MILWAUKEE—Vice Presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance headlined Day 3 of the Republican National Convention, presenting former President Donald Trump as the man who will champion the American worker and restore the nation to a position of strength in the world.
In an acceptance speech that highlighted his humble beginnings in an economically depressed industrial town in Ohio, Vance touted the former president’s record in building the economy, championing working Americans, and securing the country.
For most of the night, political speeches took a backseat to personal stories and the party hammered the themes of border security, military strength, and strength on the international stage against Lady Liberty’s adversaries.
Here are the key takeaways from Day 3 of the Republican National Convention.
Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), the winner of former President Trump’s extended “veepstakes,” formally accepted the GOP’s vice president nomination in a lengthy speech that cast himself as worthy of the trust of the average American and lauded former President Trump as a champion of the forgotten man and woman.
The lawmaker and “Hillbilly Elegy” author unspooled his deep and complex story, which began in Ohio, where he was raised by his grandmother due largely to his mother’s substance abuse issues.
He went from Middle America to the Marine Corps and then Yale Law School, where he met his wife, Usha—the daughter of Indian immigrants.
Jane Timken, a Republican National Committeewoman from Ohio, said she was familiar with Mr. Vance’s story about the “tough grandma” who raised him. “I’m a tough woman too,” Timken said.
Vance, she added, was smart, thoughtful, and intelligent but also a fighter.
The candidate, a former venture capitalist, transitioned from a “Never Trumper” in 2016 to one of the rising intellectual forces in the MAGA movement.
Vance echoed former President Trump’s views on the Iraq War, which he called a “disastrous invasion,” China, the victor in a “sweetheart trade deal,” and more.
His RNC message was also explicitly aimed at Midwestern states that will be key to a Republican victory in November, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
He pledged to be “a vice president who never forgets where he came from.”
The GOP continued its strategy of personalizing its core issues by inviting ordinary people to tell their experiences.
Highlighting the theme of border security, David Lara of the border town of San Luis, Arizona, told of Mexican drug cartels using school children to transport drugs through their community.
Shabbos Kestenbaum, an Orthodox Jewish student, told of harassment and death threats received at Harvard University. He has sued Harvard University for its alleged failure to combat anti-Semitism on campus.
Orna and Ronan Neutra spoke of their son Omer, who was taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. He is one of eight Americans who continue to be held in Gaza. “Imagine over nine months, not knowing whether your son is alive,” Neutra said.
World War II veteran William Pekrul, 98, recalled fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and seeing the horror of Nazi concentration camps firsthand.
“There aren’t many of us left,” he said, “but for those of us who still are here, America is still worth fighting for.” Pekrul said.
Personal recollections by families of some of the 13 military personnel who died in a suicide bombing attack during the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 backed the GOP’s emphasis on the need for military strength. The segment brought many convention attendees to tears.
Grieving relatives paid tribute to those who died and expressed gratitude to former President Donald Trump for caring about them. Some also blamed President Biden mishandling the operation.
Watching a video telling the story of Marine Cpl. Hunter Lopez, who was killed in the withdrawal, Sheriff Chad Bianco of Riverside County, California, wept. He had intended to hire Lopez on his discharge from the military.
“The way that family was treated was not American,” Bianco told The Epoch Times.
Christy Shamblin, whose daughter, Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, from Sacramento, California, was among those killed, said, “For the first time since Nicole’s death, I felt that I was not alone in my grief.”
After spending time with former President Trump, along with other Gold Star families, she said, “I had expected to meet an arrogant politician.” Instead, they said the former president was compassionate and caring.
Kai Madison Trump, 17, the eldest daughter of Donald Trump Jr., made her political debut by delivering a speech about her grandfather, Donald Trump.
The 17-year-old recounted anecdotes of the former president challenging her at golf, bragging about her grades to friends, and giving out snacks when her parents weren’t looking.
Kai acknowledged that the former president is perceived negatively by many but said, “I know him for who he really is. He’s very caring and loving. He truly wants the best for this country.”
Barron Trump, the son of former President Donald and Melania Trump, made his political debut at a campaign rally in Doral, Florida, on July 9. The 18-year-old waved to acknowledge the crowd who was chanting his name but did not deliver remarks on July 17.
The Secret Service told lawmakers yesterday that the gunman was identified as being suspicious one hour before he opened fire on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, according to Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) who was at the briefing.
“He had a range finder and a backpack. The Secret Service lost sight of him,” the senator said in a statement posted on X.
“Someone has died. The President was almost killed,” he added, before calling for the head of the Secret Service to resign.
His remarks came after members of Congress received a private unclassified briefing from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice regarding the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump and the resulting investigation.
Republicans expressed dissatisfaction with the briefing.
“The USSS [U.S. Secret Service] Senate briefing was unbelievably uninformative. Only four questions were allowed,” wrote Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on X. “The rest of us are supposed to submit questions. I already have. Awaiting a response. Not holding my breath,” he added.
“The nation deserves answers and accountability,” wrote Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on X after the briefing. He added that “[n]ew leadership at the Secret Service would be an important step in that direction,” echoing Mr. Johnson and other Republican leaders who have called for Ms. Cheatle to resign.
Members of Congress are vowing investigations into apparent security failures that allowed former President Donald Trump to come millimeters away from death on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Yesterday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced that he would be forming a task force to that end.
That came after two chairmen—House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.)— each announced probes into the issue.
Investigations are planned in the Senate as well.
Kim Cheatle, the current head of the Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and FBI Director Chris Wray have been asked to testify to the Senate Homeland Security Committee by Aug. 1.
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are also calling on Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to mount another investigation through their panel.
Under the House task force, Johnson said during an interview with Fox News yesterday, congressional probes will be centralized in the speaker’s office.
“The reason we’re going to do it that way is because that is a more precision strike. It goes quicker. There’s not a lot of procedural hurdles,” Johnson said.
The task force, he added, will have the subpoena power and will include both Republicans and Democrats.
Johnson said his decision to mount a House-wide investigation was driven in part by a lack of “satisfactory” answers about how the shooting was able to happen in the first place.
“There’s real questions,” Johnson said, even after communicating with Mayorkas and leaders from the FBI and other national intelligence officials.
Particularly troubling for many Republicans was the alleged lack of proper safety precautions ahead of the event, including allowing a building within 150 yards of the president to be unmanned by law enforcement.
Meanwhile, Johnson has repeated calls from many Republicans for Cheatle to resign.
Cheatle, defending the agency’s decision not to post law enforcement on the roof, has argued that the roof was sloped, making it a safety concern. Instead, law enforcement officers were placed in the interior of the building where the shooting took place.
She has rebuffed the calls for her resignation, and Mayorkas has said he still has “100 percent confidence” in her after the attempted assassination.
The House Oversight Committee was initially scheduled to receive a briefing on the shooting on July 16, though it was later canceled after the Department of Homeland Security didn’t confirm a time, a spokesperson told The Epoch Times.
Instead, the panel has subpoenaed Cheatle to testify publicly on July 22.
On July 23, the House Homeland Security Committee is also expected to hear testimony from state and local law enforcement involved in the security that day.
U.S. officials are reporting that Chinese hackers had access to digital intelligence platforms in America and some of her allies. The access, discovered in December 2023 could have potentially shut down U.S. power grid systems.
After two delays, Robert Kennedy Jr.’s political party, We the People, has been certified by the election board of North Carolina. However, the same board has declined to certify Cornel West’s party, Justice for All.
An INTERPOL operation targeting organized crime in West Africa has resulted in 300 arrests across five continents. “Operation Jackal III” stretched across 21 countries, honing in on fraudulent banking and counterfeit currency ops.
Russia and Ukraine have negotiated a prisoner of war exchange, with each country returning 95 fighters to their country of origin. More than 3,400 prisoners have been swapped since the start of the war.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is warning that Ukraine joining NATO “is, in fact, a declaration of war, albeit with a delay.” The comment was made in response to NATO members promising they would support Ukraine joining their alliance.
