Jeane Kirkpatrick delivers one of the 20th century’s greatest speeches on the first night of the 1984 Republican National Convention–to a party that no longer exists.

On August 20, 1984, Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick delivered one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century at the first night of the Republican National Convention. Ambassador Kirkpatrick, a Democrat, represented the United States at the United Nations, doing battle for freedom.

The speech became famous for its refrain of San Francisco Democrats (where the party had held its convention) always blaming America first. It was, the Democrat Kirkpatrick began, the first Republican convention she had ever attended. In 20 minutes for the ages, Kirkpatrick explained the world to the world. She was liberty’s Boudica.

On this grim day, Donald Trump announced a running mate who will join him constantly denigrating America and portraying the blessings of freedom as the elements of a dystopian nightmare. Today, no one would be invited to deliver a speech like Kirkpatrick’s enduring masterpiece.

“We need friends and allies with whom to share the pleasures and protections of our civilization. We cannot, therefore, be indifferent to the subversion of others’ independence,” the Georgetown professor declared, “or to the development of new weapons by our adversaries or of new vulnerabilities of our friends.”

Today, Republican delegates nominated Trump for the third time to lead their party into a presidential election. For the first time, they will nominate a running mate who called Trump “America’s Hitler.” “Bewildering” is inadequate to describe the obliteration of the Republican commitment to democratic values.

Jeane Kirkpatrick was a great tribune of truth 40 years ago, and that has not changed.

Published July 15, 2024.