George Stephanopoulos: What You Need to Know About the Last Day of the RNC

It’s Trump’s big night, and everything has been leading up to this moment.

ByABC News
July 21, 2016, 11:19 AM

— -- It’s Donald Trump’s big night, and everything has been leading up to this moment. ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos breaks down the top stories unfolding on the last day of the Republican National Convention.

Trump’s Speech

Trump is set to deliver the most important speech of the four-day convention in downtown Cleveland tonight, and the pressure is on.

“He’s actually got to introduce himself to a much broader audience tonight,” Stephanopoulos said.

Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, said the Republican presidential nominee is well prepared.

“Donald Trump understands the goal tonight is to speak to the American people,” Manafort said in an interview with ABC News’ Tom Llamas today. “He understands it’s an opportunity to present his vision for the country to talk about the concerns he has for the country and to frame the election in the context of change, which he represents, versus the establishment, which Hillary Clinton is the epitome of.”

Controversial Policies

Trump has made a name for himself with his controversial policy ideas, like his proposals to temporarily bar foreign Muslims from entering the U.S., deport all undocumented immigrants and build a wall between Mexico and the United States. But so far, there has been no mention of these at the Republican National Convention.

Will Trump deliver those brash applause lines tonight, or will he tone it down?

In an interview Wednesday that aired today on ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” the billionaire businessman told Stephanopoulos he will reiterate the message that the “country has a lot of problems” during his big speech tonight.

“Well, I’m talking about trade. I’m talking about law and order. I’m going to be talking about borders. I’m going to be talking about many different things,” Trump said. “Our country has a lot of problems. I’m basically going to be using the same message and giving the same message that I’ve been talking about for a long time.”

When Stephanopoulos asked specifically about whether he will address some of his more controversial proposals, like the wall and the Muslim ban, Trump replied, “Yeah, you’ll be hearing a lot of things. I mean, I haven’t spoken yet.”

How Will America React?

As the GOP convention wraps up, tonight is a final opportunity for anti-Trump forces to cause some chaos in the Quicken Loans Arena and for protesters outside the venue to get their voices heard.

The event thus far has been largely calm. But Trump’s speech tonight, depending on what’s said, could trigger discord in and outside the arena.

“For the first time at this convention, will we actually see the protest heat up?” Stephanopoulos said. “That’s one of the big surprises at this convention. It’s been a lot milder outside the hall than we’ve expected.”

Related Topics