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The president gave an upbeat and positive speech Thursday night in accepting the Republican Party nomination for a second term, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said Friday.
Capito and her husband, Charlie, attended the final night of the Republican National Convention at the White House, telling reporters in a press conference Friday morning it was a beautiful evening. She and her husband wore their masks.
"I felt very comfortable being there," Capito said.
Trump talked about the economy before the pandemic, vaccines for the virus, immigration, China as a threat to the economy and intellectual properties in the United States, opioids and the price of prescription drugs, she said. The evening and the speech showed the difference between the president and Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden.
Testimonials from the speakers leading up to the president's acceptance speech were the "most impactful" why the president should be re-elected, Capito said.
Among the speakers were Ann Dorn, the widow of a retired St. Louis police captain who was killed in June by someone robbing a pawn shop, businesswoman Debbie Flood, Alice Johnson, whose life sentence on drug charges was commuted by the president, and Carl and Marsha Mueller, whose daughter, Kayla, a humanitarian worker, was killed by ISIS.
"I thought it was a powerful evening," Capito said.
Trump also touched upon the riots in Kenosha and other violence across America, which was not addressed at the Democratic National Convention, Capito said.
Capito was asked if the violence in Kenosha and elsewhere will help the president's campaign and poll numbers.
People need to be able to express their opinions and concerns without destroying property and other people's lives in the process, Capito said.
Dorn had one of the most powerful messages because she spoke about peaceful solutions, protests and ways to address the situation and still have faith in law enforcement, Capito said.
"I think in the end what will help the president politically will really be that his reaction … is of supporting law enforcement, rooting out bad cops, we know that's an issue, we know that exists, and not letting this situation take over and get out of control like we see happening in other cities," she said. "And I think really the Democrats' reaction to this has been weak and I think that is a political issue."
Capito is running against Democrat Paula Jean Swearingen of Mullens in the general election in November.
"You want my take on President Trump's speech? Here it is," Swearingen said. "When I'm elected senator, I'll have to fight the president for Medicare for All, no matter who ends up being president.
"Make sense? The whole idea of employer-based insurance is stupid and nothing could make that clearer than a pandemic in which more than 5 million people lost their health coverage already, with 27 million more at risk as this drags on and (Senate Majority Leader Mitch) McConnell does nothing," she said.