2020 race reset? Trump acceptance speech marks new phase

Republicans, coming out of the convention, hope that their efforts to frame Joe Biden as a friend of radicals and rioters will resonate with voters more than did the Democrats' message -- that Biden is the virtuous solution to an immoral Trump presidency. Some observers believe the RNC has so far been successful in that mission.

"So how are Republicans using this convention to persuade voters? Half of the battle is finding the right enemy. In this case, that requires replacing Joe Biden with an axis of evil: the left, radical protesters, and the media," Matt Lewis of The Daily Beast wrote. He called the convention's messaging on that issue "stunningly effective."

And for those who recoil at Trump's governing style, foul mouth and personal behavior and who could have been convinced by the Democrats' message last week, Lewis said: "You have now been given permission—consider the on-air naturalization ceremony or, about an hour before that, the on-air pardon for the African-American bank robber who turned his life around—to believe that Trump isn’t such a bad guy after all."

As for the "radical protesters" mentioned, Republicans appear to believe Americans' distaste for the riots, and Democratic mayors and governors who they say have failed to stop them, can propel a late surge in the polls as Election Day nears.