Night Two of the Republican National Convention on Tuesday continued with a theme of Land of Opportunity and featured speeches by Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump, Director of the National Economic Council, Larry Kudlow, Senator Rand Paul, (R-KY), Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nunez, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Maine lobsterman Jason Joyce, and Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer and others.
The Tuesday night events started with a focus on criminal justice reform efforts and the issuing of a full pardon by the President to convicted bank robber Jon Ponder with his wife, Jamie, present. President Trump and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf also conducted a surprise naturalization ceremony for five new United States citizens at the White House.
Several people from the Midwest spoke about the opportunity they’ve experienced under the Trump administration, saying the President was the only one willing to stand up to China’s trade policies. They represented small businesses and farmers and how President Trump has brought back these businesses after disastrous Obama Administration policies.
Nicholas Sandmann, the Kentucky high school student who received national attention after a confrontation with a Native American activist at the Lincoln Memorial that resulted in settlements with CNN and The Washington Post stemming from their coverage in 2019. He gave a memorable speech with the backdrop of the iconic Lincoln Memorial that ended with him putting on a Make America Great Again hat. He finished his remarks by saying, "In November, I believe this country must unite around a President who calls the media out and refuses to allow them to create a narrative instead of reporting the facts. I believe we must join a President who will challenge the media to return to objective journalism. And together I believe we must ALL embrace our first amendment rights and not hide in fear of the media or from the tech companies or from the outrage mob either. This is worth fighting for. This is worth voting for. And this is what Donald Trump stands for. Thank you all for listening to me tonight. And one more thing...Let's Make America Great Again."
Pro-life activist Abby Johnson, founder of And Then There Were None, an organization determined to entirely ending abortion in the U.S. explained her decision to walk away from Planned Parenthood and speak out against their tactics. "Almost 80% of Planned Parenthood abortion facilities are strategically located in minority neighborhoods. And every year Planned Parenthood celebrates its racist roots by presenting the Margaret Sanger award." After being asked by her supervisor, to perform double the amount of abortions than the previous year, she said, "When I pushed back, underscoring on Planned Parenthood's public-facing goal of decreasing abortions, I was reprimanded and told 'Abortion is how we make our money'." Abby went to say she started her company to help over 600 Planned Parenthood employees transition out of the industry. "I now support President Trump because he has done more for the unborn than any other President. During his first month in office, he banned federal funds for global health groups that promote abortion. That same year he overturned an Obama-Biden rule that allowed government subsidy of abortion. He appointed a record number of pro-life judges including 2 Supreme Court Justices and more importantly he announced a new rule protecting the rights of the health care workers objecting to abortion many of whom I work with every day. Life is a core tenant of who we are as Americans. This election is a choice between two radical anti-life activists and the most pro-life President we have ever had. That's something that should compel you to action. Go door to door, make calls, talk to your neighbors and friends, and vote on November 3rd. Take action that re-elects our President and do it with our very most vulnerable Americans in mind. The ones who haven't been born yet".
Daniel Cameron, Kentucky's Attorney General spoke about Biden's record and plan for the country, "Joe Biden is a backward thinker in a world that is craving forward-thinking leadership. There is no wisdom in his record or plan. Just a trail of discredited ideas and offensive statements. Joe Biden would destroy jobs, raise our taxes, and throw away the lives of countless unborn children. He is captive to the radical left, a movement committed to cancel culture and the destruction of public discourse. They believe your skin color must dictate your politics and if you fail to conform while exercising your God-given right to speak and think freely they will cut you down. The politics of identity, cancellation, and mob-rule are not acceptable to me. Republicans trust you to think for yourself and to pursue your American dream however you see fit."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke from Jerusalem, Israel. “The primary constitutional function of the national government is ensuring your family – and mine – are safe and enjoy the freedom to live, work, learn and worship as they choose,” he said. “Delivering on this duty to keep us safe and our freedoms intact, this president has led bold initiatives in nearly every corner of the world.”
The First Lady Melania Trump ended the evening with a memorable 26-minute speech. Mike Huckabee wrote an opinion article on Fox News that summed up the night perfectly "It was first lady Melania Trump, however, who tied a bow around the dual themes of the convention – enthusiasm and substance – ending the evening with a beautiful speech that addressed her “Be Best” campaign and cyberbullying and honored the victims of the coronavirus pandemic. It was a reminder that when we vote for president, we also elect a first lady to guide our nation’s moral direction. Her grace, elegance, and charm were only exceeded by the depth of the issues she artfully addressed."
“As you have heard this evening, I don’t want to use this precious time attacking the other side,” she said. “Because as we saw last week, that kind of talk only serves to divide the country further.”
“I urge people to come together in a civil manner so we can work and live up to standard American ideas,” she pleaded. “I also ask people to stop the violence and looting being done in the name of justice and never make assumptions based on the color of a person’s skin.”
Huckabee's article continued, "Delivered before a live audience in the White House Rose Garden that she personally redesigned, Melania’s speech ended the evening on the same optimistic note that prevailed from the very first speech".
Night Three was entitled Land of Heroes. Vice President Mike Pence formally accepted his nomination for November's election. "On this night, in the company of heroes, I am deeply grateful for the privilege of serving as vice president of this great nation. I pray to be worthy of it. And I will give that duty all that is in me."
“Our armed forces and our veterans fill this land of heroes, and many join us tonight in this historic form,” Pence told the gathered attendees at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland. “With heroes just like these, we defend our nation every day.”
Vice President Pence continued, "Let me be clear: The violence must stop -- whether in Minneapolis, Portland, or Kenosha. Too many heroes have died defending our freedoms to see Americans strike each other down. We will have law and order on the streets of America."
"President Trump and I know the men and women that put on the uniform of law enforcement are the best of us. They put their lives on the line every day."
The Daily Caller reported on day three's notable speakers, "The evening featured speeches from a number of veterans themselves, including Lt. Gen. Keith Kellog, Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw, Civil Rights activist Clarence Henderson, and Sister Deirdre Byrne."
"National Association of Police Officers President Michael McHale, former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, and Chicago widower Sam Vigil all expanded on Trump’s commitment to law and order and putting American voters at the forefront of the administration’s policy decisions."
Former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell gave a memorable speech on Wednesday. Redstate reported, "Richard Grenell took the stage last night at the RNC and delivered perhaps the best speech of the night. In it, he executed a well-deserved take-down of our foreign policy 'expert class' while also hitting those who spied the Trump campaign. His defense of Trump’s “America First” outlook was also noteworthy."
Grenell said during his speech, "During the presidential primary debates four years ago, one outsider stood alone. Trump was the one 'outsider' who, during the presidential primary debates in 2016, stood up and 'said in public what most Americans thought in private' — that American foreign policy was broken", Grenell added, "By contrast, Joe Biden is the 'ultimate Washington insider'”.
“The Obama-Biden administration secretly launched a surveillance operation on the Trump campaign, and silenced the many brave intelligence officials who spoke up against it,” Grenell continued. “They presented bogus information as facts. They lied to judges. Then they classified anything that undermined their case.”
In UncoverDC's Tracy Beanz article she took a deep dive into Grenell's speech by writing, "In his speech before the nation, given in prime time, Grenell spoke a lot about President Trump, his foreign policy, and being part of the Administration. But, what he said in regards to the most significant scandal in American political history has been widely ignored by the legacy media."
She continued, "Last night Grenell told the world that there were, in fact, whistleblowers inside of the Intelligence Community who spoke up about (and tried to stop) the illegal spying operation on the Trump campaign and then the Presidency, but those people were silenced."
Representative Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, focused on the heroes of America. “Here’s the truth about America: We are a country of heroes,” he said. “We are a people with a common set of ideals conceived in liberty. People that have sacrificed time and again for our freedom and the freedom of others. That’s something no other country ever anywhere can claim.” He continued, "America’s heroism isn’t relegated to the battlefield," pointing to everyday people who serve their communities and their families."
Press Secretary Kaleigh McEnany told the story of testing positive for the BRCAII genetic mutation that causes breast cancer. "When I was 21 years old, I got a call that changed my life. It was my doctor informing me that I had tested positive for the BRCAII genetic mutation," she said. "A mutation that put my chances of breast cancer at 84%. It was the same mutation that my mom had, compelling her to get a preventative double mastectomy, removing her breast tissue but protecting her from a disease that has taken far too many of our mothers, our sisters, our friends."
In 2018, she decided to undergo the surgery her mom had years before. “I was scared. The night before I fought back tears, as I prepared to lose a piece of myself,” she recalled. “During one of my most difficult times, I expected to have the support of my family, but I had more support than I knew," she said.
“Days later, as I recovered, my phone rang. It was President Trump, calling to check on me,” McEnany said. “I was blown away. Here was the leader of the free world caring about me.” She added: “Though I didn’t personally know the president at the time, I know him well now and I can tell you that this president loves the American people, stands by Americans with preexisting conditions and supports working moms.”
Among the list of other speakers were, Former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz, ex-NFLers Jack Brewer and Burgess Owens, Second Lady Karen Pence, Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Scott Dane, executive director of the Associated Contract Loggers and Truckers of Minnesota, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Keith Kellogg, national security advisor to the vice president, Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., School choice advocate Tera Myers, Senior White House advisor Kellyanne Conway, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Republican congressional nominee Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng, Lara Trump, campaign advisor and wife of Eric Trump, Sam Vigil, widower whose wife was shot in her driveway in New Mexico, Civil rights activist Clarence Henderson, and Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.
UncoverDC's coverage of the first night of the Republican National Convention: Land of Promise recap can be found here.
