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Trump Officially Receives Republicans’ Votes | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Trump addresses Republican convention after securing nomination. Reuters


Washington-Donald Trump made on Tuesday his hostile takeover of the Republican Party official. He earned the 1,237 bound delegates necessary to secure the party’s nomination in early June.

Trump won with 1,725 delegates, followed by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas with 475 delegates, Ohio Governor John Kasich with 120 and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida with 114.

Three other candidates emerged with a total of 12 delegates.

Later that night, Donald Trump elected Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to be his running mate.

“I am pleased to announce that I have chosen Governor Mike Pence as my Vice Presidential running mate,” he said.

Trump tweeted shortly after the vote: “Such a great honor to be the Republican Nominee for President of the United States. I will work hard and never let you down! AMERICA FIRST!”

In a common matter, speaking at the Republican Convention in Cleveland on Tuesday night, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie invoked his past as a federal prosecutor to press the Republican case against Hillary Clinton.

As chants of “Lock her up!” raced around the two-thirds-full Quicken Loans Arena, Christie depicted the former Secretary of State as a liar, a fool and an incompetent in a fiery address that he claimed would “hold Hillary Rodham Clinton accountable for her performance and her character.”

Insisting that “every region of the world has been infected with her flawed judgment,” Christie turned to the controversy over Clinton’s private email server, which recently earned her censure – but, crucially, not an indictment – from the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice.

As Secretary of State, the New Jersey Governor alleged, Clinton had “cared more about protecting her own secrets than she cared about protecting America’s secrets.”

Trump’s eldest child, Donald Trump Jr., announced the support of New York, their home state, during a roll-call vote at the Republican National Convention.

With three of the candidate’s other children at his side, the younger Trump said: “It is my honor to be able to throw Donald Trump over the top in the delegate count tonight.”

“Congratulations, Dad. We love you,” he said.

For her part, Trump’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, who has been the target of withering verbal attacks during the convention, was quick to respond to the vote, tweeting: “Donald Trump just became the Republican nominee. Chip in now to make sure he never steps foot in the Oval Office.”