Are you safer than you were eight years ago?

Rep. Mike McCaul’s speech at the 2016 GOP Convention

Good evening. I am Michael McCaul, Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. I am a fourth-generation Texan, born and raised in Dallas.

Let us remember tonight the Dallas, and Louisiana, police officers who tragically lost their lives. America stands with my hometown, and we will NEVER forget.

And to law enforcement officers across this nation, we are with you and we will always support you. Tonight we just heard powerful testimony from people who have been devastated by Obama’s reckless immigration policies.

Haven’t we had ENOUGH? And now Hillary Clinton is promising more of the same — open borders, executive amnesty, and the surge of Syrian refugees. This is a dangerous liberal agenda and it’s time for a change. It’s time to take back our country and make America SAFE again!

We need to end sanctuary cities, keep dangerous people out of our country, and SECURE our borders. Our country’s national security is at risk.

Ronald Reagan once reminded us that America was “a shining city upon a hill” — a beacon of hope to all the world. But after eight years of weak leadership, our “city on a hill” is now a city under siege.

Today our allies no longer trust us, our adversaries no longer fear us, and our enemies are plotting against us. This did not happen by accident, it happened by design.

It is the work of Barack Obama and the architect of his failed foreign policy, Hillary Clinton. For years they presided over America’s retreat. And the consequence is clear: leading from behind has led us into danger.

When Hillary stopped talking about the “war on terror,” our enemies noticed, when she helped withdraw our forces from Iraq, creating a power vacuum, she paved the way for ISIS to rear its ugly head and our enemies noticed.

When four Americans were murdered and Benghazi burned, she blamed it on a video and our enemies noticed. And when she stood on the sidelines while terror hotspots erupted across the globe, our enemies noticed.

We have all witnessed the recent attacks in Nice, Paris, Brussels and Istanbul, but now we are in the crosshairs.

Our own city streets have become the battleground: Fort Hood. Boston. Chattanooga. San Bernardino and Orlando.

Instead of protecting Americans, the Obama Administration turned a blind eye to the danger. So let’s cut through the suffocating political correctness and call the threat what it really is radical Islam. These fanatics have radicalized a religion into a weapon, and they are targeting our way of life.

President Reagan once asked, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” But tonight let me ask you this question: are you SAFER than you were eight years ago? Is our military stronger? Is America still respected?

Over and over again, Obama and Hillary apologized for America and allowed jihadists to spread like wildfire. We CANNOT afford Hillary in the White House again. We NEED someone who can repair the damage she has done, take the fight to the enemy, and put America first.

That man is Donald Trump. I am proud to serve as a member of his national security team, and I can tell you this: Donald will NEVER apologize for American greatness — he will promote it.

He will NEVER bow down to our enemies — he will stand up to them. And Donald will NEVER allow terrorists to gain ground against America — he will shake the ground they walk on.

My father was a bombardier in World War II and participated in the D-Day invasion against the Nazis. His generation — the greatest — defeated fascism and communism, handing down a better and safer America to my generation.

Now, we are in a struggle against the forces of radical Islam and terror, which must be defeated for our children and grandchildren. A Trump Administration will take on this fight and send a clear message to the Islamist terrorists: you may have fired the first shot, but rest assured, America will fire the last.

Thank you, and may God bless America.