Circumstances

Donald Trump's Republican nomination acceptance speech was delivered on 21st of July, 2016 at the official Republican Convention in Cleveland which nominated Donald Trump as the party’s official candidate for US President. Consequently, the speech was delivered in front of a live Republican audience. However, the speech was also televised and watched by about 35 million people.

The speech followed the Republican Party’s official announcement of Trump as their party nominee on 19th of July. The speech is also said to have been inspired by former US President Richard Nixon’s 1968 acceptance speech.

The speech came at a time in the US when the electoral campaign was ongoing and Trump’s political opponent from the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton, was leading in the polls. This is probably part of the reason why Trump attacks Clinton so aggressively during the acceptance speech: “This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism, and weakness.” (ll. 137-138)

Furthermore, as...