MILWAUKEE—Former President Donald Trump received praise from a host of Republican leaders and 2024 candidates during the second day of the party’s national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Trump, who was formally nominated by the convention for the presidency in the 2024 election, sat in the VIP booth listening to speeches in support of his candidacy and that of the party’s U.S. Senate candidates.
The lineup included Senate candidates from all battleground states, House Republican leaders, Trump’s former primary rivals, and ordinary Americans who had suffered from tragedies that drew attention to the GOP’s key issues this campaign cycle.
Below are the night’s key takeaways.
Nikki Haley speaks at the RNC in Milwaukee, Wis., on July 16, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
Nikki Haley Calls on Republicans to Unite Behind Trump
“I’m here tonight because we have a country to save, and a unified Republican Party is essential to saving her,” said former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) during a primetime address at the Republican National Convention.
Haley took the stage to address the convention in support of her former boss. She was not initially scheduled to speak but was invited personally by him after a would-be assassin nearly took his life on July 13. A few days before the convention, Ms. Haley also released her delegates to support former President Trump.
Haley praised Trump’s national security policies, which she participated in as Ambassador to the United Nations during his term at the White House. She contrasted Trump’s tenure to the Biden and Obama administrations, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attack Ukraine during former President Trump’s tenure because he was “tough.”
Trump smiled during Ms. Haley’s remarks.
Haley was Trump’s last major primary opponent to drop out of the race. She criticized him during the primary campaign for his temperament and his alleged inability to expand the party’s appeal. She initially did not endorse him after she withdrew from the race.
“Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period,” Ms. Haley said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wis., on July 16, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
DeSantis Summarizes the GOP’s Conservative Vision
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was former President Trump’s principal opponent for much of the Republican presidential primary in 2023 and early 2024.
DeSantis dropped out of the primary and endorsed the former president shortly after the Iowa caucuses in January. His convention speech marked the first time since then that the governor has campaigned in favor of his former rival.
In his speech, DeSantis attacked President Joe Biden’s policy record on inflation and immigration, his decision to withdraw the U.S. from Afghanistan, and his aging.
The theme of DeSantis’s speech was the contrast between the political Right and the political Left in America—a theme he emphasized during his presidential campaign to highlight his record as governor of Florida.
“Florida is a solidly Republican state,” DeSantis said, adding that “by electing Donald Trump, we have the chance to do this all across America.”
“It is the values of this Republican Party that reflect our nation’s founding principles. We believe schools should educate, not indoctrinate. We stand for parent’s rights, including universal school choice. We support law and order, not rioting and disorder,” Mr. DeSantis said.
Trump smiled frequently during Mr. DeSantis’s speech and applauded him as it began and ended.
Everyday Americans Given Primetime Speaking Slots
After speeches by party leaders, several everyday Americans took the stage to share their stories.
Anne Fundner, a mother whose son Weston died from a fentanyl poisoning at age 15, called attention to the cross-border smuggling of fentanyl and criticized President Joe Biden for his policies on border security.
“We need President Trump back to save the lives of our kids,” Ms. Fundner said during an emotional speech.
Michael Morin, the brother of Rachel Morin, who was raped and murdered allegedly by an illegal immigrant in Maryland, also criticized the current border security policies.
“When Rachel was killed, President Trump called my family to offer his condolences,” Mr. Morin said. “He cared. That is leadership.”
Following him was Madeline Brame, a criminal justice reform advocate whose son, a veteran, was killed in a stabbing in New York City. “Two of the homicidal maniacs responsible for my son’s death had their assault and murder charges completely dismissed,” Brame said, blaming District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr.
—Arjun Singh
SMITH OVERRULED IN FLORIDA
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s appointment has been ruled unconstitutional by the Florida judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case. In a July 15 order, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the indictment while holding that Smith’s appointment lacked appropriate congressional authorization.
Her ruling is limited to the case in Florida but could yield significant changes to legal precedent and upend how the Justice Department (DOJ) has pursued politically sensitive investigations.
Smith’s office told The Epoch Times that it would appeal the ruling as it “deviates from the uniform conclusion of all previous courts to have considered the issue that the Attorney General is statutorily authorized to appoint a Special Counsel.”
The DOJ could appoint Markenzy Lapointe, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, to pursue the case as Smith appeals against Cannon’s order.
Legal experts indicated Lapointe would need to obtain a new indictment from a grand jury—further delaying trial and making dismissal by Trump even more likely if he wins the 2024 election.
An appeal will likely first reach the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, where judges could overturn Judge Cannon’s decision and remand the case for further deliberations.
Smith could also ask the Supreme Court to skip the appellate level and review Cannon’s order on an expedited basis. That seems unlikely, however, as the Supreme Court already declined Smith’s request to hear Trump’s immunity appeal from his Jan. 6-related case in Washington.
Cannon’s ruling conflicts with one from 2019 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which upheld former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s appointment. If the 11th circuit agrees with Cannon, the Supreme Court will have a “circuit split,” making the issue ripe for their review.
The primary questions surround how the appropriations and appointments clauses of the U.S. Constitution allow the DOJ to appoint and fund special prosecutors like Smith. According to Cannon, congressional authorization was needed and Smith’s office had been illegally receiving funding.
The Independent Counsel Act empowered the DOJ to appoint special prosecutors but Congress allowed the law to expire in 1999. The DOJ followed by promulgating regulations for the appointment of special counsels like Mueller and Smith.
Legal experts offered conflicting opinions of the ruling. Both Heritage Foundation Vice President John Malcolm and John Shu, a constitutional law expert who served in both Bush administrations, told The Epoch Times that Cannon’s opinion was well-reasoned.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder and others, including former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani, were more critical.
Rahmani told The Epoch Times that Judge Tanya Chutkan would reject an attempt by Trump’s attorneys to use Cannon’s ruling to challenge Smith’s role in the Washington case. “There’s no way any other judge aside from Cannon or maybe [Justice] Clarence Thomas … would entertain something like this,” he said.
In Trump’s immunity appeal, Thomas penned a concurring opinion, cited by Cannon’s order, that cast doubt on the legality of Smith’s appointment. No other justice joined his concurrence but Justice Brett Kavanaugh expressed concern during oral argument about the special counsel’s power.
–Sam Dorman
BOOKMARKS
The Democratic National Committee is expected to hold a virtual vote to nominate President Joe Biden as its candidate before the end of July, and well ahead of its Aug. 19 convention. The plan was already in place before the debate with President Donald Trump took place, and will go forward despite questions about Biden’s age and abilities.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was convicted on July 16 on all counts in his corruption and bribery case, including taking more than $400,000 in cash and gold bars from three New Jersey businessmen. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has asked Menendez to resign.
Residents have been ordered to evacuate a city in southern Illinois, as officials expect a local dam to fail at any moment. Nashville, Illinois, has a population of about 3,100 residents and the area has been experiencing severe weather events including floods and tornadoes.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling for another summit on the war in Ukraine to be held by November, and this time he hopes for Russian participation. A spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, was dubious about the proposed summit since he felt the summit held in June “was not a peace summit at all.”
UNICEF and the World Health Organization are reporting that childhood vaccination rates have dropped below pre-COVID numbers. Eighty-three percent of children were vaccinated last year compared to 86 percent in 2019.
—Stacy Robinson
