. We have this independent thought that at the moment that donald trump went over the top, i think we were all waiting for this place to thunder and shake it didnt. It didnt. We were watching independently, and whoever was next to me, whats this . I know. I was, like, i want to get footage of all the other overthetop moments here. I thought the rafters would come down. There was no electricity. Look, it was better than a golf clap, but you could tell there were people sitting on their hands. Yeah. Look, there are 500 delegates that were recorded as supporters, theres a lot of people in the room in that moment, and so it just felt it just felt like what it brings up, though, is the energy in the room and perhaps the energy in the party surrounds the negative track. Exactly. There was energy back when Chris Christie called out guilty or not guilty. Just lock her up, its about her, its not about anything else. Guess what, dont be surprised if next week its the same feeling that all the energy is bashing trump. Last week, rudys speech was the same High Water Mark in terms of the energy in the room. Hes the one that it felt hot of those watching and read a little hot, but as far as the room, this was a tough room where the stages make it tough. Its a wide room, and its a hard room. The most energy and the only chance that donald trump has to unite the campaign is the antihillary claims, that shes simply unacceptable. We built up the Chris Christie speech, and well hear some, taking a break, back in cleveland to hear from christie, his remarks before going when you dont get enough sleep. And your body aches. Youre not yourself. Tylenol® pm relieves pain and helps you fall fast asleep and stay asleep. We give you a better night. Youre a better you all day. Tylenol®. Well, one of those republican candidates who once filled the debate stage and later vanquished by donald trump, new jersey governor, Chris Christie who quickly after dropping out signed on to Trump Campaign, endorsed him, an effective voice here shortly before we came on the air tonight. We have a good chunk of christie essentially making the argument of a prosecutor against Hillary Clinton. Here it is. Tonight, as a former federal prosecutor, i welcome the opportunity to hold Hillary Rodham clinton accountable for her performance and her character. [ applause ] now [ chanting ] all right, all right, were getting there. Give me a few more minutes, well get there. Heres what were going to do. Were going to present the facts to you. You. Tonight, the jury of her peers, both in this hall and in your living rooms around our nation. You see, since the Justice Department refuses to allow you to render a verdict, im going to present the case now on the facts against Hillary Rodham clinton. Now, she was americas chief diplomat, so lets look around the world at the violence and danger today in every region thats been infected by her flawed judgment. But im going to be specific so that you can render your verdict tonight on the basis of the facts, lets go to north africa. She was the chief engineer of the disastrous overthrow of gadhafi in libya. Libya, today, after Hillary Clintons grand strategy, their economys in ruins. Theres death and violence on the streets, and isis is now dominating that country. Im going to ask you this, Hillary Clinton, as a failure for ruining libya and creating a nest for terrorist activity by isis, answer me now, is she guilty or not guilty . In nigeria, Hillary Clinton amazingly fought for two years Chris Christies remarks tonight firing up the crowd with that response, another former republican candidate, now trump supporter, dr. Ben carson is speaking. Lets take you right to the podium. And i hate Political Correctness because its against the founding principles of this country and secular progressives use it to make people sit down and shut up while they change everything. Its time for us to stand up and shout out about what we believe in. [ applause ] you know, i devoted my career to studying and operating on the human brain. This remarkable organ defines our humanity. It gives us the ability to not only feel and observe, but to reason. When we elect a president , we need to use power of reasoning. To look at their history, their character, what kind of people they really are. It makes all the difference in the world for us. It is going to be so critical right now. We must resist the temptation to take the easy way out, and to passively accept what is fed to us by the politically elites and the media because they dont know what theyre talking about, but they have an agenda. Now, we must also be weary of the narrative thats being advanced by some in our own party, the notion that a Hillary Clinton administration wouldnt be that bad. The effects would only be temporary. You know, that it would only last for four, and at most, eight years. Theyre not using their godgiven brain to think about what theyre saying because it wont be for eight years because shell be appointing people who have an effect on us for generations, and america may never recover from that. Thats what we have to be thinking about. [ applause ] you know, interestingly enough, we have to start thinking about what would Hillary Clinton do if she was, in fact, the president . She would appoint Supreme Court justices. She would appoint federal judges, and that would have a dean effect for years to come. Not only that, she would continue with a system that would integrate the education of our young people, put them in a place where they are never going to be able to get a job, where they are always going to be dependent, and where they can, therefore, be cultivated for their votes. This is not what america is all about, this kind of deception, and this is what we, the people, have the necessary obligation to fight. [ applause ] now, one of the things that i have learned about Hillary Clinton is that one of her heros, her mentors was saul alinsky, and her thesis was about saul alinsky, someone she greatly admired and affected all her philosophies consequently. Interestingly enough, Something Interesting about alinsky. He wrote a book called rules for radicals, and the dedication page, it acknowledges lucifer, the original radical who gained his own kingdom. Now think about that. This is a nation where our founding documents, the declaration of independence talk about certain inalienable rights that come from our creator. [ applause ] this is a nation where our pledge of allegiance says we are one nation under god. [ applause ] this is a nation. This is a nation where every coin in our pocket and every bill in our wallet says in god we trust. So are we willing to elect someone as president who has, as their role model, somebody who acknowledges lucifer . Think about that. The secular Progressive Agenda is antithetical to the principles of the founding of this nation, and if we continue to allow them to take god out of our lives, god will remove himself from us. We will not be blessed, and our nation will go down the tubes, and we will be responsible for that. We dont want that to happen. Now, donald trump, he understands this very well. He understands that the blessings of this nation come with the responsibility to ensure that they are available to all, not just the privileged few. This is simplified by his willingness to take on the establishment against all odds. It is evident in his passion for the american worker. It is found in his desire to put his considerable skills to work on behalf of american interests, not his selfinterests. Im proud to support donald trump, extraordinary businessman, the right leader for a time such as this. [ applause ] but you know what . It is not about donald trump. It is not about me. It is about we, the people, and Thomas Jefferson said that we would reach this point because we, the people, would not be paying attention, and it would allow the government to grow, to expand and to try to rule us, but he said before we turn into Something Else, we, the people, would recognize what was going on, what we were about to lose, and we would rise up, and we would take control of our nation, and i say now is the time for us to rise up and take america back [ applause ] dr. Ben carson who dropped out of the race back in early march getting a very warm welcome here. A very popular figure. Look, remember, he was thee front runner or the biggest threat to donald trump at one point in the campaign, and, you know, one of the things he always has is a connection, particularly with most of the conservatives and evangelicals, and i can tell you the passion and love in which you can talk to people about ben carson among republican activists is something. Its he made a connection. Hes not going anywhere. Hell be back, if he chooses to be back, in republican politics going forward. Yeah. I mean, we talk about how the family soften Donald Trumps edges, ben carson softened Donald Trumps edges. Gentle, thats the perfect word to describe him, and hes funny, a very likable witness, and adores donald trump, it was a big deal. He was on the business end of some donald trump attacks in the campaign, and such a gentleman, here he is standing up for him in the convention. We have another former contender on the floor. Weve got Chris Christie, as indiana i understand it. Yes. Governor, we played your speech, not in prime time, replayed for the audience now, and i have to ask, is that your audition for attorney general . No. That was my case to make sure Hillary Clintons presidency never happens, and ill make it as many times as i can between now and election day. One of the attacks levelled against Hillary Clinton is she was an apology for the kidnapping. Did that happen after she left as secretary of state . She bought to keep them, the al qaeda affiliate after the watch list for two years. They should have been on the terrorist watch list, and thats what she did, and afterwards, they were much more active than they would have been otherwise, kidnappings occurred, and she and the president decided to do a Hashtag Campaign afterwards. Thats not leadership. Twice as many speeches antiHillary Clinton as prodonald trump, is that an effective strategy, in you view, to try to convince americans as you want them to do to vote for him . Its a part of it, sure. Its a choice, right, chicken or fish. Make a decision. Ive made lots of cases for donald, as you know, over time. Youve seen them, and tonight was my night to make the case against her. Thank you, appreciate it. Back to you. Thank you. Looks like a protest of some sort has broken out on the floor. Were told involving antitrump folks here, and theres the camera trying to look up into the there you go. Thats code pink. That is a wellknown progressive protest movement. Thats actually yes, antitrump but does not appear to be republican activists, and i guess thats a picture from moments ago. They are extraordinary effective getting into places youre not supposed to be. We see them in washington on capitol hill all the time. All the time, yeah. One has made their way in here. Tom joined us, tom, good to see you. What are your thoughts about the tone weve heard tonight leading up to prime time . Well, i think theres a couple things. First of all, i was sitting back there trying to imagine myself in america somewhere watching all this and watching all of us. We bring a kind of practiced eye to it. You know, looking at every knit pick that goes on. Were looking at the Bigger Picture out there, and what we saw tonight is what we saw for the last year, that donald trump was successful using kind of an unevening evening, write him off in wisconsin and other places, but he kept advancing. The fact is, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers were written off, and guess what, they ended up in the championship. Doesnt mean hes going to make it. I think he needs to get out of the primary mode and get into the general election mode now. We are beginning to see Hillary Clinton a lot, well see a great deal more about that because they are going to make her the object of everything from here on. His son did a very good job. You know, the family comes off, we all know, having dealt with him, is that they are very privileged kids, but they are accessible, and they are proud of their dad, but at the same time, he has changed the rules for american politics. We just have to begin with that. We cant look at it in terms of what the past is, but its about how hes changed it. After the melania flairup in the speech, is there a sense the convention found footing after yesterday in. Definitely i feel as if after the roll call business, it was like that one final alaska, people who missed it, alaska didnt like their vote total, and they wanted to fix it. Had nothing to do with the results, nothing to do with trump, and as soon as the moment passed, it felt like trump timely has control of the c conventi convention, right . Yeah. It happened in the 8 00 hour. He finally this is fully the trump convention. Appeared on the screen. Appeared on the screen, and lets see how they do tomorrow night and thursday night. Look, all the mess of yesterday can get papered over if donald trump gives the speech of his life thursday. And tom is right. My husband says we watch basketball, and i watch the shot clock, so nervous. He says, were watching the wrong thing. Were watching the wrong thing. What people saw was a beautiful, loving wife giving a testimony about her husband. He spent a lot more time talking about the mashups about the speech, but what we saw tonight, it was his lovely son and passionate speech from Chris Christie tonight. I think were watching the wrong thing, doesnt mean it doesnt serve scrutiny because every other campaign is scrutinized, but donald trump escapes. Were playing by different rules, i mean, everything that we have grown up knowing about politics and how you see them as donald trump setting aside in the last yearment keep that in mind. Exactly. I spent the day, as you know, with social media. They are taking over a big part of the physical planet here, and its astonishing to go over there and see quick readouts you get every nano second. Guess what, donald trump, even after the clap about whether there was some copying going on in the speeches and other things, flat line hillary, just 50 50. They are right there. Our own polls. We came out today, and we should not, on the day of all of this, he closed within one point in the survey monkey tracking poll. Yeah. This is the bottom line, its not just about whether donald trump changed american politics, but the people changed american politics. As long as donald trump has a protest vote, as long as he irritates elites, as long as he bucks the establishment, as long as he takes orthodox of either party and turns it over on its head, hell continue to get a lot of support among the american public. They are sending a message. Exactly. We have to take a break here, but when we come back, the marquee names on the stage tonight from the world of elected politics. Well be right back. Think fixing your windshield is a big hassle . Not with safelite. This family needed their windshield replaced, but theyre daughters heart was set on going to the zoo. So we said if you need safelite to come to the zoo well come to the zoo only safelite can fix your windshield anywhere in the us. With our exclusive mobileglassshops. And our one of a kind trueseal technology, for a reliable bond. Service that fits your schedule. Thats another safelite advantage. Safelite repair, safelite replace. When we go to the store, i find my box of honey bunches of oats and im checking to see if i packaged it. Best cereal in the world right there. If the last 3 letters were p22, thats me and now in delicious chocolate. Heart. I believe the measure of a person is revealed in their darkest times. For me, the measure of a parent is based on how they support and bolster you when youre down. A few years ago, someone very dear to me passed away, and the first call i got, as i knew i would, came from my father. Back now from cleveland. That was Tiffany Trump, Donald Trumps daughter, and many of the big names in the gop decided to stay away from this convention. There are some marquee names addressing the delegates here, including the speaker of the house of representatives and Senate Majority leader. We want to take a moment to show you some of what they said here tonight. A couple years ago, bill and hillary ca camped out in my state saying why to vote against me. Tonight, im here to return the favor. We must, we must reignite Economic Opportunity in the American Dream for everybody. The next time theres a state of the union address, i dont know where joe biden or barack obama are going to be, but ill be on the roster with Vice President mike pence and president donald trump. Together, electing a republican congress, donald trump, mike pence, we can build a better america, and make that shining city on the hill bright again. If hillary is president , well continue to slide distracted by the scandals that follow the clintons like flies. Fellow republicans, what we have begun here, lets see this thing through. Lets win this thing and show america our best and nothing less. Speaker of the house, but not in the 10 00 program, the later part of prime time here, notably. Savannah, talk for a moment about the tough line men like that are walking coming in here, men and women coming in here. Well, you know, its interesting. I read Mitch Mcconnells speech rather closely, and, he, of course, laid out the case against Hillary Clinton. This is an ongoing theme. He talked about these accomplishments of Senate Republicans and members of congress. There was not a lot of donald trump in his speech. Hes certainly been measured. Hes a donald trump supporter, but he has not resisted calling him out when he thought it was necessary. I think he said he wished donald trump would be a little more boring, a little more on message. Scripts. That would be to his liking. I think, you know, for a lot of republicans who are jittery, and chuck knows this better than anybody, a huge concern are the down ballot races. Whats going to happen to the senate . Whats going to happen to the house . Governor seats . Theres a lot of important races ha are going on in november, and the top of the tigt h ticket has a lot of impact. The theme tonight is make america work. How did that work out . Thats funny. We tried an experiment here, work slots of all the speeches, how on message they are. This is tonight through at least kris kentera Chris Christie, we have it up. Tonights theme was make america work again. Now, if youre struggling to find the word work youre not alone. Top right. Upper right. Top right there. To the upper right of the word, the y in hillary, but as you can see, Hillary Clinton even more than the dame donald on that. The message may have been about make america work again, and looking at speeches, it was about hillary. But no one on the Trump Campaign is sad about the image. They know if they further, you know, she has a near 20point advantage on honesttrustworthi. These prosecutions of her character are precisely what they need to do what shes trying to do to him, disqualify her. They are not unhappy about that. This is what got him here. Exact cannil lexactly. Those who expect a change of general election, donald trump on the primary, are we i dont know. Were going to hear that more and more and more because they think that shes very vulnerab vulnerable, especially after the attorney general did not prosecute, the fbi investigation, but there was enough in there for them to keep it up. The fashes boreen around a long time, they can work up a hate for hillary, and keep that in mind. Too harsh to lock her up . Do women hear that differently . I think things happen inside a hall that dont translate on tv. Thats one of them. Cancelled out by something that happens next week. A little over the top . Theres always a move, too hot for tv. That might be it. I think it would be cancelled out by the end of next week. If youre a person who is watching, and you have an uncertainty about Hillary Clinton and dont know why, but theres something that strikes you about her and you dont like it, theres a lot of evidence. Theres a specific bill in particular, a Little Something for everybody whether its Foreign Policy or National Security or her emails, and so, perhaps, it will be persuasive for somebody who doesnt love either of the candidates, but they have to make a decision. Dont forget they both have huge neg t negatives unlike anything seen in a regime election. Exactly. Chris christie said chicken or fish. Yeah. They are thrusting this. Republicans are going to be forced to choose, and Chris Christie said last week, not voting it a vote for Hillary Clinton. By the way, though, the country may want beef and pork. Thats not on the menu. Well, the big theme will be the big theme for the republicans will be, do you want a continuation of what we have right now or change the game. Theyll leave names out of it, just change the game. We have to try something new. Exactly. The fact is trump came from a standing start, wrote him off months after months after month to get to this place which says we are playing in a different field, folks, and keep that in mind. When you go from looking at social media, the new ways people are participating in american politics, goes way beyond this about booth and beyond this hall. They are out there talking to each other either online or across the bar, and thats the voice that you got to be listening to. Thats the one she has to be concerned about. I was almost going to ask yall what the headline will be tomorrow, but that didnt work out. You know, lester, i slept three hours last night, and somehow i still missed this. I think by the time we got to the hotels, yeah, the speech story had come out, but i will ask you about the mike pence challenge. Its a big one. Look, we dont know him yet, and he didnt get an introduction. You know, ive harped on this. The rollout was awful. Single worst rollout of a Vice President ial nominee seen in the modern era. Need a redo here. Thats right. Mike pence has a big job on his hands with a sympathetic party who roots for him to succeed in the room. Can i tell you Something Else . I had a talk with Governor Scott walker, he just got back from mexico. Think about that. Went on a trade mission from wisconsin to mexico. They are more concerned down there not about immigration, but political instability in our country. Stop and think about that for a moment. He said in the midwest, we count on the mexicans because its a launching pad for south america for our mid western products. Moreover, he said, in northern wisconsin, you change immigration, youll shut down the dairy industry. All of the farmers need mexican workers right now. They are not taking jobs away. They are filling jobs that other people wont do. Theres a lot of spurring growth. All right. Well, its been another pleasurable night with all of you. Oh, right. Thats going to do it for our coverage. Again tomorrow . More coverage on night two of the Republican National convention, and much more tomorrow for night three, and, of course, for today, chuck todd, Savannah Guthrie, our entire team, im lester holt, good night from cleveland. I have to say, this is my happy song. Puts me in a good mood. Im in a huge good mood. C] [crowd cheering] [percussive music]