What to watch as the Republican National Convention enters its third day in Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE — The third day of the Republican National Convention starts Wednesday with Republicans – led by the newly nominated Donald Trump and JD Vance — and moved on to national security and foreign policy issues.
Republicans are expected to target the Democratic president Joe Bidens dealing with the ongoing crises in Europe and the Middle East. Former Trump administration officials are expected to take the stage to outline what foreign policy would look like in a second Trump term.
Speeches are likely to be given by Richard Grenell, Trump’s former acting director of national intelligence, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Vance is expected to accept his party’s nomination for vice president.
What to look out for on the third day of the RNC:
Despite his fame after publishing the memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” the 39-year-old senator from Ohio is unknown to many Americans — and even to many prominent Republicans in Milwaukee. He gets a chance to address a national audience on Wednesday.
Expect a speech introducing his family — his wife, Ushaand their three children — and his support for Trump’s policies.
Vance defeated Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida to become Trump’s running mate. He has built a strong bond with the former president over the years and speaks to him regularly by phone.
Trump also complimented Vance on his beard, saying he “looks like a young Abraham Lincoln.”
Much of Wednesday’s speeches will focus on the Biden administration’s handling of global issues, including the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the ongoing War between Israel and Hamasaccording to Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee, with the theme “Make America Strong Again.”
“Under Joe Biden, the weakest commander in chief in our country’s history, America has become a global laughingstock,” the committee said in a press release.
Republicans have made foreign policy a top campaign issue, arguing that America’s global standing has been stronger under Trump, despite the party’s increasingly isolationist bent.
“I can tell you that countries around the world, leaders, are absolutely uncomfortable with the unpredictability of Donald Trump,” Grenell, Trump’s former ambassador to Germany, said during a roundtable discussion Monday. “And when I say uncomfortable, it means they don’t know exactly what he’s going to do next. And that’s positive for us.”
It’s an argument he’s likely to use again on Wednesday night.
While the focus of Wednesday’s session is expected to be beyond America’s borders, Republicans are also expected to highlight how Biden’s perceived “weakness” on immigration also harms our reputation abroad. Many speakers have already documented claims that a growing number of foreign terrorists have entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico. Republicans have pointed to the arrests on U.S. soil last month of eight Tajiks with suspected ties to the Islamic State group.
The conference organizers are not expected to announce who will speak on the second day of the event until later on Wednesday morning.
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