Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence used his national introductory speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday to warn that another Democratic presidential victory would mean disaster for the military and danger for America's national security.
"We cannot have four more years of apologizing to our enemies and abandoning our friends," the Indiana governor told a partisan crowd in Cleveland. "America needs to be strong for the world to be safe. And on the world stage, Donald Trump will lead from strength."
Pence, the son of a Korean War veteran and the father of a Marine Corps officer, echoed many of the same security and foreign policy themes of conservative speakers over the last two nights.
He blasted Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's role in the deadly 2012 attack on U.S. embassy facilities in Libya and criticized eight years of President Obama's leadership as detrimental to America's reputation.
"We have seen borders that go unrespected, a military that has been diminished, promise after promise to our veterans forgotten," he said. "Under Donald Trump, our soldiers will have what they need and our veterans will have what they earned. And our nation will start winning again."
Pence's address to the convention was overshadowed in part by Trump's primary rival, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who took the stage less than an hour earlier and refused to give an endorsement of the GOP presidential slate.
Instead, Cruz urged voters to vote in November but without naming Trump. "If you love our country ... stand and speak and vote your conscience," he said.
The speech — which earlier earned loud cheers for Cruz's comments on the importance of having a strong leader to save America from terrorist threats — ended with deafening boos from the crowd for the lack of party unity.
The theme of the convention's third night was "Make America First Again," but each of the evening presentations so far have touched on national security and military policy. Several speakers bashed the current White House for not doing enough to help veterans and defeat Islamic State militants.
Pence connected Clinton's time as secretary of state to the rise of ISIS, saying her policy recommendations in that role "helped undo all the gains of the (Iraq) troop surge, a staggering failure of judgement."
He called Trump "a man of faith, a man of conviction, a man you can trust" and said "there is no doubt in my mind he will bring real change to Washington."
Pence served as an Indiana congressman for 12 years, including six on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. But he spent much of his speech bashing federal leaders as out of touch with the American public, and vowed to help Trump tear down the "intellectual elite" running the country into ruin.
Trump is scheduled to deliver his prime-time address Thursday night, repeating many of the same national security themes. Clinton and Democratic leaders will offer their response next week at their party's convention in Philadelphia.
Leo Shane III covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He can be reached at lshane@militarytimes.com.
