CLEVELAND – Donald Trump accused Democratic rival Hillary
Clinton of a legacy of “death, destruction, terrorism and weakness”
as U.S. secretary of state and vowed to be tough on crime and illegal
immigrants in a speech on Thursday accepting the Republican presidential
nomination.

Trump’s speech was designed to set the tone for the general
election campaign against Clinton, an answer to Republicans who say the best
way he can unify the divided party is to detail why the Democrat should not be
elected on Nov. 8.

As the crowd chanted: “Lock her up” for her handling
of U.S. foreign policy, Trump waved them off and said: “Let’s defeat her
in November.” Thousands of supporters who were gathered in the convention
hall roared their approval.

The remarks by Trump, 70, closed out a four-day convention that
underscored his struggle to heal fissures in the Republican Party over his
anti-illegal-immigrant rhetoric and concerns about his temperament. The event
was boycotted by many big-name establishment Republicans, such as 2012 nominee
Mitt Romney and members of the Bush family that gave the party its last two
presidents.

Trump stuck to his hardline position on illegal immigrants,
saying they were taking away jobs from American citizens and in some cases
committing crimes. He accused President Barack Obama of inflaming racial
tensions rather than calming them.

His speech was filled with some of the bravado he used to win
the Republican nomination over 16 rivals.

“I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can
no longer beat up on people that cannot defend themselves,” Trump said.
“Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix
it.”

In his speech, Trump offered little in the way of details about
his policies but rather portrayed himself as a fresh alternative to traditional
politicians, willing to consider new approaches to vexing problems and help
working-class people who may feel abandoned.

Laying out his case against Clinton, he denounced
nation-building policies that were actually put in place to some extent by
George W. Bush, without mentioning by name the Republican president who
launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Trump said nation-building pursued by Clinton in Iraq, Libya,
Egypt and Syria had made a bad situation worse. He blamed her for the rise of
Islamic State militants and blasted her willingness to accept thousands of
Syrian refugees.

“After 15 years of wars in the Middle East, after trillions
of dollars spent and thousands of lives lost, the situation is worse than it
has ever been before. This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death,
destruction, terrorism and weakness,” Trump said.

‘THINGS HAVE TO CHANGE’

The New York businessman, who has never held elective office,
needs a strong performance on Thursday night to improve his chances of getting
a boost in opinion polls as Democrats prepare for their own more scripted
convention next week in Philadelphia.

In a contest that pits two politicians viewed as unfavorable by
large segments of the American people, Trump also accused Clinton, 68, of being
the puppet of big business, elite media and major donors who want to preserve
the current political system.

“That is why Hillary Clinton’s message is that things will
never change. My message is that things have to change – and they have to
change right now,” Trump said.

Citing a wave of violence in American cities, Trump vowed to
restore law and order, warning that 180,000 illegal immigrants with criminal
records “are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens.”

Trump said he would speedily address the violence that has
dominated headlines, such as the shooting deaths of five Dallas police officers
earlier this month.

“I have a message for all of you: the crime and violence
that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end. Beginning on Jan. 20,
2017, safety will be restored,” Trump said. The next president takes
office on Jan. 20.