Republican Party formally nominates Donald Trump for President
The Republican Party formally nominated Donald Trump for President of the United States on Tuesday, capping a roller-coaster campaign that saw the billionaire tycoon defeat 16 White House rivals.
“It’s my honour to be able to throw Donald Trump over the top in the delegation count tonight,” the candidate’s son, Donald Trump Jr., told delegates at the Republican National Convention.
Mr. Trump — who was expected to address the gathering in Cleveland by video link later Tuesday evening — welcomed the party’s nomination as an “honour.”
“Such a great honour to be the Republican Nominee for President of the United States. I will work hard and never let you down! AMERICA FIRST!” he tweeted.
The real estate mogul is expected to formally accept the nomination in a speech to the convention on Thursday, before facing off against Democrat Hillary Clinton in the November election.
The delegation of Mr. Trump’s home state of New York cast the deciding votes which put him over the threshold of 1,237, the majority-plus-one of delegates to the convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s surreal. I’m so proud of my father,” his eldest daughter and businesswoman Ivanka Trump, often described as his secret weapon, told CNN on the convention floor.
“He’s the ultimate outsider and he did it. We are so proud of him.”
Mr. Trump clinched the nomination nearly two months ago. But relentless controversy over his campaign rhetoric and a simmering movement by anti-Trump delegates to deny him the nomination made it less than a foregone conclusion.
It was not the smoothest of votes, with two Colorado delegates abstaining and the delegation of the capital Washington declaring their votes for Senator Marco Rubio and Ohio Governor John Kasich, only to have them flipped to Mr. Trump by the convention chair in order to follow party rules for the district.
But for the most part the State delegations closed ranks behind the nominee, after a fractious opening day, when chaos broke out on the floor as anti-Trump delegates launched a short-lived revolt.
His wife, Melania Trump, brought some pizzazz to the proceedings on the opening night as the Trump team sought to get the event back on track.
But an embarrassing plagiarism scandal tarnished her prime-time speech — and brought her husband’s presidential campaign under withering scrutiny.
Ms. Clinton, however, wasted no time seeking to capitalise on Mr. Trump’s party victory.
“Donald Trump just became the Republican nominee. Chip in now to make sure he never steps foot in the Oval Office,” she said in a tweet.