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Post by Admin on Aug 24, 2020 20:19:36 GMT
The Republican National Convention kicks off with a roll-call vote to officially nominate President Donald Trump as the 2020 Republican nominee.
Republicans will kick off night one of the Republican National Convention Monday with a theme focused around the "Land of Promise" after formally nominating President Donald Trump earlier in the day.
While the in-person Democratic National Convention was scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans began their convention with an in-person roll call in Charlotte, North Carolina, and then move to remote speeches from largely an auditorium in Washington, DC -- but also from the White House, in an unprecedented move.
The start to the Republican convention comes as the first polls since the DNC last week show Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has gained popularity, but has not widened his lead over Trump.
Trump and Vice President Mike Pence appeared at the roll call in North Carolina on Monday to thank delegates.
Notable speakers on Monday night include some of Trump's Republican allies in Congress (Sen. Tim Scott, House GOP Whip Steve Scalise, Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Jim Jordan), former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and the President's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
The night will also feature speeches from private figures who have lent their voices to supporting the Trump administration or exhibited values the President has commended, including the St. Louis couple who were filmed brandishing guns at a group of protesters walking along the neighborhood's private street.
It starts in Charlotte After a series of convention venue changes -- from North Carolina to Florida and back to North Carolina, again -- the formal convention will kick off in Charlotte for one in-person event before moving the rest of the production to the nation's capital.
The formal presidential nomination process began in Charlotte on Monday morning, attended by six delegates from each state and territory, amounting to a total of 336 delegates, according to the RNC. RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel presided over the nomination process, which concluded with Trump being formally nominated as party's nominee for President.
Following the nomination, prime-time speeches are expected to be delivered from the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium -- a venue within walking distance of the White House and across the street from the Trump International Hotel.
Appearances by Trump and Pence Trump and Pence made an appearance during the convention roll call in Charlotte on Monday, delivering remarks to delegates.
Trump will spend most of Monday morning and afternoon in North Carolina, according to his public schedule. He's scheduled to make multiple stops in the state and deliver a speech on the US Department of Agriculture's Farmers to Families Food Box Program.
The President is also expected to make appearances on each night of the convention before delivering his nomination acceptance speech Thursday evening from the White House.
A second term agenda The President has struggled to outline his goals for a second term in the Oval Office, but on the eve of the convention, the Trump campaign announced a specific set of second term priorities, which convention speakers will likely touch on during Monday's events and through Thursday's schedule.
The Republican National Committee also confirmed on Sunday that it would not release a new platform during the 2020 convention -- and in lieu of one, the party will support Trump's agenda.
Many of the goals in the list released on Sunday signaled a continuation of the President's priorities, such as lowering the cost of drugs, cutting taxes, decreasing unlawful immigration into the US, developing a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year and creating new jobs.
But some priorities established a renewed level of importance to issues the President hasn't talked about as frequently, including ending cashless bail, establishing congressional term limits, prosecuting drive-by shootings as acts of domestic terrorism and establishing a permanent manned presence on the moon.
The list of policy goals also places a specific target on China -- devoting a section priorities to the issue, which called for incentivizing the US to bring jobs back from China, prohibiting federal contracts to "companies who outsource to China," and holding "China fully accountable for allowing the virus to spread around the world."
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Post by Admin on Aug 25, 2020 19:06:05 GMT
A spokesperson for first lady Melania Trump said Tuesday that “every word” in her speech to the Republican National Convention would be her own.
Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s spokesperson, was responding to a question during an appearance on MSNBC about accusations of plagiarism that Melania Trump faced in 2016 because a portion of her convention address closely resembled remarks from former first lady Michelle Obama years earlier.
“I think that it’s been very, very clear that over the last three and a half years, Mrs. Trump has done nothing but learn and grow in this role and she’s been doing a fantastic job at that,” Grisham said on MSNBC. “We have been working really hard the last three weeks. I can tell you that every word in the speech is from her. It’s very authentic and it’s going to come from the heart.”
Grisham said that the speech would be one of Melania Trump’s longer addresses that she has given as first lady and described the remarks as “positive and uplifting.” The remarks will touch on her “Be Best” anti-bullying initiative, Grisham said.
“I would say it’s very forward-looking. She definitely lays out some of the things she wants to do with Be Best in the next four years,” Grisham said.
The first lady is slated to deliver the keynote address during the second evening of the Republican National Convention on Tuesday. She will speak from the White House Rose Garden, which was recently renovated under her direction. President Trump, Vice President Pence and second lady Karen Pence are scheduled to attend the speech.
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Post by Admin on Aug 26, 2020 6:25:36 GMT
The first lady offered condolences to Americans who had lost loved ones to coronavirus, breaking with other speakers’ efforts to downplay the pandemic. “My deepest sympathy goes out to everyone who has lost a loved one, and my prayers are with those who are ill or suffering,” Melania Trump said. The sentiment, which was frequently expressed during last week’s Democratic National Convention, was noteworthy given Republicans have avoided acknowledging the country’s coronavirus death toll, which is nearing 180,000, far greater than any other country in the world.
Unlike the first lady, the senior White House adviser Larry Kudlow tried to cast the pandemic as a thing of the past. Kudlow celebrated the pre-pandemic economy before acknowledging coronavirus has upended the country’s job market. “It was awful,” Kudlow said of the pandemic. “Hardship and heartbreak were everywhere, but presidential leadership came swiftly and effectively.” Kudlow’s use of the past tense to describe the pandemic was jarring to many commentators who noted that the country is still losing about 1,000 people a day to the virus. The US unemployment rate also remains above 10%.
Trump put his presidential powers on display, prompting criticism that he was using the White House as a prop. Over the course of the night, Trump signed a full pardon for Jon Ponder, a convicted bank robber who founded a prisoner re-entry program, and oversaw a naturalization ceremony at the White House. The president’s critics congratulated Ponder and the newly minted US citizens, but they accused Trump of misusing his power for political purposes.
Some administration officials’ participation in the convention raised ethical concerns. The appearance of Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, at the naturalization ceremony sparked accusations that he had violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in certain political activities. Earlier today, a senior House Democrat announced an investigation into whether Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, was breaking the law by delivering his convention speech from Jerusalem during an official visit there.
The Trump campaign made a pitch to women voters, who have been leaning toward Joe Biden. The first lady specifically addressed American mothers during her speech, and Republicans played a video celebrating the women who serve as senior advisers to the president. The messaging appeared to be an effort to chip away at Biden’s double-digit lead among women voters, which could certainly complicate Trump’s path to victory in November’s presidential election.
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Post by Admin on Aug 26, 2020 8:41:36 GMT
Here is a look at who is expected to speak at the Republican National Convention the rest of the week:
Day three of the Republican National Convention gets underway virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Wednesday Vice President Mike Pence Second Lady Karen Pence Senator Marsha Blackburn Senator Joni Ernst South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem Representative Dan Crenshaw Representative Elise Stefanik Representative Lee Zeldin Richard Grenell, former acting director of national intelligence Kellyanne Conway, White House counselor Keith Kellogg, national security adviser to the vice president Jack Brewer, former NFL player Sister Dede Byrne, surgeon and military veteran Madison Cawthorn, Republican congressional nominee Scott Dane, executive director, Associated Contract Loggers & Truckers of Minnesota Clarence Henderson, civil rights activist Ryan Holets, police officer known for adopting opioid-addicted baby Michael McHale, National Association of Police Organizations president Burgess Owens, former NFL player and GOP congressional nominee Lara Trump, Trump campaign adviser and wife of Eric Trump
Thursday President Trump HUD Secretary Ben Carson Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Senator Tom Cotton House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy Representative Jeff Van Drew Ivanka Trump, White House senior adviser Ja'Ron Smith, White House assistant Ann Dorn, widow of former police officer killed in St. Louis Debbie Flood Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor Franklin Graham, evangelical leader Alice Johnson, ex-inmate pardoned by Mr. Trump Wade Mayfield Carl and Marsha Mueller, parents of U.S. aid worker killed by ISIS Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship
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Post by Admin on Aug 26, 2020 20:41:44 GMT
Entertainer Bette Midler was ripped on social media after mocking Melania Trump's accent during the first lady's Republican National Committee speech from the Rose Garden late Tuesday and for referring to her as an “illegal alien.”
“#beBest is back! A UGE bore! She can speak several words in a few languages. Get that illegal alien off the stage!” Midler tweeted to her 1.9 million followers.
Melania Trump, 50, was born and raised in Yugoslavia before coming to the U.S., with her first language being Slovenian. She also speaks four other languages: English, French, German and Italian.
She described President Trump as a champion for families during her keynote address to the GOP convention and implored Americans to reelect him.
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