What to watch as the Republican National Convention enters its second day in Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE — The Republican National Convention enters its second day Tuesday in Milwaukee – now with Donald Trump officially as a presidential candidate.
Trump galvanized the crowd Monday night by entering the arena with a bandage over his right ear after being injured during a attempted murder Saturday. Expect more speakers Tuesday to speak about what they called the former president’s strength and resilience after the shooting at his Pennsylvania rally.
This likely includes Nikki Haley, her former main rival who was added to the schedule at the last minute.
Here’s where to go on the second day of the RNC:
The former ambassador to the United Nations and governor of South Carolina was Trump’s last major rival in this year’s primaries. waited two months after I quit in March to say she would vote for him. Then last week she said announced She was going to instruct her congressional delegates to vote for Trump, but she had no plans to attend.
It wasn’t until Sunday, hours after the shooting, that her office reversed its decision and said she would speak.
She will likely call on her party to show cohesion in the fight against President Joe Biden in this fall’s general election.
Much of Monday’s speeches focused on economic policy and the claim that Biden had mishandled the economy.
On Tuesday, the focus shifts to immigration and crime, Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee said, with the theme “Make America Safe Again.”
Be wary of speakers who claim they have been harmed by Biden-era immigration policies. Trump and Republicans believe the border debate is one of their strongest issues.
As part of a broader effort to blame crime on border policies, expect speeches from relatives of people killed in cases involving immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Trump has repeatedly raised the topic at rallies this year.
Last week, the Trump campaign and the RNC announced that the brother of Rachel Morin — a Maryland woman who prosecutors say was murdered and raped by a fugitive from El Salvador — would be one of the convention’s speakers. Officials say the suspect, Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, entered the U.S. illegally after allegedly killing a woman in his home country.
He was arrested in Oklahoma last month and charged with first-degree murder and rape in connection with Morin’s death.
The conference organizers are not expected to announce who will speak on the second day of the event until later on Tuesday morning.
The Democratic President returns to the campaign trail Tuesday with events in Nevada as he tries to reassure members of his party about his candidacy after last month’s disastrous debate. He canceled a planned trip to Texas on Monday and his reelection campaign temporarily suspended TV advertising after Saturday’s shooting.
He will speak at the NAACP convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday, give an interview with the BET network and participate in an economic summit with Rep. Steven Horsford, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
As the RNC got underway, Biden had his own bit of the primetime spotlight on Monday. In an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, Biden called it a “mistake” to say he wanted to “hit Trump in the bull’s-eye” but argued that his opponent’s rhetoric was more incendiary while warning that Trump remained a threat to democratic institutions.
Biden’s comments came during a private call with donors last week, as the Democrat scrambled to shore up his beleaguered candidacy among key party voters. During that call, Biden declared he was “done” talking about his poor debate performance and that it was “time to get to Trump,” saying Trump has gotten far too little attention for his positions, rhetoric and lack of campaigning.
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Adriana Gomez Licon, an Associated Press editor in Milwaukee, contributed to this report.
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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP