Vice-president Mike Pence on Wednesday accepted the Republican party’s renomination, calling Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee for President, a “Trojan horse” for the radical left wing of his party, reprising the Trump campaign’s chief argument against the challenger.

Republicans are framing the November 3 election as a choice between themselves as protectors of law and order against an onslaught by the radical wing of the Democratic party, which, they argue has a stranglehold on Biden, on this and the issues of taxation, education, and climate change.

Pence deployed that line of attack as the United States struggled to come to grips with yet another shooting of a black man by a white police officer. This time in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which led to the killing of two persons during clashes between anti-racism protestors and armed white militiamen.

“When you consider their agenda, it’s clear: Joe Biden would be nothing more than a Trojan horse for a radical left,” Pence said in his prepared remarks, seeking to discredit the Democratic nominee in the eyes of American voters by tying him to the extreme wing of his party.

Pence delivered the acceptance speech from Fort McHenry, a historical monument in Baltimore, an hour’s drive from Washington DC. Its survival against unrelenting night-long bombardment by the British navy in 1812 inspired the American national anthem “The Star Spangled Banner”.

“Last week, Joe Biden didn’t say one word about the violence and chaos engulfing cities across this country,” Pence said on the third day of the convention, attacking Biden. The Trump administration, on the other hand, he added, “will have law and order on the streets of this country for every American of every race and creed and colour.”

Pence went on to defend the president and his policies. “He does things in his own way, on his own terms,” he said, seeking to make sense of and explain Trump’s chaotic presidency, as had First Lady Melania Trump in her speech to the convention on Tuesday.

“Not much gets past him, and when he has an opinion, he’s liable to share it. He’s certainly kept things interesting, but more importantly, President Donald Trump has kept his word to the American people,” Pence added.

The vice-president, who heads the White House task force on the coronavirus outbreak, predictably defended the administration’s response against persisting criticism that it was confused, sluggish and, worse, marked by stark disregard of the advice of its own public health experts.

The United States has been hit the worst by the epidemic — with nearly 6 million cases and 180,000 deaths.

“But tonight, our hearts are with all the families who have lost loved ones. We mourn with those who mourn, and we grieve with those who grieve,” the vice-president said, striking a different note from other speakers who have either tended to only praise Trump’s response to the epidemic or ignored it altogether. “And this night, I know millions of Americans will pause and pray for God’s comfort to each of you.”

President Trump will deliver his acceptance speech on Thursday, the last day of the convention, from the White House.