It's 'Meet the Trumps' time as Donald confirmed as Republican nominee

Mr Trump's campaign hoped the formal nomination would end the dissent surging through the party and overshadow the convention's chaotic start, including a plagiarism charge involving Melania Trump's address on opening night.

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions opened the nominating process with a hearty endorsement of Mr Trump, declaring him "a warrior and a winner".

There were flurries of dissent on the convention floor as states that Mr Trump did not win recorded their votes, but he far outdistanced his primary rivals.

He was put over the top by his home state of New York.

This week's four-day convention is Mr Trump's highest-profile opportunity to convince voters that he is better suited for the presidency than Hillary Clinton, who will be officially nominated at next week's Democratic gathering.

But the rocky start raises fresh questions about his oversight of his campaign, which gives voters a window into how a candidate might handle the pressures of the presidency.

The plagiarism accusations centre on Monday night's speech by Mr Trump's wife.

Two passages from her address - each 30 words or longer - matched a 2008 Democratic convention address by Michelle Obama nearly word-for-word.

Mr Trump's campaign managed only to keep the controversy alive on Day 2 of the convention by insisting there was no evidence of plagiarism, while offering no explanation for how the strikingly similar passages wound up in Mrs Trump's address.

The matter dominated news coverage from Cleveland, obscuring Mrs Trump's broader effort to show her husband's softer side.

Mrs Clinton pounced on the tumult, saying the Republican gathering had so far been "surreal," comparing it to the classic fantasy film Wizard Of Oz.

"When you pull back the curtain, it was just Donald Trump with nothing to offer to the American people," Mrs Clinton said during a speech in Las Vegas.

Top Trump adviser Paul Manafort said the matter had been "totally blown out of proportion".

He told The Associated Press: "They're not even sentences. They're literally phrases. I was impressed somebody did their homework to think that that could be possibly done."

Although the nomination meant it was Mr Trump's night, Mrs Clinton was frequently the focus inside the convention centre, while outside several protests erupted into skirmishes.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie energised the crowd with a full-throated attack on Mrs Clinton, imploring delegates to shout "Guilty!" as he listed numerous accusations of wrongdoing.

Mr Trump addressed the convention briefly in videotaped remarks, thanking them for formally nominating him as the party's White House candidate. "

"This is a movement, but we have to go all the way," he said.

Mr Trump's family again took centre stage, underscoring the campaign's urgent task to reshape the image of a candidate seen by many voters as harsh and divisive.

Two of Mr Trump's children testified to his character, casting him as a man undeterred by challenges.

"For my father, impossible is just the starting point," said Donald Trump Jr, the oldest of the Republican nominee's five children.

Tiffany Trump, the candidate's 22-year-old daughter with ex-wife Marla Maples, sprinkled her remarks with rarely heard anecdotes about her father, including the handwritten notes he left on her childhood report cards.

"My dad is a natural born encourager, the last person to ever tell you to lower your sights," she said.

There were no big mistakes on Tuesday, but the event lacked the glitzy, Hollywood touch Mr Trump had promised, with a series of Republican officials parading on stage to level sharp, but repetitive, criticisms of Mrs Clinton.

The evening's programme ended on an unusual note, with an actress-turned-avocado farmer delivering the closing speech - a spot normally reserved for prominent speakers.