Michael Goodwin: Streetfighter Trump hits Biden with flurry of solid punches at Republican Convention

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Sen. Lindsey Graham praises President Trump's 'unapologetic view of America'

And on Day 4, there was no more Mr. Nice Guy!

Republicans spent the better part of three nights in their convention presenting softer and gentler sides of President Trump, but the president gets the final word and he came out Thursday in a fighting mood.

His acceptance speech detailed his successes and offered promises aplenty for a second term, but the emphasis and energy were committed to a scorched-earth attack on Joe Biden and the Democrats.

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Trump threw so many punches at his opponent that, had it been a real heavyweight boxing match, the referee would have stopped it in the middle rounds out of mercy.

Some samples: “This election will decide whether we save the American Dream, or whether we allow a socialist agenda to demolish our cherished destiny.”

Then later: “How can the Democrat Party ask to lead our country when it spends so much time tearing down our country?”

After saying Biden had buckled to the demands of the socialists in his party, Trump asked: “If he can’t stand up to them, how is he going to stand up for you?”

Many of the lines echoed Ronald Reagan, and the two men share key traits, perhaps the most important being a willingness to take on Washington from the inside without ever losing their outsider’s perspective. If there was any doubt, Thursday night settled the question of whether four years in the White House have warmed Trump’s heart to the Beltway. No, no, a thousand times no.

Instead, he detailed numerous examples of where he believed he was fighting the entire establishment to get things done for the American people, including standing up against China’s theft of jobs and intellectual property and stopping illegal immigration. In his mind, he is often a lonely warrior.

While Reagan’s folksy charm belied a core of steely conviction, Trump generally prefers to dispense with the niceties and get down to business.

And make no mistake: Thursday’s speech was all business. He came not to debate Joe Biden, but to bury him.

On the merits, it was an effective argument on every front, from the economy to foreign policy to law and order. The routine was for Trump to cite his own first-term accomplishments as more than Biden had done in his 47 years in Washington.

The only question was whether the pounding was too brutal for those swing voters in the swing states the president is courting.

Some are disaffected Trump supporters and some are undecideds, often because, polls show, they don’t approve of the president’s bull-in-a-china-shop conduct.

The issue is so important that Ivanka Trump, in introducing her father, casually noted that his communications “are not to everyone’s tastes,” and added that his tweets can feel “unfiltered.” Of course, the acknowledgment was aimed at giving people permission to support the president despite their misgivings.

Moreover, the campaign long ago learned that Trump will be Trump and made its bet that the public will put results over any qualms about style, taste and personality.

And while the speech on the White House lawn had a rally feel about it, the attacks on Biden were substantive and policy-based.

While Democrats want the election to be about the president’s handling of the coronavirus, another key issue has emerged that could prove more decisive. The riots, looting and crime surges in the nation’s cities have become a political flashpoint.

One reason is that nearly all the cities are run by Democratic mayors. Another is that Biden and the party didn’t say a single word about the destruction at their convention, instead embracing Black Lives Matter and treating the protesters as new-age heroes.

Trump and the GOP have been jumping on the error ever since, and it became a major focus of the convention. The president cited it numerous times Thursday night as another disqualifying action, or inaction, by his opponent.

Already, the polls have started to reflect public unease with the chaos, and while Dems had hoped they could use it as a reason to turn the tide against the president, they seem to realize they made a serious miscalculation.

Biden has spoken out twice in recent days about the violence, a clear sign that he sees the danger. Still, his words have been more pleading than the president’s, who is eager to send in federal troops if local governments and police can’t gain control of the streets.

The spreading violence is scaring Americans everywhere, with the situation in Kenosha, Wis., perhaps more frightening than what’s been happening in Portland, Seattle and elsewhere.

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Kenosha is a city of only 100,000 people, and the violence there is all the more shocking than what is happening in much larger cities. In effect, Kenosha is something of an Everytown, and the riots, arson and murder could cause more people to identify with it and wonder if their town is next.

The issue is undercutting a key feature of the Dems’ plan. They used their convention to portray Biden as empathic, someone who feels the pain of others because he has suffered enormous personal tragedies.

But Trump is trying to recast that quality as a weakness, saying that Biden is not tough enough to combat the current wave of lawlessness.

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n effect, the Trump team is asking: Who would you rather have on your side in a street fight — a tough puncher like Trump, or a guy like a Biden who feels the opponent’s pain?

Before the conventions, Biden had a significant lead in most polls. It’s likely the race has tightened, but this is a heavyweight match with many more rounds to go.

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CLICK HERE TO READ THIS COLUMN IN THE NEW YORK POST