GOP CONVENTION | Trump's closer is over, Clinton set to snag attention

CLEVELAND (AP) — In the swirl of balloons and cheers of the masses, Donald Trump finally had his Rocky moment after a rocky convention, and now Democrats are eager to step up for their own spectacle.

Hillary Clinton is set to snatch attention from Republicans by naming her running mate in advance of the Democratic convention, with Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine the leading contender.

Trump's forceful promises to be the champion of disaffected Americans closed out his convention on a high note for the party, not a moment too soon after shows of disharmony and assorted flubs before Thursday night's closer.

Speaking to "the forgotten men and women of our country," the people who "work hard but no longer have a voice," he declared: "I am your voice."

With that, he summed up both the paradox and the power of his campaign — a billionaire who made common cause with struggling Americans alienated from the system, or at least a portion of them.

He pledged as president to restore a sense of public safety, strictly curb immigration and save the nation from Clinton's record of "death, destruction, terrorism and weakness."

"I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on people that cannot defend themselves," Trump said.