Byron York: In closing, Trump supporters at peace with their man, flaws and all
By Byron York (@ByronYork) • 11/4/16 12:51 PM
SELMA, N.C. — As he races through the last few days of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump can't help looking back.
"Who knew this is where we were going to be, right?" Trump told an impressive crowd — at least 15,000 — Thursday night at a sprawling former soybean field near I-95 in rural North Carolina. "Can you believe this? Five days. Can you believe it? Started on June 16 of last year, and look where we are."
The end of Trump's campaign looks a lot different from the last GOP nominee. On the Friday before the election in 2012, Mitt Romney held a huge rally in West Chester, Ohio. He had what appeared to be the entire party structure with him — running mate Paul Ryan, John McCain, Reince Priebus, Marco Rubio, John Boehner, Rick Perry, John Kasich, Rudy Giuliani and more, all in nifty bright-red Romney-Ryan fleeces.
Trump had a big crowd, and big jumbotrons, and big flags hanging from high cranes, like Romney did, but his casting was more austere. Instead of national GOP bigwigs, seated behind Trump, on the stage about 60 miles up the interstate from Ft. Bragg, were 22 admirals and generals (of the roughly 200 who have endorsed Trump), and seven Medal of Honor recipients. Trump paid tribute to them, and downplayed his own accomplishments at the same time.
"They're so much more brave than me," Trump said. "I wouldn't have done what they did. I'm brave in other ways — I'm financially brave. Big deal. These are real brave."
Trump devoted much of his prepared remarks to national security issues. He promised quick victory in the fight against the Islamic State. A tough line on Iran. More resources for the armed services. Cutting-edge weapons. Better veterans services. Better jobs and housing for military families. New technology, "produced at the Research Triangle, right here in North Carolina."
"And finally, a commitment to only engage the use of military forces when it's vital for the national security interests of the United States," Trump said. "We will stop trying to build foreign democracies, topple regimes and race recklessly to intervene in situations that we have no right to be there."
Trump did a lot of slamming of Hillary Clinton, too, but the slams were mostly scripted. That is the new, more disciplined Trump who has emerged in the campaign's final days, and not the freewheeling, free-association Trump of old who captured audiences in the Republican primaries and early general election campaign.
The old Trump would never have said things like, "In summary, my policy…" For audiences, the disciplined Trump has lost a little of the thrill of the old, high-wire Trump. But he also hasn't set off controversies that consume his campaign for days on end, as he once did. With the time to Election Day measurable in hours, Trump can't afford to do that now.
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