Welcome to Opinion’s commentary for Night 2 of the Republican National Convention. In this special feature, Times Opinion writers rate the evening on a scale of 0 to 10: 0 means the night was a disaster for Donald Trump; 10 means it could lead to a big polling bump. Here’s what our columnists and contributors thought of the event, which included speeches from Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Elise Stefanik.
Best Moment
Kristen Soltis Anderson, contributing Opinion writer I’d be remiss not to mention Gov. Jim Justice’s bulldog, Babydog, but what really stood out to me were Lara Trump’s eloquent remarks. She originally prepared a very different speech. But she rewrote it, and what she delivered made a positive, personal case for Donald Trump. “You don’t have to imagine what it would be like; all you have to do is remember what it was like” is a memorable line that aligns with polling showing that voters feel they were better off during the Trump presidency than they are now.
David Brooks, Times columnist Nikki Haley’s speech. She’s just a formidable political talent. She handled her disagreements with Trump with a nice lightness of spirit. I suspect her political career is far from over.
Jane Coaston, contributing Opinion writer Babydog, who seemed rested and ready for her 2028 run.
Michelle Cottle, political writer for Opinion I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Vivek Ramaswamy was en fuego. His barn burner of a speech included the requisite partisan red meat, but the way he talked about the shrinking American dream could resonate well beyond the Republican base. Somehow, his typically insufferable manner worked well in the big convention setting. Go figure.
David French, Times columnist Lara Trump did more to humanize Donald Trump and the MAGA movement than any other speaker. She communicated to the country not just how MAGA sees Trump but also how MAGA experiences itself, as a joyful fellowship of patriots.
Matt Labash, author of the newsletter Slack Tide When the house band played between speakers. Not because I particularly liked the house band. But because it gave me a much-needed reprieve from obsequious, delusional claims, like those of the failed vice-presidential hopeful Elise Stefanik, who actually said, “President Trump will bring back moral leadership to the White House.”
Katherine Mangu-Ward, editor of Reason Babydog. The charismatic West Virginia bulldog’s presence onstage was so delightful, it would have been easy to miss this troublingly prophetic line from Justice: “We become totally unhinged if Donald Trump is not elected in November.”
Worst Moment
Anderson Arizona is a key swing state, and its Senate seat will be crucial for Republicans to win. In her remarks, Kari Lake, who’s running for the seat, suggested she had a connection with Arizona’s G.O.P. base but also managed to underline the questions about whether she can go beyond that core and bring in new voters.
Brooks The Amber Rose video. How does a woman who had relationships with Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa perform in a pro-Trump music video set to the beat of “Ice Ice Baby”? Further proof that mere association with the G.O.P. lowers your musical standards.
Coaston The lineup included several people who had endured tremendous loss as a result of violent crime. Then there was Savannah Chrisley, whose reality-television-star parents were convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud. Make America Safe — except from financial crimes, which are fine — Again.
Cottle It is always dispiriting to see how far Stefanik has fallen. Watching her spout MAGA nonsense and fawn over Trump — he’ll bring “moral leadership back to the White House”? Seriously? — is a tragic reminder of what Trump has done not only to her but to the entire Republican Party.
French When Ben Carson claimed “they” shot Trump. That needlessly inflammatory moment was made much worse because it was surrounded by Scripture and religious references.
Labash The human oil slick Ted Cruz, trying to pretend — much as his fellow Trump loathers Haley and Ron DeSantis did — that he likes Trump, a man who once implied that Cruz’s wife was ugly and that his father was involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Whatever self-respect is going for on eBay, they all ought to look into buying some.
Mangu-Ward The look in Haley’s eyes as she said, “Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period.” Even in defeat, she valiantly tried to communicate a message of expansion, not just cultlike unity. The delegates might as well have been wearing MAGA-branded earplugs.
What Else Caught Your Eye?
Anderson Anne Fundner, a woman who lost her 15-year-old son to fentanyl in 2022, was loudly applauded by the crowd as she shared her son’s story. It’s a sign of just how much fentanyl matters to the Republican base. The G.O.P. has been focused on the problem for years now, linking it to issues like border security, China, crime and addiction.
Brooks The pooh-bahs have clearly decided that the speeches at this convention should be as boilerplate as possible. In almost all cases, mission accomplished! One exception: Sarah Huckabee Sanders knows how to craft and deliver a speech with humor and humanity.
Coaston DeSantis speaking in support of Trump, whose campaign once called the Florida governor a “desperate eunuch.” Sure.
Cottle Again and again, the cameras showed Trump and J.D. Vance bending their heads together and swapping observations about the program. They looked strikingly comfortable together and seemed to enjoy each other’s company — as though Vance were the accomplished son Trump has long dreamed of.
French The Trump team knows that nostalgia voters are the key to putting Trump back in the White House. The campaign worked hard to remind them of the relative peace and prosperity of the first part of Trump’s term. They obviously want the nostalgia voters to be amnesia voters about the chaos and bloodshed of 2020.
Labash Lee Greenwood was (again) the live musical headliner on Tuesday night. If you want to convince the young’uns that Republican is the new punk, you might need to pick an act younger than President Biden whose signature hit wasn’t released during the first Reagan administration.
Mangu-Ward Stefanik declared “the Biden border the most wide-open border in our nation’s history.” Wrong. Until the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, there were no major restrictionist immigration laws. Throughout the night, much was made of the greatness of the early Republic. The “wide-open border” was a huge part of that story.
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