It’s the fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention, and GOP lawmakers, delegates and other officials will wrap up a week of proceedings that saw former President Donald Trump formally nominated as the Republican presidential nominee.
Trump’s running mate also became official this week with the nomination of Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, who headlined Wednesday night’s list of speakers.
Also on stage Wednesday was Donald Trump Jr., the son of the former president; North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida.
Trump has made an appearance each night of the convention, seen with a bandage over his right ear where he was injured in an assassination attempt at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, over the weekend.
Follow along for live updates from the USA TODAY Network:
What are the swing states in 2024?
For the 2024 election, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are the swing states crucial for both campaigns.
Republicans are hoping that Ohio Sen. JD Vance as Donald Trump’s running mate can help the party’s chances in the rust belt states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
– Savannah Kuchar and Maya Marchel Hoff
JD Vance will speak to his hometown in Ohio Monday as he launches his vice-presidential campaign.
Vance is scheduled to speak in Middletown, Ohio, one week after Donald Trump selected the 39-year-old senator to be his running mate. During his acceptance speech Wednesday, Vance shared his life story to millions of Americans and tied his upbringing to Trump’s policies.
In Middletown, Vance and his family wrestled with poverty, drug addiction and domestic abuse. His childhood was the subject of his best-selling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”
Vance kicked off his Senate campaign in Middletown in 2021.
– Haley BeMiller
During the third night of the Republican National Convention, Usha Vance took on a new, loftier task: Introducing her husband, and herself, to the country in a primetime speech.
“That JD and I could meet at all, let alone fall in love and marry, is a testament to this great country,” she said.
The Vances have been thrust into national prominence this week after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump named Ohio’s junior senator as his running mate. Her national coming out has prompted a largely supportive reception, even as some far-right personalities have circulated racist commentary denigrating her Indian heritage.
– Haley BeMiller and Brianne Pfannenstiel
Organizers for the Republican National Convention raised more than $85 million in donations from companies, organizations, and individuals, surpassing their initial goal of $70 million.
Here’s a snapshot of some of the convention’s contributors.
– Maya Marchel Hoff
The last night of the Republican convention is expected to include a rare sighting: Former first lady Melania Trump.
Melania Trump, who has been mostly absent from the 2024 campaign trail, is scheduled to attend the convention and sit in the family box as the former president delivers his acceptance speech.
Also expected to be in attendance: Daughter Ivanka Trump, who has also stayed away from the campaign, but recently posted a tribute to her father.
– David Jackson
Mike Johnson says he called White House to ask Joe Biden to fire Secret Service director
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he called the White House on Thursday morning to ask President Joe Biden to fire Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Johnson though did not get to speak with the president, he said in an interview at an event hosted by CNN and Politico.
Lawmakers will receive a classified briefing next week from Secret Service and the FBI about the shooting, but Johnson called on the administration to declassify classified information for the American public to know.
“If you let questions hover over this, it’s a dangerous thing,” Johnson said, noting that conspiracy theories can “flourish.”
– Ken Tran
Democratic party officials are preparing for this year’s Democratic National Convention, which will take place later this summer. The convention will start on Monday, Aug. 19, and run through Thursday, Aug. 22.
– Raphael Romero Ruiz
Will calls for increased political unity in the wake of Saturday’s shooting trickle down to state politics?
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, chair of the Republican Governors Association, said Thursday he thinks the tragic incident “stirred within a lot of people the hope that we could move toward a more unified place.”
Lee has long called for increased civility in politics, collaborating with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, chair of the National Governors Association, earlier this year on Cox’s initiative to encourage Americans to “Disagree Better.”
Cox has taken heat from the left and his GOP primary opponent for his effort to combat political polarization. The Utah governor has refused to vote for Trump, whose divisive rhetoric has often devolved into personal mockery.
Lee, a Trump supporter who took to the RNC stage earlier this week, said he’s “hopeful that there may be a turn going forward” in the tenor of political rhetoric.
“Trump has signaled his desire for that,” Lee said, noting President Biden has done the same. “Let’s tone it down and remind ourselves what really matters.”
— Melissa Brown
Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance is scheduled to visit Fort Wayne, Indiana, next week, just days after the close of the Republican National Convention.
Former President Donald Trump on Monday tapped Vance, the U.S. Senator from Ohio, as his running mate for his 2024 campaign. Trump’s previous running mate in 2016 and 2020 was former Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana.
Allen County Republican Party Chair Steve Shine confirmed to IndyStar that Vance will visit Fort Wayne on Wednesday. Shine said specifics of the appearance are still being solidified.
“We are very honored to have someone of such national prominence so soon out of the gate after the convention to come visit Fort Wayne in Allen County,” Shine told IndyStar on Thursday. “It substantiates the fact that Allen County is a Republican hotbed for the state of Indiana.”
— Brittany Carloni
The primary target of badgering during many of the speeches at the Republican National Convention hasn’t been President Joe Biden — it’s been his second-in-command.
Biden has been facing a wave of Democratic Party dissenters, but after news Wednesday night that he tested positive for COVID — just hours after saying a medical condition is the only thing that could pull him from the ticket — the attention increasingly has focused on Vice President Kamala Harris as his potential replacement.
Harris repeatedly took hits during high-profile Republican speeches in Milwaukee during the convention as speculation over her potential takeover grows, and the GOP strategy for winning in November evolves.
Read more on how Republicans are ramping up criticism of Harris.
— Sam Woodward and Melissa Brown
Donald Trump will take the RNC stage Thursday night, along with a cadre of celebrities, his former administration officials and everyday Americans. Here’s a look at the big names to watch out for:
Mike Pompeo, former Secretary of State under Trump Eric Trump Tucker Carlson, founder of Tucker Carlson Network Hulk Hogan, professional entertainer and wrestler Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
– Karissa Waddick
Day 4 lineup: Who is speaking at RNC Day 4? Donald Trump takes the stage with these celebrity guests
Biden-Harris 2024 Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks said he had planned to lead off a Thursday morning news conference by talking about Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance’s Wednesday night speech. But he said it was so “boring,” there was not much to say.
“He might not have inspired a single American to vote for him,” Fulks said. “But he did provide a picture-perfect contrast between himself. He is a spineless backbencher desperate for Trump’s approval. And our own Vice President Kamala Harris is a powerful leader and a terrific partner to President Biden.”
Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, took the podium at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Wednesday night to officially accept his place on the ballot.
— Brianne Pfannenstiel
The morning after news outlets reported that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi privately told President Joe Biden that he cannot defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump and is dragging down the rest of the Democratic ticket, Biden-Harris 2024 Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks said the president is not wavering on whether to drop out of the race.
“Our campaign is not working through any scenarios where President Biden is not the top of the ticket. He is and will be the Democratic nominee,” he said.
Pressed further by reporters, Fulks reiterated that Biden’s decision to stay in the race is firm.
“I talk to the president every day, like I said. He is not wavering on anything,” Fulks said. “The president has made his decision. I don’t want to be rude, but I do not know how many more times we can answer that. Joe Biden has said he is running for President of the United States. Our campaign is moving forward with drawing a vision of contrast between that of Project 2025 and what we have seen for the past three days here in Milwaukee.”
— Brianne Pfannentiel
Biden-Harris 2024 Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks said during a news conference in Milwaukee Wednesday morning that President Joe Biden is “feeling fine” as he continues to self-isolate in Delaware after testing positive for COVID-19.
“The President’s feeling fine,” Fulks said. “He is self-isolating in Delaware. He’s continuing to make calls and do work. He has some official meetings today, a lot of campaign calls that he’s getting through, I think, some zoom calls that he’s hopping on, potentially.”
Biden tested positive Wednesday after an event in Las Vegas.
“I know President Biden well,” said U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla of California, who is also serving on the Biden-Harris national advisory board. “He’s not skipping to beat. He had to isolate a little bit because of COVID. And that shouldn’t surprise anybody. … COVID numbers are up. It’s part of our new reality.”
— Brianne Pfannenstiel
Brutal split screen: Biden holed up with COVID while Trump accepts nomination
Donald Trump Jr. questioned who is really running the country during his RNC speech Wednesday, alluding to concerns about President Joe Biden’s age and mental acuity after his poor debate performance last month.
“Is it Jill? Is it Hunter? Barack Obama?,” Trump Jr. asked. “Maybe it’s the ghost of Cornpop,”
Who is Cornpop? The reference refers to a story Biden tells about an encounter he had with a Delaware gang member named William Morris, whose nickname was Cornpop, while working as a swimming pool security guard one summer.
— Karissa Waddick
Watch: Donald Trump Jr. and his daughter Kai’s full 2024 RNC remarks
Kai Trump joined her father Donald Trump Jr. on stage to deliver remarks at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Many Republican convention delegates like to salute the heritage of their party, but few of them these days talk about the next-to-last GOP president, George W. Bush.
And that suits Bush just fine.
For while Bush still keeps up with politics – including the resurgence of Republican successor and fervent critic Donald Trump – he doesn’t like to talk about it publicly.
In paid private speeches, the long-retired 43rd president has been known to joke that both Trump and President Joe Biden are too old for the demands of the office.
Read more on the Bush political dynasty and the current Republican Party.
— David Jackson
What does Trump 2024 smell like?
Apples, vanilla, with a slight note of cinnamon.
At least that’s what the Trump 2024: Make American Great candle would have you believe – for sale this week at a merchandise table at the Republican National Convention.
The Republican Party faithful have snapped up snarky T-shirts, MAGA hats and elephant pins at the political event that has taken over downtown Milwaukee.
While staid official merchandise in simple reds, whites and blues are for sale, many are flocking to the sideline booths to pick up lapel pins dripping with rhinestones and new T-shirts, hot off the presses, featuring a bloodied Donald Trump photographed after Saturday’s assassination attempt.
Read more on all the merchandise for sale at the RNC.
— Melissa Brown
‘Actual poetic genius?’ Donald Trump’s social media posts sold as poetry at GOP convention
Latino voters in the United States are crucial to cementing a conservative voting majority for the next generation, according to Latino Republican and conservative operatives at the Republican National Convention.
With the Nov. 5 general election more than 100 days away, they’re detailing plans for aggressive engagement efforts beyond traditional conservative circles such as South Florida, home to historically Republican-leaning Latino voters whose origins trace to socialist-led countries in Latin America.
Operatives say they will focus their resources on 21 battleground counties around the U.S. with significant Latino voter populations.
Those include two of the fastest growing areas in the country: Arizona’s Maricopa County, which encompasses the Phoenix metro area and is home to most of the state’s voters, and Nevada’s Clark County, home to sprawling Las Vegas.
Read more on the GOP’s outreach efforts.
— Rafael Carranza
There’s a mystery guest for Donald Trump’s acceptance speech: Former first lady Melania Trump.
The low-profile spouse is expected to be in the family box for her husband’s remarks, officials said, but they would not otherwise comment on her activities.
She has no public schedule.
Melania Trump has rarely be seen in public during her husband’s 2024 campaign; she did issue a lengthy written statement after Saturday’s assassination attempt.
“A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion – his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration,” she wrote.
— David Jackson
RNC guests: Melania Trump not seen at RNC through first three days, will she appear Thursday?
JD Vance, introducing himself to the American people for the first time Wednesday night, wanted to make this much clear: He’s not a pol.
He is the survivor of a childhood marked by violence and his mother’s drug addiction. He is a Marine veteran, a husband and father, an entrepreneur, an author whose Hillbilly Elegy told the story of the decline of his grandparents’ Appalachia with such pathos that it became a national bestseller and a Netflix movie.
Pol or not, though, James David Vance has scored one of the fastest rises in modern American politics of anyone not named Trump.
Read more on how JD Vance used his speech to introduce himself to a national audience.
— Susan Page
Watch: JD Vance’s full speech at 2024 Republican National Convention
Former President Donald Trump will have that big bandage on his ear tonight as he delivers his speech formally accepting the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, according to daughter-in-law Lara Trump.
Lara Trump, who is a co-chair of the Republican National Committee, also told CBS News’ morning show that her father is not on medication.
Trump’s ear bandage has become an icon at the Republican convention. Some delegates have bandaged their own ears in solidarity.
— David Jackson
Convicted but never imprisoned, Donald Trump and his reputation have nonetheless been locked in place in the minds of many Americans after eight fractious years of turmoil, impeachments, insurrection and criminal charges.
The attempt on his life may give him the best chance at breaking free, offering a kind of political parole from voters sympathetic to the bandage on his bullet-grazed ear, and possibly a second look from those who normally oppose him, all while elevating his reputation with true believers to near martyr status.
For three days here at the Republican National Convention, Trump’s family, surrogates and supporters have said the shooting changed the 78-year-old former president, giving him a new outlook; that he tore up an aggressive speech aimed at dismantling his opponent’s administration in favor of one aimed at national unity.
Trump’s remarks Thursday night will be the first time Americans will have a chance to hear if his change of tone has stuck.
Read more on whether views of the former president are changing.
— Zac Anderson and Sarah D. Wire
The 2024 RNC ends Thursday: See the full schedule, how to watch and livestream
Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance was met with fanfare Wednesday in his debut as the heir apparent to the Republican Party under its new MAGA banner.
The 39-year-old Ohio senator was selected to be Donald Trump’s running mate earlier this week in a process that was more like his boss’s old reality TV show, “The Apprentice.”
Allies advertise their newly minted vice presidential pick as the millennial messenger to a conservative cause that is looking to expand its electoral map as it beams with confidence in the last leg of the 2024 presidential election.
Trump is the “last, best hope to restore” the country, he said, before listing a series of issues at stake this year.
Read our Day 3 takeaways from the Republican National Convention.
— Phillip M. Bailey
George Conway, a prominent anti-Trump Republican, launched a new political action committee called the Anti-Psychopath PAC on Thursday to portray Donald Trump as a danger to democracy and mentally unfit for a second term.
The PAC is running 10 billboards around the RNC in Milwaukee that read: “Thanks for nominating a CONVICTED FELON,” and a billboard truck that says “Thanks for nominating a PSYCHO.” Trump was convicted in May on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money trial.
Conway, who also founded the Lincoln Project, told USA TODAY that he isn’t worried about being accused by the Trump campaign of targeting incendiary political rhetoric at the former president after the assassination attempt against him.
“We expect Trump and his allies to accuse us of anything they can think of,” Conway said in a statement. “We condemn violence in all its forms. But we won’t back away from calling out the danger that a second Trump term poses to America. Facts are facts.”
— Karissa Waddick
JD Vance, 39, is a first-term senator from Ohio, who skyrocketed to fame after publishing his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.”
Vance was first elected to the Senate in 2022 with no prior political experience, but he had widespread name recognition in light of his bestselling book. “Hillbilly Elegy,” later turned into a Netflix feature film, detailed Vance’s journey from a childhood riddled with abuse to a Yale Law School degree that opened doors for him in Silicon Valley.
While Vance was previously critical of Trump, at one point comparing him to an opioid and saying he could be “America’s Hitler,” he changed his tune ahead of his 2022 Senate race. Since then, Vance has become a loyal ally to Trump. He is also close with one of Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr.
— Haley BeMiller and Riley Beggin
Vance and his faith: Will JD Vance’s religious background sway Catholic voters? What experts say.
Kai Trump, Donald Trump’s 17-year-old granddaughter, told convention attendees that she sees a side of her grandfather that most people don’t see.
“He calls me during the middle of the school day to ask how my golf game is going and tells me all about his… even when he’s going through all these court cases, he always asks me how I’m doing. He always encourages me to push myself to be the most successful person I can be. Obviously, he sets the bar pretty high but who knows, maybe one day I’ll catch him.”
She said she was “shocked” when she heard the former president had been injured in a shooting on Saturday at his Pennsylvania rally.
“I just wanted to know if he was okay,” she said. “It was heartbreaking that someone would do that to another person. A lot of people put my grandpa through hell, and he’s still standing.”
— Sudiksha Kochi
Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/18/rnc-2024-live-updates-donald-trump-accept-republican-presidential-nomination/74448061007/
Author :
Publish date : 2024-07-18 16:11:53
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.