Eric Trump Opens His Heart to America

Prior to his speech Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention, Eric Trump, son of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, said he wanted to speak from his heart about his dad.

So, he wrote the speech himself.

And, by most accounts, he stole the stage with a speech that not only continued to demonstrate the Trump children’s love for their father, but his ability to help lead the Trump Organization in his father’s absence. Here is the full transcript of the speech.

It is such an an honor to be here for a man I love so, so, so so much. That’s my father.

Thirteen months ago, my father sat my family down and told us the time had come. He could no longer sit idly by and watch our beloved country, the country that had given our family so much success, so much opportunity, crumble before our very eyes. He confirmed to us that he was prepared to announce his candidacy for president of the United States. He made sure to acknowledge that ours would not be an easy path, that we should prepare ourselves for what was to come. That we’d quickly learn who our true friends were. Without hesitation, we each committed our unwavering support, but this time, none of us could have predicted what lay ahead. The records he would break, the stadiums he would fill, the movement he would start. Today my father stands before you with the most primary votes of any Republican candidate in the history of our nation.

He shattered voter registration records across the country. He has defied the predictions of every single political pundit and turned traditional debates into must-see TV. He has inspired multiple generations, including my own, millennials like myself who have so little faith in politicians that they no longer even consider public service to be a noble career.

A year ago, my father was a businessman, but like many Americans, he simply could no longer stand to see what was happening to our great country. He could no longer stand to see special interest dollars dictate an incompetent foreign policy that puts foreign countries before our very own. He could no longer tolerate an inept administration that considers giving $150 billion to Iran for releasing five radical Islamic terrorists a successful negotiation. He could no longer bear witness to our continued second amendment attacks. He could no longer stand to see the word ‘Christmas’ stripped from public use, or the Pledge of Allegiance removed from our schools in an effort to be politically correct.

So my father made the courageous decision to set aside a company to which he has dedicated his entire life, to set aside a global brand that he has made synonymous with success, with quality, with uncompromising … just the best. At a time when people at the pinnacle of their career like my father would have held fast to a lifestyle that has truly become the epitome of the American dream, my father instead chose to give that dream back to the people it had eluded for so long.

As daunting of a journey as he knew it would be, for him, he knew it was the easiest decision in the world. After all, who better to implement a common sense business approach to this country? Who better to apply practical solutions to the impractical decision-making of an administration that has bred a $19 trillion debt, one that goes up by $32,000 a second and over $2 billion a day? Who better to implement common sense tax reductions for one of the highest-taxed nations in the world, allowing our citizens the chance to keep more of what they earn, as opposed to having it squandered away by our inefficient government? Who better to negotiate the return of countless American manufacturers, like Nabisco and Ford and Carrier, and so many others, back to the United States where they began, than a man who has single-handedly employed tens and tens and tens of thousands of people around the country?

It’s time for a president with common sense. It’s time for a president who understands the art of a deal and appreciates the value of a dollar: our tax dollars. It’s time for the president who has always been the one to sign the front of a check, not the back. Throughout my father’s career, he has been repeatedly called on by government to step in, save delayed, shuttered, and and grossly over-budget public projects, everything from the exterior of Grand Central Terminal in New York to the iconic old post office in Washington, D.C., just to name a few.

Back in 1986, the city of New York tried to refurbish a simple ice skating rink in Central Park. The project dragged on for six years and blew up to over $13 million, $5 million over an already-inflated budget. That’s when my father, who overlooked this disastrous construction site from his office window each and every day, decided he had to step in. Disgusted by government incompetence and ineptitude, he invested $2 million of his own money in order to complete the project. What had taken the city over half a decade to botch, my father completed in less than six months, two months ahead of schedule and over a million dollars under budget.

It’s time for a president who can make America great again, ahead of budget, and ahead of schedule, too. My father has revitalized run down neighborhoods, shaped skylines across the country, and turned dreams into reality his entire career. It’s what he does; it’s who he is.

Oprah Winfrey once famously asked my father if he envisioned running for the presidency of the United States. His answer? ‘Only if it got so bad that I had no choice.’ ‘Only if it got so bad that I had no choice.’

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that day has come. As I travel the world that my dad built, and the greatest golf courses and hotels and real estate projects, I see the unmistakable look in his eyes. I see in his eyes the indignity and frustration of a domestic infrastructure back at home that is in complete disarray and no longer on par with so many other developed nations. I see in his eyes the sadness of innocent lives lost, like those of Kate Steinle and Jamiel Shaw and so many others cut short by illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities, victims of a revolving door of government ineptitude and corruption that leaves innocent Americans defenseless. I see in his eyes the humiliation of an education system ranked 30th in the world. I see in his eyes the disgrace of a nearly $400 billion trade imbalance with China, the $60 billion trade imbalance with Mexico, and the continued destabilization of the Middle East, which has cost our nation trillions and trillions of dollars and thousands and thousands of lives.

But today I see in his eyes a man who truly loves his country, who is proud of his country, and who wants his country to be great again. I want to thank my father over there for the life that he’s provided me, for the life that he’s provided my family, and the life that he’s provided all of our employees around the world. I want to thank my father for the life that he’s enabled me to provide for my future children as my beautiful wife Lara and I start thinking about that amazing chapter of our lives.

To that end, I often think about the legacy I wish to leave my children, and to me, there are few things that I hold closer to my heart than charity. For me, it’s the essence of who we are as human beings. It’s the barometer by which we will be measured for our time here on earth. As Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others?’ When at 22 years old I founded the Eric Trump Foundation, to benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, an incredible, incredible organization. I run my foundation based on the principles my father taught me: honesty, integrity, and values. I expect other charities to be run by the same moral code, not serve as conduit for personal enrichment, not become a beacon of corruption and scandal.

To whom much is given, much will be required. This is the very belief that compelled my father to make this great sacrifice, to run for the most powerful yet unforgiving office in the world. There is no greater calling, there is no more selfless an act.

To the unemployed voter sitting at home watching me right now, wondering how you’re going to make your next mortgage payment, or rent payment, my father is running for you. To the veteran tuning into this speech from his or her hospital, who has been ignored and disrespected by an ungrateful system for far too long, my father is running for you. To the schoolteacher forced to walk through metal detectors each and every day into an underfunded school, my father is running for you. To the laborer who is watching me right now, forced out of job by undocumented workers, illegal immigrants, my father is running for you. To the oil and gas industry worked denied a job because of radical regulations from a radical EPA, my father is running for you. To single mothers, to families with special needs children, to middle class families who can no longer afford medical benefits sufficient to cover their everyday needs, my father is running for you.

This November, I ask you to be true to yourself and vote for the candidate who you know is running for the right reasons. Vote for the candidate who has never been a politician. Vote for the candidate who has never received a paycheck from our government. Vote for the candidate who can’t be bought, sold, purchased, bribed, coerced, intimidated, or steered from the path that is right and just and true. And quite frankly, friends, vote for the one candidate who does not need this job.

Never have I been more proud to be a Trump. Never have I been more proud to be my father’s son. I’m incredibly honored to be part of this journey on which he’s invited me, Don, Ivanka, Tiffany, Melania, my beautiful wife Lara, our entire family, to play such an integral part. Dad, you have once again taught us by example, you are my hero, you are my best friend, you are the next president of the United States. God bless America.

See the full speech below.