What To Know About The Republican National Convention: Trump's VP Announcement—And His New 'Unity' Speech
KEY FACTS
The convention is simply a formality as all 2,265 delegates Trump won in the primaries—plus the 97 former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won—are obligated to cast their ballots for him.
Trump, who is scheduled to speak on Thursday to formally accept the GOP nomination, told the Washington Examiner he has rewritten his speech—which he said initially focused on President Joe Biden’s policies—because “it is a chance to bring the country together.”
Senior advisers to Trump’s campaign sent a memo shortly after the shooting indicating the convention would continue as planned, with the addition of new security measures implemented for staff, including additional security personnel on site, according to Politico.
Monday’s events are slated to focus on economic policies and argue Biden’s presidency has lowered wages and made “everyday life unaffordable for working-class Americans,” according to the RNC.
Trump has repeatedly teased he will announce his running mate—widely expected to be between Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., or North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum—at the convention (his adviser Jason Miller told Fox & Friends this week the announcement would happen “by” Monday).
On Saturday, Trump released the full slate of speakers for the convention, with some surprises—Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-Ga.) but no Melania Trump—and a long list of his most fervent supporters.
WHEN IS THE RNC, AND WHERE WILL IT AIR?
The convention runs Monday July 15-18. Major news networks will provide live coverage of the event in prime time. YouTube, X, Facebook Live, Rumble, Amazon Prime, Twitch and Direct TV and the RNC will live stream the events on their websites.
WILL MELANIA TRUMP BE AT THE RNC?
She’s expected to, according to multiple reports, but it’s unclear in what capacity. Melania Trump notably did not attend the June 27 debate between Biden and Trump or Trump’s Manhattan hush money trial, and she’s seldom appeared with him on the campaign trail this year.
WHO WILL SPEAK AT THE RNC?
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump Jr., Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, conservative media star Tucker Carlson, Arizona Republican Kari Lake and the rapper Amber Rose are among those who will speak at the event. Iowa Republican Party Chair Jeff Kaufmann will formally nominate Trump on Monday afternoon, the Des Moines Register reported. Trump Jr. will speak Wednesday just before Trump’s vice presidential pick, Axios reported, and will likely introduce his father’s running mate. Burgum, Rubio and Vance are all expected to speak at some point. (Here’s the full list.)
ABORTION MAY BE THE BIGGEST PLATFORM CHANGE
The Republican party for the first time in 40 years is expected to drop its call for a national abortion ban from its party platform, in line with Trump’s stance that abortion policies should be left to the states to decide. The new platform also omits the statement that “traditional marriage” should be between “one man and one woman” and language that calls for a reduction of the national debt.
WHY IS THE RNC IN MILWAUKEE?
It’s the biggest city in a crucial swing state Biden won in 2020, though polls consistently show Trump winning Wisconsin this year. Republicans voted unanimously in August 2022 to host the event there. The majority of the convention events will take place at the Fiserv Arena, home of the Milwaukee Bucks, in downtown Milwaukee. More than 50,000 people are expected to attend the event, which is closed to the general public.
Comments
Post a Comment