Dodge continues tradition of RNC trips

Dodge continues tradition of RNC trips

Stumping for Trump in Cleveland

news@theeveningtimes.com

Bobbi Dodge went to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland as a Ted Cruz delegate.

She walked away firmly convinced that Donald Trump is the best person to be the next President of the United States and will stop America’s decline.

“I had a few trepidations about Donald Trump as our candidate,” Dodge said.

“But after seeing him and hearing him and seeing his family. I feel very, very confident about his campaign.”

Dodge has been a Republican delegate to every convention since 1988, missing only the New York convention in 2004 which re-nominated George W. Bush amidst fears of terrorism.

She said the convention in Cleveland was one of the best she had ever been to and praised its welcoming embrace of the conventioneers.

“Cleveland went all out to make us feel welcome,” Dodge said. “They had tons of security. There was never one moment where we didn’t feel secure. They just went all out to make us feel welcome.”

Dodge said her one disappointment came when Cruz delivered his speech.

The Texas senator who battled Trump hard for the nomination did not endorse Trump in his speech despite his pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee, and instead told delegates to vote their conscience.

The speech drew wide criticism and Cruz was loudly booed by delegates.

“We were all a little embarrassed by it,” Dodge said. “The only reason why I chose Cruz is because I think he is a strong Constitutionalist and for his willingness to stand up for his beliefs in Washington. But I felt that if he wasn’t going to call for unity and endorse the nominee which he promised to do, I wondered why did he accept a speaking spot? But I still feel that he is a very strong guy.”

Dodge said she was pleased with Trump’s selection of Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate and thought he gave a good speech.

“He really impressed everybody,” Dodge said. “I knew he was a very strong conservative. He was very sharp.”

Dodge also had high praise for the speeches of Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clark, who stressed that “blue lives matter” in the wake of the recent shootings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge.

(”He was super,” Dodge said.); Pastor Mark Burns, who delivered a fiery invocation speech in which he called Trump a “man of God” and stated that the “enemy” is “Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party.” (”He was a powerhouse,” Dodge said.) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani, who attacked Hillary Clinton’s experience as Secretary of State over Benghazi and her position on immigration saying that “her experience is exactly the reason she should not be president of the United States.” (”He just blew us away,” Dodge said.) Dodge said she was particularly impressed though with former Green Beret and “Lone Survivor” author Marcus Luttrell, who stressed that Trump understands how to fix the military, and called on the “next generation” to “love something more than you love yourself” because the world is a scary place and that America is good and will always be worth fighting for.

“You could tell that he was so passionate about his defense of our country,” Dodge said. “That really got to me.”

Dodge also singled out Trump’s family for praise. Trump’s wife Melania, daughters Tifany and Ivanka, and Donald Jr. all spoke at the convention.

“Every one of them was sharp,” Dodge said. “You can tell they have a real genuine family relationship. My daughter said if Trump gets elected it is going to be because of his family.”

And as for the party standard

bearer, Dodge said she

was impressed with Trump’s acceptance speech.

Trump echoed the convention’s themes to ‘make American great again’ and to ‘make America safe again’ by appealing to Americans who feel that the country is less safe because of the recent attacks against police and terrorism and is spiraling out of control because of the failed policies of Obama, Hillary and the Democratic Party.

“The Democrats and the media complain that Trump’s speech was too dark,” Dodge said. “We are just stating the facts. We want to turn it around. I think Trump will turn things around and get things going in the right direction. We certainly know

Hillary won’t.”

By Mark Randall