Republicans held the third night of their convention on Wednesday as the nation faced renewed tensions following the police shooting of a Black man in Wisconsin, the continuing coronavirus pandemic, and a massive, deadly hurricane approaching American landfall.
Adding still another controversial element, late Wednesday the NBA postponed three playoff games after the Milwaukee Bucks refused to take the court for their game following the shooting of Jacob Blake. The WNBA and Milwaukee Brewers quickly followed suit with their Wednesday games.
Vice President Mike Pence delivered the evening’s keynote from Baltimore’s Fort McHenry as he “humbly” accepted the GOP’s nomination for vice president.
“The American people know we don’t have to choose between supporting law enforcement and standing with African American neighbors to improve the quality of life in our cities and towns,” Pence said. He also assailed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for saying there is an “implicit bias” against minorities and “systemic racism” in the US.
“The hard truth is, you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America,” Pence said. “Let me be clear: The violence must stop, whether in Minneapolis, Portland, or Kenosha. Too many heroes have died defending our freedom to see Americans strike each other down.”
“The American people know we don’t have to choose between supporting law enforcement and standing with our African American neighbors to improve the quality of their lives, education, jobs and safety.”
Pence said he has watched Trump “endure relenting attacks but get up every day and fight to keep the promises he made to the American people.”
Pence, whose political fortunes are tied to the November election, said the revolutionaries at Fort McHenry “took their stand for life, liberty, freedom and the American flag.” Those ideals define the nation “but they were hardly mentioned at last week’s Democratic National Convention,” Pence sad. “Instead, Democrats spent four days attacking America.”
After Pence’s speech, President Donald Trump and the first lady made a surprise live appearance. The president, first lady, Pence and Pence’s wife stood on stage with their hands over their hearts as country music star Trace Adkins performed “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Trump didn’t make any comments at the podium, but after the national anthem, he and the first lady greeted people in the audience, chatting with supporters while standing a few feet away.
The opening speakers seized on the national debate over racial injustice to argue Democratic leaders are allowing lawlessness to prevail in cities from coast to coast.
“From Seattle and Portland to Washington and New York, Democrat-run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs,” said South Dakota Gov Kristi Noem, rumored to be a possible presidential candidate in 2024. “People that can afford to flee have fled. But the people that can’t — good, hard-working Americans —are left to fend for themselves.”
A farewell speech from Kellyanne Conway, who managed President Donald Trump’s campaign during the last stretch of the 2016 race, was also shown Wednesday night. After becoming the first woman to successfully steer a White House bid, Conway then became a senior counselor to the president and aggressively defended Trump in her media appearances, coining the phrase “alternative facts” in one rebuttal.
Conway spoke of “everyday heroes” on Wednesday night. But it was also something of a farewell address as she steps away, she said, to spend more time with her family. During her speech, she described Trump as empathetic and supportive of women in particular. “He has stood by me,” she said.
A young Republican congressional candidate from North Carolina decried “the radical left” Wednesday night, urging Americans to “to be a radical” for freedom, liberty and the republic. Madison Cawthorn, 25, ended his speech by calling on people “who love our country” to “be a radical for freedom, be a radical for liberty, be a radical for our republic.”
Cawthron said national leaders on the left have embraced “radicalized identity politics” that rejects the vision of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He said millions of people risk their lives to come to the U.S. “because they believe in the dream of MLK and the American dream,” and urged people to join the GOP as “the party of freedom” that ensures the American dream for all people.
At the end of his speech, Cawthorn, who uses a wheelchair, stood up with the help of a walker.
A Washington nun who is also a surgeon and retired U.S. Army officer says, “Donald Trump is the most pro-life President that this nation has ever had.” Sister Deirdre “Dede” Byrne of the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary focused her remarks Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention on abortion.
She says the president's "belief in the sanctity of life transcends politics."
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Wednesday night Trump has supported her “both as a new mom and as an American with a preexisting condition.” McEnany underwent a preventative mastectomy in 2018 after learning she carried a genetic mutation that enhanced her chances for breast cancer.
McEnany, who has a 9-month-old child, said, “I want my daughter to grow up in President Donald Trump’s America.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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