Donald Trump made his first appearance onstage at the Republican National Convention Monday to introduce his wife, Melania, who spoke on behalf of her husband's campaign for president of the United States.
Trump, who has vowed to bring more of an entertainment feel to the convention as its nominee, walked out in silhouette before briefly introducing his wife.
"He's tough when he has to be, but he's also kind and fair and caring," Melania Trump said of her husband. "Yes, Donald thinks big, which is especially important when considering the presidency of the United States. No room for small thinking. No room for small results. Donald gets things done."
Candidate Trump has been short on specifics, but his wife vowed he would make life better for people off all incomes and backgrounds.
Melania Trump mentioned her birth in then-Communist Slovenia and recognized the contributions of veterans, including former Sen. Bob Dole, who was in attendance, who suffered a lifelong disability from an injury in World War II.
As first lady, Melania Trump said she would focus on women and children.
"You judge society by how it treats its citizens," she said "We must do our best to ensure that every child can live in comfort and security with the best possible education."
A parade of other speakers that included entertainers, politicians and veterans opened the first night of the Republican convention lauding presumptive nominee Trump as the party sought to project an image of unity after a day marked by dissent and disruption.
As much as they talked about the virtues of Trump, speakers including former Texas Governor Rick Perry and actor Scott Baio also laced into Democrat Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration, with an emphasis on the threat from illegal immigration at home and terrorists abroad.
"For eight years we've seen what happens when America leads from behind,'' Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton said. "We need a commander in chief who thinks about winning wars not merely ending wars.''
Delegates gathered at the Quicken Loans arena in Cleveland were awaiting the arrival of their candidate and his wife.
The gloss of the prime-time display belied the fractures within the Republican base that put on display earlier in the day when factions opposed to Trump's nomination noisily disrupted what should have been a pro forma vote on convention rules.
The revolt was effectively quashed by Trump supporters and party officials and dissenters were left with few options to carry out further protests. But it was clear afterward that the process, in which delegates shut down an attempt to force a roll-call vote on rule changes, left many delegates fuming.
Delegates from Colorado were seen walking out of the hall, and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli was spotted angrily throwing his convention credentials to the floor after an effort to seek a roll-call vote on rules was cut short.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who like Cuccinelli supported Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the nomination campaign, told reporters on the floor of the arena where the convention's being held that he was still trying to get an answer to why party officials blocked a roll-call vote on the rules that would govern the convention and set guidelines for nominating process.
"This is not about Mr. Trump," he said. "This is about having a fair rules process."
Delegate Joel Mattila, wearing a Trump "Make America Great" hat, yelled "sour grapes" to Lee.
"Is it sour grapes to ask for a roll call vote?" Lee replied.
The anti-Trump delegates were seeking changes that would give them the ability to vote for someone other than Trump as well as altering other rules, such as limiting participation in future presidential primaries and caucuses to only registered Republicans.
While it was unlikely to stop Trump, who won far more delegates than he needs for the nomination, a roll call vote on the rules would have given anti-Trump delegates more opportunity to voice their disapproval. It potentially also could have caused an embarrassing delay in the schedule for the convention's prime-time lineup on its opening day.
Representative Steve Womack of Arkansas, sitting as temporary chairman of the convention, asked for a voice vote to approve the rules, even as delegates who wanted a roll call began shouting their disapproval.
Despite notable shouts of "nay" from the floor, Womack declared the panel's report had been approved and left the stage. There was a roar from delegates shouting and chanting "roll call vote!''
Several minutes later, Womack returned and said the measure had passed. Nine states had originally asked the chairman's decision be subject to a roll call vote, he said, but since three states had withdrawn their support, the six remaining didn't meet the requirement of eight needed to force a roll call.
Former Senator Gordon Humphrey, a New Hampshire delegate who backed Ohio Governor John Kasich, said he wasn't confident that RNC staff had the "courage" or "independence" to "stand up" to pressure from the Trump organization to disallow or ignore petitions.
In an interview with MSNBC, he called the presumptive nominee's supporters "brown shirts" who "act like fascists.''
Less than an hour after the display of disunity on the floor, delegates were asked to look to the back of the arena to pose for a sort of family photo documenting their gathering in Cleveland.
Trump did not immediately acknowledge the chaos, but did tweet criticism of CNN's coverage in the minutes following the floor fight in which he said that a vast majority of those present supported him.
"They go to their dumb, one-sided panels when a podium speaker is for Trump!" he tweeted.
In another sign of the divisions in Cleveland, Trump's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, said at a Bloomberg Politics breakfast Monday that Kasich is being "petulant" and "embarrassing" his party by attending only events on the sidelines of the convention in his home state.
Most of the evening's speakers hewed to the night's theme of making country safe with stories of violence committed against Americans and with calls for a robust military.
Patricia Smith, the mother of Sean Smith, one of the four Americans killed in the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, delivered an emotional condemnation of Clinton.
"The tragedy in Benghazi was brought upon America. I blame Hillary Clinton,'' Smith said. "She lied to me and then called me a liar.''
Smith alleges Clinton, who was secretary of state at the time, falsely told her in a private meeting that an anti-Muslim video was at the root of the assault on a U.S. compound. The father of Tyrone Woods, a CIA operative who died at Benghazi, also has said Clinton mentioned the video. But members of other families who were at the meeting have said they don't remember any such discussion. Clinton has denied saying anything about the video and called suggestions she did "part of the fog of war.''
Texas Representative Michael McCaul warned that the nation's security is at risk.
"Its time to take back our country and make America safe again,'' McCaul said.
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