Donald Trump says if he loses the US election the American way of life will be “destroyed”.

He launched a scathing attack on Democratic nominee Joe Biden and said the nation is facing its most important ever election.

After accepting the Republican Party nomination, the President defended his leadership of a divided nation.

Critics said his 70-minute speech, which he later boasted received “great reviews”, was a collection of the greatest lies he has ever told.

Fact-checkers pulled apart his address which relied on misleading claims as he lurched between praising himself and condemning Biden.

On the closing night of the Republican National Convention, Trump said at the White House: “This is the most important election in the history of our country.

“Everything we’ve achieved is now in danger.

“This election will decide whether we will defend the American way of life or allow a radical movement to completely dismantle and destroy it.”

Opponents say his failings include not taking Covid-19 seriously before he had to embark on a series of embarrassing U-turns.

Trump, who arrived on stage with wife Melania, delivered his speech before a crowd who were seated close together and were not wearing masks.

With 66 days until the election on November 3, it seems the result could be decided by just four states ­Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

They were won narrowly by the Republicans in 2016 when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton.

‘No one will be safe if my rival wins’

In formally accepting the Republican nomination, Trump portrayed himself as a hero to the American people.

Boasting of his perceived achievements and ignoring his troubled history he viciously attacked his rival, Joe Biden, throughout his address.

The US leader began with an acknowledgement of “the wonderful people who have just come through the wrath of Hurricane Laura”.

He failed to mention the 180,000 American lives lost and almost six million infected through the coronavirus pandemic until much later – and even then it was given little time.

Trump diverged from the optimistic vision convention planners had sought to project. Instead, he focused on Biden and a defence of his own record.

He blamed Biden and his Democratic Party for the nation’s chronic problems as well as for the unrest coursing through the US today.

He boomed: “Your vote will decide whether we protect law-abiding Americans or whether we give free rein to violent anarchists, agitators and criminals who threaten our citizens.”

Whereas Biden refused to mention Trump by name during his address last week, the President named his opponent like a machine gun firing bullets.

In doing so, despite presiding over the biggest single mass killing in the States, a rise in right-wing domestic terrorism and riots, he blamed everyone but himself for the troubles engulfing the nation.

In October 2017, Stephen Paddock gunned down 58 people at a Las Vegas music festival.

Despite the massacre, Trump refused to enforce stricter gun controls after opposition from the National Rifle Association, which donated £22.5million to his 2016 campaign.

Trump spoke at length about his law and order message, claiming Biden’s policies would be an “attack on public safety”.

“No one will be safe in Biden’s America,” he warned.

Although mentioning Kenosha in Wisconsin, which this week has suffered deadly protests after the shooting by police of a black man, he failed to say the name of the victim Jacob Blake.

Blake, 29, was shot seven times in the back and is paralysed in hospital.

On Covid, Trump flat out lied when he boasted the “States has among the lowest cases of fatality rates of any major country in the world” – it ranks in the top third in the world.

The President also said the US economy has gained a record nine million jobs over the past three months, which although it has he failed to mention the 22 million recently laid off because of the pandemic.

Trump also took a swipe at Biden alluding to allegations the former Vice President is sometimes physically inappropriate with women.

“For 47 years, Joe Biden took the donations of blue collar workers, gave them hugs and even kisses,” Trump said, then paused mid-sentence as the 1,500-strong audience laughed and cheered.

Trump ignored that 25 women have accused him of sexual misconduct, all of which he has denied.

He was introduced on Thursday night by daughter Ivanka just hours after a deep rift between her and Trump’s wife Melania emerged.

An ex-pal of the First Lady claims she plotted to block Ivanka in pictures at his inauguration.

Experience and policies boost Joe’s chances of winning over voters

As he accepted the Democratic nomination for this year’s election, Joe Biden was careful with his choice of words – he did not mention Donald Trump once.

In casting himself as a capable leader prepared to steer the States out of its ongoing troubles, his tone could not have differed more wildly from his rival.

His 47 years in politics had taught him a message of unity over division, choosing instead to focus on the positive things he could bring to the role of leader, rather than Trump’s deceptions.

“United, we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America,” Biden declared in accepting his party’s nomination.

“Here and now, I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I will be an ally of the light, not of the darkness.

“This is not a partisan moment, this must be an American moment. This is a life-changing election that will determine America’s future for a very long time.”

Viewed as a hero to working-class voters, Biden depicted himself as empathetic and thoughtful – someone who would be a more conventional leader.

He has been endorsed not only by America’s influential celebrity culture but by his former boss, President Barack Obama.

Whereas Biden chose to never once mention Trump’s name, after four years of silence, Obama went on the attack.

“I never expected that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies,” said the former president.

“I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously; that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care.

“But he never did.”

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Unlike Trump, Biden can boast of his government experience, making him a steady, seasoned hand in a dangerous and uncertain world.

However, his critics attack his voting record in the Senate.

They point to how he backed the Iraq War, as well as endorsing mandatory minimum sentences for drug trafficking and increased funding for federal prisons – both policies which contributed to mass incarceration.

But his belief that healthcare should be “a right for all and not a privilege for the few”, 30 years’ history tackling climate change and his openness to immigration has brought him tremendous support.

As a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he also speaks passionately about asserting and defending America’s role as a leader on the global stage.

Of the fight to win the White House, he said last week: “What we know about this president is if he’s given four more years, he’ll be what he’s been for the last four years: a president who takes no responsibility refuses to lead, blames others, cosies up to dictators and fans the flames of hate and division.”

But Biden has attracted his fair share of controversy and in March, Tara Reade alleged that he sexually assaulted her in 1993, when she was a staff assistant in his Senate office.

Others have described him as “handsy”.

Biden has denied Reade’s allegation.

He responded to others by saying: “I shake hands, I hug people, I grab men and women by the shoulders and say, ‘You can do this’.”