The first night of the Republican National Convention kicked off Monday evening with warnings from several speakers of a 'vengeful mob...
The first night of the Republican National Convention kicked off Monday evening with warnings from several speakers of a 'vengeful mob,' painting Donald Trump as the only thing standing between it and America.
The first speaker, Charlie Kirk, who founded conservative student organization Turning Point USA, set the mood for the night by warning Americans of angry liberals and claiming 'everything we love' is at stake in November.
'I am here tonight to tell you – to warn you – that this election is a decision between preserving America as we know it, and eliminating everything that we love,' Kirk said during live remarks from a podium at the Andrew W Mellon Auditorium in Washington D.C.
He also lauded Trump for putting 'his own life of luxury on the line' to run for president.
'From the moment he came down that famous escalator he started a movement to reclaim our government from the rotten cartel of insiders that have been destroying our country,' Kirk continued.
'We may not have realized it at the time, but this fact is now clear: Trump is the bodyguard of western civilization,' he lavished praise on the president.
'Trump was elected to protect our families – our loved ones – from the vengeful mob that wishes to destroy our way of life, our neighborhoods, schools, church, and values,' he said. 'President Trump was elected to defend and strengthen the American way of life.'
Also speaking at the convention were the St. Louis couple who went viral for wielding guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home.
Mark and Patty McCloskey, who are facing felony charges, touted Trump's defense of the Second Amendment and also warned Americans of the 'mob.'
Charlie Kirk, the first speaker of the first night of the Republican National Convention Monday, warned of a 'vengeful mob that wishes to destroy our way of life'
Opening statement: Charlie Kirk, who spoke first, is a 26-year-old Republican activist little known outside party circles. He was given the task of opening the convention in a nod to his youth
St. Louis couple Mark (right) and Patty (left) McCloskey also warned a 'mob' would come for Republicans – especially pro-gun Americans – if Donald Trump is not reelected in November
The McCloskeys went viral after a video of them wielding guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home went viral. The two are facing felony charges
'At this moment in history, if you stand up for yourself and for the values our country was founded on, the mob – spurred on by their allies in the media – will try to destroy you,' Mark said as he sat beside his wife and addressed the camera in remote remarks.
Monday night started with a video montage narrated by actor Jon Voight as patriotic and pro-Donald Trump images and clips showed on screen.
In an attempt to expand speaking time and to upstage Democrats, the festivities Monday night began a full half-an-hour earlier than Democrats began their convention each night last week.
Voight, an avid Republican, touted in his monologue narration that Trump was elected because he works 'tirelessly' for Americans.
'We chose a different path,' Voight said of Trump's election. 'A man who is not a politician. A man who cares. A man who loves America, and all Americans. A man who works tirelessly for you. Even tonight during this nomination.'
Actor Jon Voight (pictured left with Donald Trump) opened the first night of the Republican National Convention by narrating an video montage of patriotic and pro-Trump clips
Tanya Weinreis, a Montana business owner, is one of the first recipients of the Payment Protection Program. 'I feel for workers and businesses across America, who are under assault from shutdowns, from riots, and now face the terrifying prospect of Joe Biden coming after everything we've built,' she said Monday
Among the ordinary American speakers Monday were Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was a victim of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida in 2018.
'I got to see who President Trump really is. He's a good man and a great listener. And he cuts through the B.S.,' Pollack said. 'Then the president did what he said he would do. He took action. He formed the school safety commission that issued dozens of recommendations to make schools safe. But I bet you never heard about that.'
In criticism of the press, Pollack said, 'Instead, the media turned my daughter's murder into a coordinated attack on President Trump, Republicans and our Second Amendment.'
Pollack also said that children's safety are dependent on Trump getting reelected.
'It's hard to tell how much Mr. Biden understands about what happened at Parkland,' Pollack said.
'But he doesn't even seem to know when this shooting happened—he said that he was Vice President when it happened. But he wasn't,' he continued, pointing to the gaffe-prone candidate.
Andrew Pollack, the father of a victim of the Parkland school shooting, said that American children's lives depend on Trump being reelected
'Mr. Biden may not know who was Vice President that day but I do. It wasn't Joe Biden. It was Mike Pence, thank God,' he continued. 'And I know who the President was too. It wasn't Barack Obama. It was President Donald J. Trump. And he took action.'
'I truly believe the safety of your kids depends on whether this man is re-elected. I hope you'll join me in helping to make that happen,' he concluded.
Also speaking on the gun front was Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican who was shot in 2017 during practice for the Congressional Baseball Game. He recalled the incident during his remarks from Washington D.C. Monday.
'After I was shot on a baseball field by a leftist gunman, first responders rushed me to a hospital where I battled for my life,' Scalise said.
He recalled both the president and first lady visiting him that night.
'They were there for my family in the darkest hours,' Scalise said. 'Donald Trump would call to check on me throughout the following weeks, just to see how I was doing. That's the kind of person he is.'
Besides giving Trump a personality endorsement, Scalise also railed against some Democratic calls to 'defund' the police.
'This is personal - I wouldn't be here without the bravery and heroism of the men and women in law enforcement who saved my life,' Scalise argued
Also on deck for remarks early on in the convention kick-off Monday were California public school educator Rebecca Friedrichs, who spoke out against unions and propped up Trump's pro-school choice agenda; and businesswoman Tanya Weinreis, who owns a coffee shop in Montana and was able to remain in business after receiving the Payment Protection Program grant in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
'My company was one of the first to get help from the PPP loan and Praise God, it has been a lifesaver for us,' Weinreis said.
'I feel for workers and businesses across America, who are under assault from shutdowns, from riots, and now face the terrifying prospect of Joe Biden coming after everything we've built,' she continued of the Democratic nominee.
'I am so grateful that we have leaders like President Trump standing up for us who understand the good local business do in our neighborhoods and are not afraid to fight for us every day,' the Mountain Mudd Espresso owner said. 'Thank you President Trump - it is so exciting to be a part of this great American comeback story.'
Maryland Republican congressional candidate Kim Klacik also made remarks after she garnered national attention for a city walk-through ad where she urged black Americans – specifically those in Baltimore – to leave the Democratic Party.
Kim Klasick, a Republican running for the U.S. House in Baltimore, went viral for a campaign ad where she urged black Democrats to leave the party. She repeated the same message during her short remarks at the convention Monday
'The Democrats still assume that black people will vote for them, no matter how much they let us down and take us for granted,' Klacik, who is running for Elijah Cumming's vacant House seat. 'Nope! We're sick of it and not going to take it anymore. The days of blindly supporting the Democrats are coming to an end.'
She lashed out against Biden, claiming he 'believes we can't think for ourselves -- that the color of someone's skin dictates their political views.'
'We're not buying the lies anymore – you and your party have ignored us for too long,' she asserted.
Biden holds a vast majority of the black vote and usually is most popular among this demographic.
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, the lone black Republican in the U.S. Senate, closed out the first night of the convention as the keynote speaker.
He said Biden has said if black people don't vote for him then they aren't really black – he also accused the candidate of seeing all black voters as the same.
Some of President Trump's most ardent defenders inside the Capitol including Rep. Matt Gaetz tore into Democrats at Monday night's GOP convention – as the Florida Republican said Democrats would invite gang members to live next door.
'They'll disarm you, empty the prisons, lock you in your home, and invite MS-13 to live next door. And the defunded police aren't on their way,' Gaetz said, in one of several charged lines.
The Judiciary Committee member and Trump loyalist during the Mueller probe accused Democrats of 'blaming our best and allowing society's worst.'
'He believes in war without winning, war without end,' Gaetz said of Biden, who voted for the 2003 Iraq war authorization.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, one of Trump's most vocal impeachment defenders, also trained fire on Democrats in his convention remarks, saying cities run by Democrats were facing 'mob rule.'
'And when you take on the swamp, the swamp fights back,' he said. 'They tried the Russia hoax, the Mueller investigation, and the fake impeachment. But in spite of this unbelievable opposition, this president has done what he said he would do,' Jordan said.
Trump plans to make remarks during the 10:00 p.m. hour each night of the four-night convention this week.
There are reports that his remarks on Monday night will be pre-recorded.
They will play after Trump already made a mini-rally speech during a surprise stop in Charlotte, North Carolina – the original site of the RNC – on Monday afternoon.
Trump said during the stop at the in-person convention that Democrats will try to steal the election in November by avoiding sending or accepting mail-in ballots from Republicans.
'They're trying to steal the election from the Republicans, that's what it means,' the president said to a room full of Republican delegates and party personnel.
'In a very nice way, I will tell you, they are trying to steal the election just like they did it last time with spying and we caught them.'
'And that included President Obama and that included Biden,' he continued as he referred to the 2016 campaign as 'Spygate.'
Donald Trump claimed Monday that Democrats will attempt to 'steal the election' in November by harvesting ballots and stopping those cast for him form being turned in. He walked on stage to cheers at his surprise arrival
The comments came as Trump made a surprise stop at the Republican National Convention Monday afternoon to make nearly one-hour remarks before a room of delegates and party personnel
On the sidelines: White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, left, Debbie Meadows, center, and Ivanka Trump were at the side of the stage as Trump spoke
Socially-distanced convention: The small number of delegates are being spaced out for the event, with an attempt to make it look more like a traditional convention but without large numbers of people crammed onto the floor
The president claimed that Democrats will harvest ballots and stop those coming from Trump voters from being processed as he denounced universal mail-in voting as a 'fraud.'
'You get the ballot and then they have harvesting,' Trump claimed.
He also reenacted a conversation between two voters where one only agreed to turn in the other's ballot after finding out that they cast their vote for Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
'In fact, harvesting is illegal in your state,' Trump continued of North Carolina. 'They wanted to put a Republican, fine man, a pastor, they wanted to put him in jail because he harvested. Now they want to make harvesting legal all of a sudden.'
'They'll put him in jail as a Republican, right? If he was a Democrat they wouldn't be thinking about it,' he insisted. 'In California they do the same thing. No repercussion.'
The president made a surprise stop at the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina on Monday afternoon as delegates announced their states' count to officially nominate Trump to become the party's candidate in November.
During his remarks he called mail-in voting the 'greatest scam in the history of politics' even beyond the U.S.
'We're not patriotic by saying this. No,' Trump said of Democrats pushing for universal mail-in voting for the November election.
'We voted during World War I. We voted at the voting booth during World War II,' the president told a room full of delegates and RNC personnel.
'The pandemic – we're doing very well, and people know how to handle it,' he continued. 'Look at the crowds. They're doing very well. It's very safe. it's going to be very safe.'
Coming out onto the stage to his rally anthem 'God Bless the USA,' Trump was greeted by delegates at the scaled-down convention with chants of 'four more years.'
'We have to win. This is the most important election in the history of our country,' Trump said to cheers from a smaller-than-usual crowd.
'Don't let them take it away from you,' Trump urged the end of his nearly hour-long remarks. 'Don't let them take it away. North Carolina, we love you. That's why I'm here… very special people.'
The surprise remarks came right after delegates completed the roll call nominating Trump to become the Republican nominee for the presidential race in November
With the running mate: Mike Pence joined Donald Trump on stage during the president's unexpected appearance
Trump also reiterated that even though he is opposed to states going fully toward mail-in voting, he is a proponent of absentee voting – which he has used to cast his ballot in the past few elections.
'If you have an absentee ballot where you request it, we're all in favor of that,' Trump told the enthusiastic room of Republicans.
'Absentee, like in Florida, they have absentee is good,' he said of the state where he recently changed his residency. 'But other than that, they're very, very bad. There will be millions of ballots.'
'But these are small and they can't control it,' he said of absentee measures.
He also railed against potential defects with ballots, insisting that nearly one-fourth would be 'fraudulent.'
'They said 23 per cent of the ballots were defective. What does defective mean? it means fraud,' Trump said.
'It means – it means a lot of things that we won't get into because I don't want to be accused – you see all the cameras back there. It's the fake news. I don't want to be accused of anything,' he said pointing to the back of the room in typical rally fashion.
Delegates officially nominated Trump to be their candidate in November during the roll call Monday morning, which was held in-person in Charlotte and contrasted with Democrats' virtual roll call last week to nominate Joe Biden as their candidate.
Trump interrupted the roll call by showing up for previously unscheduled remarks, which continued with Tennessee following his hour-long speech.
The president plans to speak during the 10:00 p.m. hour all four nights of the convention – and added bonus remarks at the original convention site Monday afternoon in North Carolina.
The president said he felt 'obligated' to make a visit to the location of the convention after their Governor Roy Cooper barred the RNC from having the usual massive crowd at its events
Here for the president: Trump greeted supporters as he walked off stage and to his limousine after the speech
During his remarks Monday, Trump lashed out against North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, claiming he felt an 'obligation' to speak in Charlotte after he was forced to move other events to different locations.
'I just want to thank the people of North Carolina because to be honest with you I felt an obligation to be here. You have a governor who's in a total shutdown mood. I guarantee on November 4, it'll all open up. It'll be fine, like most other states,' Trump said of Cooper, who restricted the convention crowd size, making it so only the delegates were able to convene for the events.
'On November 4 – you know these Democrat governors, they love a shutdown until after the election is over because they want to make our numbers look as bas as possible for the economy,' he lamented.
At the start of the pandemic, millions of Americans lost their jobs – setting all-time high unemployment numbers.
While several events are still being held at the location in Charlotte, the convention is not allowing the usual massive crowd as it has been partially moved to other locations in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The nomination came as Trump's campaign unveiled earlier in the day its 49-point plan for his second term, including a 'return to normal' by next year.
Accepting his nomination: Vice President Mike Pence was at the convention in Charlotte for his own speech
The plan also focuses on creating 10 million new in 10 months jobs, including bringing 1 million manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. from China.
It also has a whole section dedicated to 'eradicating COVID-19,' which includes a 'return to normal by 2021,' 'developing a vaccine by the end of 2020' and 'holding China fully accountable for allowing the virus to spread around the world.'
The other points of the plan features sections on healthcare, education, 'draining the swamp,' defending police, ending illegal immigration and protecting Americans workers, innovating for the future and his promised 'America First' stance on foreign policy.
The Party is conducting a more business-as-usual convention with many events taking place at the convention site in Charlotte, North Carolina – including the roll call on Monday.
Other than backing Trump, the Republican National Committee has not agreed on any other platform for the 2020 convention as the president is prepared to focus on the accomplishments of his first term rather than presenting plans for a second.
In a new resolution adopted Saturday from the previous 2016 platform, the RNC made six declarations and resolved four issues – but otherwise kept the four-year-old platform the same.
'RESOLVED, That the Republican Party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President's America-first agenda,' the RNC listed.
In a second point it said '[t]hat the 2020 Republican National Convention will adjourn without adopting a new platform until the 2024 Republican National Convention.'
'Under the emergency procedures set forth under rule 37(e), we will not be adopting an updated version of the rules of the Republican Party until the next convention in 2024,' Jeff Kent delegate from Washington state said during the first day of the convention Monday morning.
Delegates arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina – the original location of the convention – over the weekend as many speakers prepare to make their remarks remotely in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic
While the RNC will not be fully virtual like the Democratic Convention was last week, the in-person events are severely scaled down
The RNC released a resolution on its 2020 platform that said it will not adopt a new platform from 2016 until 2024, but did reaffirm it will 'enthusiastically support the President's America-first agenda'
One of Trump's unofficial 2020 slogans is, 'Promises Made, Promises Kept,' which will be on full display all four nights of the convention.
'The RNC enthusiastically supports President Trump and continues to reject the policy positions of the Obama-Biden Administration, as well as those espoused by the Democratic National Committee today; therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Republican Party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President's America-first agenda,' the RNC 2020 resolution reads.
The quadrennial event this year will also, in part, be put on by two producers who worked on 'The Apprentice,' the show where businessman Trump rose to reality television stardom.
Sadoux Kim is a longtime deputy to the show's creator and is a lead consultant on the production of the convention. He served as a Miss Universe judge in the past when Trump owned the pageant.
Chuck LaBella, a former NBC entertainment executive, is also on the RNC payroll. He helped produce 'The Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump.'
The convention this year will feature more logistical challenges as several speakers will join from remote locations in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic – similar to the Democratic convention last week.
The speaker line-up, which was released this weekend, is full of staunch Trump allies, both on and off Capitol Hill.
Traditionally, the party's nominee only delivers remarks one night of the four-night nominating convention.
Democratic nominee Joe Biden did make appearances each night of his nominating events last week, but only made a keynote address on the final night on Thursday.
Initially Trump all the events were scheduled to take place in Charlotte, North Carolina. Once the state's Governor Roy Cooper decided large gathers would not be permitted in the midst of the pandemic, Trump moved his speech – and most of the marquee events – to Jacksonville, Florida where, at the time, lockdown orders were less restrictive.
As the Sunshine State went back into lockdown after experiencing a spike over the summer, Trump was forced to rethink his plans again.
The president will make his acceptance speech from the White House on Thursday and several other events and remarks during the convention will take place in federal grounds and buildings.
The president's top campaign aides have spent the last few weeks scrambling to come up with a platform for the next four years as the makeup of the convention changed yet again.
Senior administration officials have admitted that they are learning toward pledging Trump will continue working toward hallmarks of his first term instead of presenting entirely new ideas in order for the president to appeal to his base and respond to criticism from his own party.
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