ANALYSIS | Trump, defiant and dark as ever, claims that Biden would destroy America.

Trump: No one is going to be safe in Biden's USA 10:33

(CNN) - President Donald Trump's demagogic speech at the Republican National Convention was made in front of a spectacular scenario but against the norms and that could be a super-spreading event.

The speech explained why Democrats warn that he must be removed from power at all costs, and why he can win a second term anyway.

After a Republican Party meeting that was one of the most sustained displays of propaganda in the modern history of Western democracy, Trump painted an apocalyptic vision of a nation on the cusp of a seizure of power by "violent anarchists" who they would exploit a "weak" Joe Biden to destroy America. He claimed that Democrats see the United States as a "depraved" and "evil" country that must be punished for its "sins."

Accepting the Republican nomination, Trump turned his back on the crowd and gazed at the executive mansion, spreading his arms in a gesture that exemplified his vision of ultimate and irresponsible presidential power.

"The fact is that we are here and they are not," he said.

• LEE: 6 conclusions of Trump's final night at the Republican National Convention

After two weeks of convention duels, the election to voters in November could not be clearer, or more likely to deepen the national rift that may hamper the next presidency, no matter who wins. The two sides in the elections are not only fighting over what the future of America should look like, but are operating from very different understandings of the meaning of the republic itself.

While his rival and former President Barack Obama warned last week that a second term from Trump would crush American democracy, the president argued that the survival of traditional - implicitly white - society was at stake.

"Your vote will decide whether we protect law-abiding Americans or unleash violent anarchists, agitators and criminals who threaten our citizens," Trump warned. "And this election will decide whether we will defend the American way of life or allow a radical movement to dismantle and destroy it completely."

Trump, largely attached to a teleprinter, delivered his speech in a monotonous tone that emphasized the nightmare prospect he was describing. His low energy lacked the electrifying showmanship of his rally appearances, the surprising unconventionality in his speech at the 2016 convention, and the raw power of his keynote address. There was little of the "optimism" promised by his political strategists or the empathy described by so many subordinates in a four-night effort to build his cult of personality.

But taken together, the footage from Thursday night's speech, followed by a spectacular fireworks display over the Washington Monument, and the Republican National Convention were a fitting explanation for why Trump is so attractive to millions of Americans that they flock to his culture war and embrace his disruptive personality.

"From the moment I left my old life behind, and it was a good life, I have done nothing but fight for you," said the president, explaining a presidency that critics see as an exercise in selfish selfishness. But a presidency in which his followers perceive a kindred spirit that destroys a political and economic system that they believe has left them behind.

“I did what our political power group never expected and could never forgive, breaking the cardinal rule of Washington politics. I kept my promises, "he said.

Together, we have ended the rule of the failed political class, and they are desperate to regain power by any means necessary. They are mad at me because instead of putting them first, I put America first, "he added.

A massive agglomeration in a pandemic

The crowd of 2,000 Trump gathered on the South Lawn, sitting together and rarely wearing masks, was an extraordinary scene during a pandemic that brought the United States to its knees, but exemplified Trump's willingness to show a false alternate reality for obtain political benefits.

Surprisingly, he accused Biden of ignoring the science - and falsely said his opponent wanted to shut down the entire country - after mocking his own Public Health experts in a response to the disastrous and denial-laden pandemic.

The images of the crowded White House grounds were a mockery of Trump's belated conversion to wearing face masks, which scientists say is the best way to fight a pandemic that has killed 180,000 Americans.

• LEE: Coronavirus news August 28: more than 200,000 deaths are projected in the US for September 19

Instead, the president promised a vaccine by the end of the year, or "maybe even earlier," and selected a set of misleading statistics to add to the falsehood that the United States is leading the world against COVID-19 when in fact it has. presided over one of the world's most disastrous responses.

"We will defeat the virus, end the pandemic and come out stronger than ever," Trump declared, hours after Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris suggested he had been "afraid" to make the crucial decisions that would have been effective in killing the pathogen.

Trump delivered his speech amid a daily number of suffering and death that would have been unimaginable at the beginning of his term. Since the convention opened Monday morning, more than 3,600 Americans have died from COVID-19, far more than those who died on September 11 or in combat operations in Afghanistan.

Challenging ethics and tradition

Most of the candidates deliver their convention speeches in arenas decorated with columns and faux marble that suggest the White House. Trump didn't bother with that: he chose the real White House. The giant screens with their "Trump / Pence" logo were a jarring image below the Truman Balcony and on the grounds of an all-taxpayer-funded national icon that instantly lost its ability to unite Americans.

The setting was a defiant metaphor for Trump's willingness to crush the traditions of the presidency, to put his immediate benefit before the dignity of office, and to troll his enemies while doing so.

Trump has spent four years launching divisive racial rhetoric, tearing down America's reputation as a haven for the downtrodden with harsh immigration policies and creating a constant whirlwind of chaos and intimidation.

But the convention had painted a nearly unrecognizable picture of a benevolent grandfather welcoming immigrants of color, promoting racial reconciliation and epitomizing the founders' vision of a president.

The warping of the truth was so bold and the propaganda so relentless that it required constant vigilance on the part of the voters to keep history in order. Most might not care that the use of presidential power for such blatant political purposes - for example, in a recorded naturalization ceremony at the White House - was a violation of the obscure Hatch Act. But Trump's willingness to cross the line so boldly was a sign that his shocking presidency enjoys near total impunity.

The message was clear: Trump believes he would be untouchable in a second term. A convention that was characterized by massive and bold lies - CNN counted more than 20 false or misleading claims in Trump's acceptance speech alone - about his policies, his character, and the policies of his opponents underscored how he has already severed ties with the They really limit normal politicians.

Trump has shown that he can ask a foreign nation for help to question his opponent and get away with it, even though he was indicted. A president who is already declaring the upcoming elections to be the most corrupt in history will clearly stop at nothing to ensure he is successful.

As former Obama political guru David Plouffe tweeted: “The line between democracy and autocracy grew a little thin tonight. The barrier between the two is the smallest in the history of our republic.

Trump ignores America's racial awakening

The president's ignoring the racial agony that has brought about a nationwide reckoning and the warning that no one will be safe in a Biden America may not have done much to win over centrist voters and hesitant Republicans who you need to bridge the gap with Biden. But Trump's authoritarian tone and personality, as well as his disregard for political correctness, could have made progress in convincing white working-class voters who identify with him emotionally and culturally but don't often vote to appear in November.

The president lashed out at the looted and burned "Democratic" cities as if they were experiencing sudden instability for no reason. He made no connection to the despair of blacks over the years of deaths in police brutality cases, or the emotional toll of George Floyd's death in Minnesota and the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin during his convention.

He made no connection with the despair of African Americans over years of killings by Black men in instances of police brutality - or the emotional toll of the death of George Floyd in Minnesota and the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin during his convention.

His omission was extraordinary in a nation consumed by political turmoil in which sports stars, led by NBA basketball players, refused to play games in a lawsuit against police brutality against blacks, which which is turning the movement launched when Colin Kaepernick knelt in a remarkable crusade for civil rights in the 21st century.

• LOOK: “We will stand up together, I need your strength,” says Jacob Blake's father at the march in Washington

Trump entered the most unusual and surreal election season in history in trouble - he is nine points behind Biden in CNN's poll poll and struggling to even explain a rationale for a second term.

Biden emerged from his convention successfully last week, and his forceful, short and energetic acceptance speech helped dispel Trump's caricature that he is sleepy and his lifelong reputation as a fearful rhetorician.

But the Republican event was undeniably effective. Testimonies from ordinary Americans, from lobster fishermen to farmers to small business owners, were far more effective in weaponizing the economy than the Democrats did. And the words of American citizens were in many cases more convincing than those of Trump in presenting his arguments.

In the most poignant moment of Thursday's show, Ann Dorn told the shocking story of the death of her husband Dave, a retired police officer who helped protect a friend's pawn shop during the riots in St. Louis.

"We cannot live in the midst of devastation and chaos," he said.

Trump, who at times seemed bored with his own unusual self-discipline of sticking to the script, listed the promises kept, including conservative judges' seats, new trade deals, a new line on China, the withdrawal of the Iran deals and on the climate and the release of fossil fuels from Obama-era regulations.

An emotional connection

But while these initiatives are the building blocks of Trump's coalition, their appeal has always been more visceral, especially among voters whose anger and emotional connection to the businessman and the reality star form a bond that even a pandemic will badly managed cannot cut.

Trump spoke out Thursday for any voter who despises the media, Washington institutions, liberals, and who worries that a more diverse nation is a threat to the more racially homogeneous traditions of an earlier era.

It is not yet clear if there is a majority of Americans who want to subscribe to such a vision or if the more diverse and inclusive approach of Obama, Biden and Harris can put together a route to 270 electoral votes.

But Trump leaves no doubt about how he will fight in what is shaping up to be one of the most disagreeable and disintegrating months in modern American history.

As he himself said: “Our country was not built by the culture of cancellation, language codes and overwhelming conformity. We are not a nation of shy spirits. We are a nation of fierce, proud and independent American patriots. "

Republican National Convention Donald Trump 2020 United States Elections Joe Biden