Crowning an uncommonly unified and tightly choreographed political convention, Donald J. Trump accepted his third consecutive presidential nomination during a lengthy speech to a Republican Party he has thoroughly molded in his own image.

A political party that until recently was proud to champion free trade and internationalism – even military interventionism – in global affairs is now officially and unabashedly protectionist and inward-looking at both the top and bottom of the 2024 national ticket. So, too, are a majority of GOP activists in the grassroots.

“Make America Great Once Again” was the Thursday night’s theme, a minor one-word addition to the MAGA slogan that still galvanizes Trump’s base while sending liberal elites and many prominent traditional conservatives into apoplexy.

“This movement has never been about me, it has always been about you,” the former president proclaimed at the end of a four-day extravaganza that was very much about Donald J. Trump. “It has always been about the hardworking, patriotic citizens of America.”