RNC analysis: Vance says GOP supports 'open exchange of ideas.' Only Trump's ideas, right?
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Well, we're in it now. The Republican National Convention is in full swing in Milwaukee, after a night of speeches from rising Republican stars ‒ including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
On Monday, following a harrowing assassination attempt at a campaign rally, former President Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, were formally selected as the GOP's 2024 presidential and vice presidential nominees. Vance will take the stage Wednesday to address voters in a prime-time appearance.
But it's not all speeches and delegates here. USA TODAY Opinion columnists have a lot of thoughts on the RNC. We'll bring you live commentary and analysis, alongside on-the-ground coverage from Fiserv Forum throughout the convention.
Vance uses RNC speech to say the Republican Party supports 'the open exchange of ideas.' But only Trump's ideas, right?
JD Vance, the man who once said Donald Trump could be “America’s Hitler,” eagerly and cynically accepted the chance to be the former president’s running mate Wednesday night, fully evacuating whatever was left of his soul.
With an aura of “guy who yells at the Starbucks barista about his order,” Vance said his message to Americans is: “Shouldn’t we be governed by a party that is unafraid to debate ideas and come to the best solution?”
It was unclear which party he was referring to, as it certainly wasn’t the Republican Party gathered at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. That party is already ruled by Trump – there is no debate of ideas. It’s Trump’s way or the highway.
Vance went on: “That’s the Republican Party of the next four years: united in our love for America, and committed to free speech and the open exchange of ideas.”
Hah! Trump has threatened to come after politicians and media outlets he thinks have been mean to him, but yes, please tell me more about this “open exchange of ideas.”
The ideas apparently include a number of things spelled out in Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s authoritarian-adjacent plan for Trump should he return to office. Ideas like expelling civil servants from government and replacing them with MAGA loyalists.
Or perhaps Vance was referring to another idea on vivid display Wednesday night, as convention-goers waved signs that read: “Mass Deportation Now!”
It would be great if the Vance of now – the one who seems he would jump off a bridge if Trump told him to – could have an exchange of ideas with the Vance of 2016. The Vance who called himself “a Never Trump guy.” The Vance who said Trump was “unfit for our nation’s highest office.”
— Rex Huppke
Vance will talk about attempted assassination of Trump
JD Vance, according to excerpts of his acceptance speech for the Republican vice presidential nomination, will introduce himself to the Republican Party and the country – and prove his loyalty to former President Donald Trump.
Vance will talk about his humble roots and how “like a lot of people, we came from the mountains of Appalachia into the factories of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.”
No doubt he is emphasizing those states because the presidential election may well be won there in November.
Vance also will acknowledge the assassination attempt against Trump on Saturday.
“As we meet tonight, we cannot forget that this evening could have been much different,” Vance’s prepared remarks state. “Instead of a day of celebration, this could have been a day of heartache and mourning.”
— Ingrid Jacques
RNC speaker Shabbos Kestenbaum says Jewish voters will support Trump
What is a self-described lifelong Democrat doing at the Republican National Convention? And serving as a featured speaker to boot?
Shabbos Kestenbaum, who spoke Wednesday night at the convention, and other Jewish students are suing Harvard University for discrimination following antisemitic protests that were staged on campus after Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
"I know very few Orthodox Jews who have voted for President Biden in 2020 and are planning to do so again in 2024," Kestenbaum told Fox News Digital. "We will, I believe, see a tremendous amount of Jewish support towards Donald Trump in a way that we haven't seen before."
Kestenbaum’s invitation to address delegates is part of a Republican strategy to expand their base by attracting independent and moderate Democratic voters.
— Nicole Russell
Texas Gov. Abbott addresses chaos at border in RNC speech
Texas snagged a bit of the spotlight Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention.
Texas Rep. Monica De La Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott took their moments on stage to remind delegates that there is chaos at the border with Mexico because of President Joe Biden’s failed policies.
“The president's most sacred duty is to secure our country,” Abbott said. “Joe Biden deserted his duty on his first day in office. He gutted President Trump's policies, and the result has been catastrophic. Under Joe Biden, illegal immigration has skyrocketed under his watch.”
Biden lifted several key Trump policies, like “Remain in Mexico,” which kept illegal border crossings at a lower level. In 2023, migrant crossings hit an all-time high.
Abbott has deployed Operation Lone Star to quell migrant surges, and, to much controversy, he has bused migrants to “sanctuary cities” to make a political point.
“When Joe Biden and Kamala Harris refused to even come to Texas to see the border crisis, I took the border to them,” Abbott said in his convention speech. “We have continued busing migrants to sanctuary cities all across the country. Those buses will continue to roll until we finally secure our border.”
The border is a priority not only for Abbott but also for Trump.
“He will enforce the immigration laws,” Abbott said. “He will fight the Mexican drug cartels. And he will arrest the criminal illegal immigrants and put them behind bars or send them back.”
Republicans use RNC to deify Trump after assassination attempt. It's unbecoming.
One consistent theme throughout the speeches at this week’s RNC thus far is the elevation of Trump to an almost religious figure. While Trump has held this glorified status for some time now, the attempt on his life last weekend has propelled the rhetoric even further.
“God spared President Trump from that assassin,” said Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in her speech, “because God is not finished with him yet.”
“If you didn’t believe in miracles before Saturday, you’d better be believing right now,” said Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. “Our God still saves, he still delivers, and he still sets free because on Saturday the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle, but an American lion got back up on his feet, and he roared!”
The attempt on Trump’s life gives Republicans further reason to rally around their nominee, and highlighting Trump as God’s chosen is a powerful tool in Republicans’ arsenal to coalesce the right behind their candidate.
Deifying politicians is a dangerous game. The moment people abandon their skepticism about politicians, whether they are on their side or not, they are bound to harness that belief for their own ends.
Republicans should heed the warnings from past generations of conservatism against this practice. Meeting power with skepticism is an important check against tyranny, and we’d do best to remember that.
— Dace Potas
Apparently it's 'Convicted Felon Night' at the Republican National Convention
Along with the convicted felon everyone is there to celebrate this week, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, convicted earlier this year on 34 counts of falsifying business records, we saw Paul Manafort walking the convention floor. He was Trump’s campaign chairman back in 2016 and then got convicted of bank fraud and failing to disclose a foreign bank account and assorted other crimes. As president, Trump pardoned Manafort, who was also accused of sharing presidential polling data with the Russians.
Anyhoo, he was just walking around free as a bird among the tough-on-crime Republicans who suddenly seem kind of OK with crime.
Also, there was former Trump adviser Peter Navarro, who literally got out of federal prison Wednesday morning. He spent four months locked up after getting convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to testify before the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The RNC is less a display of the right’s absolute devotion to the rule of law and more a collection of people thumbing their noses at the rule of law and pretending the justice system doesn’t apply to them.
From the party of “tough on crime” to a party palling around with crooks and nominating one as its presidential candidate. Quite a shift.
— Rex Huppke
Trump wears a bandage at RNC. After shooting, why don't we know more about his health?
Four days after a shooter attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, wounding him in the ear and shocking the nation, we still have heard nothing from the GOP presidential nominee’s medical team about the nature of the injury or his overall health.
This seems ridiculous, particularly given the president’s age – he’s 78 – and the news media’s hyper-focus on the health of his opponent, President Joe Biden, who’s 81 and did not just survive an assassination attempt.
Beyond Trump’s injury, which he said on social media was caused by a bullet that “pierced the upper part of my right ear,” there should be questions about the former president’s mental state in the wake of such a traumatic event. Read the full column here.
— Rex Huppke
Biden has COVID. Joe's bad month just got so much worse.
I’m starting to feel bad for Joe Biden.
Not as bad as the president must feel. And not bad enough for me to vote for him.
But still, somebody please give the man a break.
On the same day that California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff called on the president to step aside as his party’s nominee in November, Biden was diagnosed with COVID-19. As if the polls weren’t already enough to make Biden and fellow Democrats feel sick.
Regardless of what you may think of President Biden, he is our nation’s commander in chief. He’s also served the nation honorably for a long time. That deserves respect.
Get well, Mr. President. Your nation, if not your party, needs you.
— Tim Swarens
Excitement builds in convention hall as Vance, Trump prepare to speak
MILWAUKEE — After the assassination attempt of Donald Trump, I had expected the tone of the Republican National Convention to be solemn. But that’s not what I’ve seen here in Milwaukee this week.
Police presence is significant, and it’s very difficult to get in and out of the security zone around Fiserv Forum.
Yet, GOP delegates and others in attendance here have seemed very upbeat, and they’re excited about what’s to come Wednesday night and Thursday.
From what I’ve seen and heard, the enthusiasm will continue to build with vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s speech Wednesday and Trump’s speech on Thursday night.
— Ingrid Jacques
Why did Trump pick Vance? It's not about voters.
When Trump left the White House in 2020, many young conservatives like me were hopeful that the party could learn its lesson, put the destructive parts of his MAGA movement behind us, and move on with an heir to the party that could properly unify the populist wing of the party with the more principled conservatism of old.
Those hopes quickly vanished as Trump entered the 2024 GOP primary and promptly coasted to the nomination with little resistance. The only saving grace was that Trump might feel compelled to pick a candidate who appeals more to traditional conservatives and moderates alike.
Instead, he chose J.D. Vance, an inexperienced senator who is as close to Trump as possible in the legislative branch. His choice is disappointing for conservatives hoping for a more unified ticket. It turns out that Trump is interested in transforming the legacy of his movement into the future of the Republican Party. Read the full column here.
How old is JD Vance? Youth is why he's Trump's running mate.
Overnight, JD Vance went from a brand-new senator with an acclaimed memoir to Donald Trump’s right-hand man and the MAGA movement’s most likely successor.
At 39 years old, he also brings down the average age on the Republican ticket. If elected, he’d be one of the youngest vice presidents ever. He isn’t a traditional pick, which is probably one of the reasons Trump picked him.
I’m not a fan of Vance, but it makes sense to me that Trump picked the Ohio senator as his running mate. Picking the young guy is a twofold decision.
On one hand, it appeases voters who are concerned the country is heading into a gerontocracy. It also allows Trump to handpick the party’s next presidential candidate and someone who is ready to bend the knee. Read the full column here.
— Sara Pequeño
Vance has been remarkably dismissive of violence
Wednesday is “Make America Strong Once Again” at the Republican National Convention and U.S. Sen. JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s pick for a running mate, will be the keynote speaker for an agenda packed with law-and-order platitudes.
But Vance, in his first term as Ohio’s junior senator, has demonstrated remarkable flexibility about law enforcement and violence, shaped by partisan or ideological considerations.
'His to keep if he wants': Fox News' Dana Perino says Trump has 'moral high ground'
Take Jan. 6, 2021 – when Trump supporters, angry that he had been defeated by President Joe Biden, attended a rally in Washington, D.C., that devolved into a deadly and destructive riot at the U.S. Capitol. Some of the rioters vowed to kill then-Vice President Mike Pence for following the law requiring that he certify the election. They even erected a gallows for Pence.
Vance sees that as no big deal, telling CNN in May – while under consideration by Trump for veep – that he was “extremely skeptical that Mike Pence’s life was ever in danger.” Vance also mocked Democrats who were in the Capitol that day as acting like it “was the scariest moment of their lives” while complaining that Trump is held to “an absurd standard” for what happened.
— Chris Brennan
What time does JD Vance speak tonight?
JD Vance, the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee, will give his first prime-time speech to the nation Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Vance, a Marine Corps veteran, and other speakers will address delegates in the convention hall and Americans nationwide, under the theme of “Make America Strong Again.”
Former President Donald Trump picked the 39-year-old Ohio senator as his running mate on Monday. Political pundits and others noted that Vance, elected to the Senate in 2022, is suddenly well-positioned to assume leadership of the GOP from the former president after either this election or in 2028 as a second Trump term winds down.
Vance, a successful author and Yale Law graduate, has a prime opportunity to introduce himself to voters starting Wednesday night and in the 111 days remaining until Election Day.
RNC speakers: Teamsters speech at Republican National Convention should worry Democrats
For the past four years, President Joe Biden has called himself the “most pro-union president in American history.” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler doubled down on her support of him after his poor debate performance June 27. Last week, he visited union headquarters to speak to union leaders.
That’s why I was so surprised to see Sean O’Brien, the Teamsters union president, was one of Monday’s speakers at the Republican National Convention. It came just days after reports that United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain voiced concerns about Biden’s ability to beat former President Donald Trump.
According to Pew Research Center, 75% of Democrats say they are pro-union, compared with 35% of Republicans. If O’Brien is going on record to say the Teamsters have yet to make an endorsement decision, that could lead to a shift in voting patterns – and could harm Biden’s chances come November.
RNC theme is built on a lie. Do Republicans know violent crime is actually down?
Looks like Tuesday was “Make America Safe Once Again” at the Republican National Convention and the party predictably rolled with former President Donald Trump’s standard rhetoric, painting American cities as “hollowed out, dystopian nightmares” beset by violent crime while “law enforcement is demonized” by Democrats.
Two significant problems with that messaging: Violent crime rates have been decreasing, and Trump’s most devoted MAGA supporters have very publicly assailed law enforcement with violence and vilification.
Trump’s stump speech these days includes a promise to pardon criminals now serving prison terms for attacking police and destroying property while attempting to stop the certification of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021.
A more recent example – the ridiculous mocking of female U.S. Secret Service agents who put their bodies between Trump and the direction that gunfire came from during Saturday’s assassination attempt. These brave women have been mocked as “DEI hires” and for their physiques, for the bodies they put in harm’s way to protect Trump.
If you claim to be a fan of law and order while celebrating people who attack police officers and vilifying Secret Service agents for risking their lives, you are not a fan of law and order.
Haley, DeSantis: RNC features knee-bending by all the Republicans Trump attacked
On Tuesday, Republican National Convention organizers took some time away from their broader message – “Please elect this convicted felon who’s promising to round up millions of immigrants and put them in camps” – to give stage time to GOP figures who’ve been brutally disgraced by Donald Trump, the aforementioned felon.
While the theme of the day in Milwaukee was “Make America Safe Once Again,” ironic given that crime in America is down considerably, the theme of the evening slate of speakers should have been “The GOP Parade of Subjugation.”
RNC speakers: Nikki Haley booed, other sad losers paraded out for Trump's Republican National Convention
The key speakers were, according to nicknames Trump had previously assigned them: Lyin’ Ted, Birdbrain, Ron DeSanctimonious and Little Marco. (Sen. Ted Cruz, Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio.)
It was a veritable “Who’s Who?” of “Who Has Trump Humiliated?” Read the full column here.
Nikki Haley and Trump make amends at RNC for a 'unified Republican Party'
MILWAUKEE — On Day 2 of the Republican National Convention, the attendees in the Fiserv arena were fired up. The energy was palpable.
Several primary contenders against former President Donald Trump spoke to the crowd, to different reactions.
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy got a rousing welcome and the crowd ate up everything he said. He got everyone chanting “vote Trump” at one point. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also riled up the crowd.
Of note, Trump arrived to the arena at 8 p.m. CDT – an hour earlier than he was originally scheduled to, which means he was there in person to hear Haley – his fiercest primary opponent. (Remember Trump’s “birdbrain” smear against Haley?)
Last week, Haley had said she wasn't even invited to attend. Things changed over the weekend, when it was announced Sunday – the day after Trump survived an assassination attempt – she’d speak at the convention.
Haley was welcomed with more cheers than I had expected, and some “boos.”
But when she said that Trump graciously invited her, and that she firmly endorsed him, Haley won over the crowd.
“For the sake of our nation, we have to go with Donald Trump,” she said, and a “unified Republican Party” is the best way to save the country.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RNC analysis: JD Vance speech pretended GOP isn't ruled by Trump
