CLEVELAND -- Donald Trump "humbly and gratefully" accepted the Republican Party's presidential nomination Thursday on the final night of his party's national convention in Cleveland.

In his acceptance speech, he pledged that as president he will restore the safety that Republicans fear they're losing, strictly curb immigration and save the nation from Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's record of "death, destruction, terrorism and weakness."

Confidently addressing delegates, the New York businessman declared the nation's problems too staggering to be fixed within the confines of traditional politics.

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

The 71-year-old businessman's acceptance of the GOP nomination caps his ascension in the party. His address Thursday night marked his highest-profile opportunity yet to promote unity within a party that's still divided over his candidacy, and to show voters that he's prepared to lead the nation.

Trump made a direct appeal to blue-collar Americans who have felt left behind in the 21st century.

"The forgotten men and women of our country -- people who work hard but no longer have a voice: I am your voice," he said.

"I'm with you, and I will fight for you, and I will win for you," he declared.

As the crowd, fiercely opposed to Clinton, broke in its often-used refrain of "Lock her up," he waved them off, and instead declared, "Let's defeat her in November." He accused her of "terrible, terrible crimes" and said her greatest achievement may have been staying out of prison.

He accused Clinton, his more-politically experienced Democratic rival, of lacking the good judgment needed to serve in the White House and as the military's commander in chief.

"This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness," he said. "But Hillary Clinton's legacy does not have to be America's legacy."

In a direct appeal to Americans shaken by a summer of violence at home and around the world, Trump promised that if he takes office in January, "safety will be restored."

He stuck to the proposals of his primary campaign, including building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and suspending immigration from nations "compromised by terrorism."

He said young people in predominantly black cities "have as much of a right to live out their dreams as any other child in America." He also vowed to protect gay people from violence and oppression, a pledge that was greeted with applause from the crowd.

"As a Republican, it is so nice to hear you cheering for what I just said," he said.

Shortly after Trump made one last promise to "make America great again," a slow-moving, confetti-and-balloon blizzard floated down on the convention hall. The soundtrack during the spectacle was the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want."

Before Trump spoke, he was introduced to the stage by his daughter Ivanka, who announced a child care policy proposal that the campaign had not previously mentioned.

"As president, my father will change the labor laws that were put in place at a time when women weren't a significant portion of the workplace, and he will focus on making quality child care affordable and accessible for all," she said in her speech.

As the Republican convention waned, Clinton whittled the list of contenders to be her running mate.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia emerged as the leading contender to join her in taking on Trump and his vice presidential pick, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, in the general election, according to two Democrats familiar with the selection process. An announcement in the matter is expected as early as today.

Clinton was lambasted throughout the four-day Republican convention. Republicans used her decades in politics to draw a sharp contrast between her and Trump, a political novice who is promising to shake up Washington.

"There's a lot of diversity in our party, and that's a strength of our Republican Party," said West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. "I have a lot of respect for Ted Cruz. But I've made the choice that I'm all in to defeat Hillary Clinton, and everyone should be all in to defeat Hillary Clinton."

"The dirty little secret Democrats don't want you to know is that they're the party doing the same old thing," GOP Chairman Reince Priebus said. "Next week they are going to trot out the same old Democrats with the same old message running the same old candidate."

Top Clinton aide John Podesta panned Trump for offering the nation little more than "prejudice and paranoia" and promised that Clinton will offer a more positive vision for America when she accepts her party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention next week in Philadelphia.

Arizona sheriff

As the GOP convention's final night began, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona's Maricopa County vouched for Trump's hard-line credentials on immigration. The crowd responded with chants of "build the wall."

"I am supporting Donald Trump because he is a leader. He produces results and is the only candidate for president ready to get tough in order to protect Americans," he said. "I have fought on the front lines to prevent illegal immigration, and I know Donald Trump will stand with me and other proud Americans to secure our border."

Arpaio went even further, making the unsubstantiated claim that terrorists are crossing the border.

"We have terrorists coming over our border, infiltrating our communities, and causing massive destruction and mayhem," he said. "We have criminals penetrating our weak border security system and committing serious crime."

Arpaio was a late addition to the speaker lineup on the convention's final night. The six-term sheriff has been an enthusiastic Trump supporter for the past year and has regularly campaigned for him.

Arpaio's five-minute speech came a day after a federal judge in Phoenix, who is presiding over a racial-profiling case, handed down the first round of punishments over the sheriff's decision to prolong his signature immigration patrols months after being told to stop them.

Arpaio has been found in civil contempt in the case, and the judge ordered an overhaul of internal affairs investigations at Arpaio's department, with additional sanctions expected.

The 84-year-old sheriff is to appear today before U.S. District Judge Murray Snow for a hearing to examine whether Snow will recommend a criminal contempt-of-court case against Arpaio for ignoring his orders in the racial-profiling case.

Another speaker Thursday made for a first at a GOP convention. The openly gay Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, acknowledged his sexuality from the podium and put fellow Republicans on the spot by saying he disagreed with parts of the platform.

Thiel said only Trump was being honest about how "fake culture wars" distract from America's economic decline.

"I am proud to be gay," Thiel declared. "I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all, I am proud to be an American."

He was greeted with wild cheers and extended applause as some delegations jumped to their feet, in a striking moment for a Republican gathering.

Pro-gay Republicans have held Trump up as the most supportive nominee in GOP history, but many gay-rights groups have denounced him, arguing that tolerance for one minority group doesn't excuse prejudice toward others -- such as Hispanics and Muslims.

Trump, who has said he'd nominate Supreme Court justices who might overturn gay marriage, has nonetheless spoken effusively about his friendships with gay people.

Thiel's speech in Cleveland offered a tech-focused version of Trump's vision for the U.S., saying that government systems are hopelessly outmoded, with nuclear-missile systems still run on ancient floppy disks.

"That is a staggering decline for the country that completed the Manhattan Project. We don't accept such incompetence in Silicon Valley, and we must not accept it from our government," Thiel said.

Thiel also offered a sharp critique of a policy fight that many Republicans have embraced, over rules requiring transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds with their birth gender. In several states this year, social conservatives have fought bitterly to keep these rules.

Thiel said that is a mistake. "This is a distraction from our real problems. Who cares?"

Protests play out

Throughout the day, hundreds of demonstrators for and against Trump gathered in Cleveland's Public Square. But by late Thursday, they began to peacefully scatter, ahead of Trump's prime-time acceptance speech.

Shouting matches and scuffles among the groups -- which included anarchists, anti-Muslim protesters and Bikers for Trump -- came to a halt once they were outnumbered by hundreds of police officers who streamed into the square in the biggest show of force during the four-day convention.

Soon, the protesters yelling into bullhorns were gone, and a stage set up for demonstrators was empty for the first time all week. Gawkers and police officers milled about, and children played in the fountains.

An anti-Trump rally never really materialized, drawing just a few dozen people.

Before the crowds of protesters melted away, police on bicycles and on foot fanned out to keep hostile groups apart.

In an almost carnival-like scene, state troopers from Indiana played pingpong with people in the square. Women waving pink heart-shaped signs supporting abortion rights danced in a fountain. Demonstrators dressed as nuns on stilts, anarchists wore bandannas over their faces and religious conservatives vied for attention.

As of Thursday, police reported 24 protest-related arrests since Monday, well below what law enforcement officials had feared going into this week. Seventeen of the arrests were on Wednesday, during a melee that started during a flag-burning outside an entrance to the convention arena.

Among those arrested was Gregory "Joey" Johnson, whose torching of a flag at a GOP convention three decades ago led to the 1989 U.S. Supreme Court decision that flag-burning is protected by the First Amendment.

His arraignment was held up Thursday because of what was described as a paperwork delay, but he was released later in the evening.

Trump said Cleveland police were doing "an incredible job."

Early in the afternoon, about 150 protesters carrying signs saying "Ban All Trumps Not Muslims" and chanting "Love Trumps Hate" marched across a Cleveland bridge, dutifully following the city-designated route for protest marches. They drew little attention from anyone other than the police.

Information for this article was contributed by Julie Pace, Robert Furlow, Kathleen Hennessey, Josh Lederman, Alan Fram, Thomas Beaumont, John Hanna, Michael R. Sisak, Michael Hill, Mark Gillispie, Bob Christie, Jacques Billeaud and Josh Lederman of The Associated Press; and by David A. Fahrenthold, Philip Rucker and Jose A. DelReal of The Washington Post.

A Section on 07/22/2016