Pence addressed the four-day convention from Fort McHenry in Baltimore, the site of an 1814 British bombardment against American revolutionaries that inspired the poem later turned into the US national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.

The backdrop gave Pence a cinematic opportunity to make the patriotic case for Trump getting a second term instead of allowing the nation to be “fundamentally transformed” by a Biden administration they say would take an uncharted path towards socialism and mob rule.

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“The hard truth is … you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America,” said the 61-year-old Pence.

Touting Trump’s strong record on the economy before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and his ongoing efforts to revive it – he urged voters to ask themselves “who do you trust to rebuild this economy?”

“A career politician who presided over the slowest economic recovery since the Great Depression? Or a proven leader who created the greatest economy in the world?”

Pence’s address came amid a new flare-up of racial tensions in the United States, with protests spreading over the latest police shooting of an African-American man, Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

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Third night of violent protests in US state of Wisconsin after police shooting of Jacob Blake

Third night of violent protests in US state of Wisconsin after police shooting of Jacob Blake

Addressing the latest unrest – Pence struck a tough tone.

“Let me be clear,” he said. “The violence must stop whether in Minneapolis, Portland or Kenosha,” he said.

“We will have law and order on the streets of this country for every American of every race and creed and colour.”

A former congressman and governor of the Midwestern state of Indiana, the evangelical Christian Pence has taken on the role of calm counterweight to Trump’s constant drama, one who is impeccably conservative and manifestly religious.

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Trump needs the well-organised evangelical community to turn out to vote in what likely will be a tight election.

When Trump’s 2016 candidacy was almost derailed by the emergence of an old recording of him boasting about grabbing women by their genitals, it was Pence who helped stem the damage.

Trump carries the baggage of a former playboy real estate tycoon – one who has faced multiple accusations of harassment and sexual assault.

But Pence has the comportment of a pious man, who reportedly refuses so much as to eat alone with a woman other than his wife, Karen.

As a traditional conservative, Pence seeks to reassure old-school Republicans while also praising the new generation of Trump loyalists – a balancing act that will likely play out within the party ahead of the next presidential election, in 2024.

The second lady also addressed the convention, which – like the Democratic event – has gone largely virtual in order to fight the spread of coronavirus.

So did Kellyanne Conway, a long-time close Trump adviser who announced she will be leaving the White House in late August.

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Pence is playing an important part in Trump’s re-election, criss-crossing the country – with an emphasis on swing states such as Wisconsin – to drum up support.

He has similarly served as the White House’s sober point man on the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly 180,000 Americans since Trump’s initial, erroneous prediction that it would disappear without trouble.

Pence’s opponent in the race, Democratic vice presidential pick Kamala Harris, will be attacking Trump on his coronavirus record at a speech Thursday in Washington, the same day Trump gives his main acceptance speech of the Republican convention at the White House.