Trump’s speech was huge but it was no weekend at Bernie’s

Republican nominee Donald Trump was barely past the “I accept” portion of his nominating speech when my phone started having a minor seizure.

It was Twitter and that little blue bird was flogging The Donald. Normally, that would be cute and I would share the snark with the closest friend. But Thursday night, I was with the Harrison County Republican Club and the comments that most threatened to vibrate my phone off the table and into the repair shop were bringing the loudest cheers and applause from the crowd at the watch party at Bernie’s in Biloxi.

About 50 showed up for the party, including nine members of the Teenage Republican Club. By the time Trump’s speech rolled around after 9, the crowd was less than half that, though most people on the way out the door said they would continue the party at home.

Even the folks partying on Twitter had had enough as the speech rolled into its second hour. At 10:27, MSNBC regular Mike Barnicle said, “I’ve never wanted to see a balloon drop more in my whole life.”

And that was 20 minutes after @ZekeJMiller had tweeted, “Trump is on page 17/27 of prepared remarks.”

Over on Facebook, former Sun Herald staffer David Purdy had his own agenda. “Wrap it up, dude, I want to watch the weather and sports,” he posted at about 10:15.

But there would be plenty more “Trump, Trump, Trump.” Or as one woman said on her way out, it was the same Trump speech, just more of it.

Some on Twitter disagreed, saying Trump had painted a bleaker than usual picture of America.

“It’s Midnight in America,” declared @Politcalwire.

And @EdwardGLuce picked up on the Reagan theme: “This speech is darker than a coal mine. RIP Reagan Republicanism.”

Still, three young men from the TARC, all students at Ocean Springs High School, clapped loudly at the talk of an America in crisis and the desire for more law and order.

“He’s the best candidate to protect the American people and the country itself,” said Beck Guidry, a junior at OSHS.

But isn’t Ocean Springs a relatively safe place?

“We won’t always be in Ocean Springs,” said Hal Halford, a senior. He said he supports law enforcement, unlike “the people who think the police aren’t helping.”

Only one of the three, Will Cronin, a senior, will be old enough to vote in November, although they all said they had been following politics for years.

“This is his final chance to show people there’s more than what the media has shown,” Cronin said. “He has a real plan, about taxes for example.

“He didn’t make it hard to choose.”

Trump replayed his major themes — the wall, immigration, ISIS, the wall, China trade, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and crime — oh, and how a wall and a rock-hard immigration policy would curb crime.

“Beginning on Jan. 20, 2017, safety will be restored,” he said.

He went back to that date often as if simply by walking into the Oval Office, he would send criminals scattering like roaches. How would he do that? He didn’t say.

“Peace will be restored by enforcing the rules” was as close as he got.

Pete Wilson, a former president of what he calls the social wing of the party, said before the speech that he wanted Trump to lay out some of those details. Afterwards, he said, Trump did, at least to his satisfaction, on trade, the issue most important to him.

“It was the same stuff but expanded,” said Wilson, an investment adviser. “Particularly on trade. China has taken advantage of us on trade; they’ve been robbing us blind.”

There may have been some disunity at the national convention but there was none of that at Bernie’s.

There were people like Paul Boudreaux, who was one of the leaders of the South MS Tea Party for years before taking about a year and a half off from politics. He said he has liked Trump since the 1980s.

“How could you not like a guy who has a board game that says, ‘Because it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s whether you win.’ ”

Twitter be damned, I doubt a mind will be changed between now and November among those who were at Bernie’s. What could Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton say to win over people who’d head out to a restaurant to shout “Lock her up” at the TV?

But nationwide is a different story. Trump hasn’t convinced people like arch-conservative Eric Erickson, who revived the old Molly Ivins joke when he tweeted “Trump’s speech sounded better in the original German.”

Or Annie Linskey of the Boston Globe, who tweeted, “So, who is providing the GOP response to this speech?”

The good news? Linkskey is betting Clinton’s speech next week will be shorter.

The unanswered question: How long will the next three months seem?

This story was originally published July 22, 2016 at 8:40 AM with the headline "Trump’s speech was huge but it was no weekend at Bernie’s."