President Donald Trump’s speech to the Republican National Convention will feature 1,500 guests on the South Lawn of the White House with no social distancing, no mask mandate and only a few of them tested for COVID ahead of the week’s grand finale.
Row after row of white folding chairs were set up on the lawn, a bottle of water with a red elephant logo on the seats. The chairs are only inches apart. Most of the guests were not wearing masks.
The president came out to check out the stage ahead of his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination – the end of a week-long convention dedicated to the Trump presidency.
He was seen doing a mic test as guests were starting to arrive. He bent down to speak to a few people in the crowd.
President Donald Trump checks out the stage and does a mic test ahead of his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday
Row after row of white folding chairs were set up on the South Lawn, with no social distancing
Very few guests in the crowd of 1,500 were wearing face masks
President Trump’s speech is the grande finale of the convention
Most Republican members of Congress were invited to attend – although it’s unclear how many will be present. First lady Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and the adult children of the president are also expected to attend along with many high-ranking Republican officials.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said a ‘number’ of people at the invitation-only event would be tested, which he said was ‘pretty safe’ given the ‘circumstances.’
‘There are a number of folks that’ll be tested. A number of folks that’ll be encouraged to wear masks. And to that extent, I think it’s a pretty safe environment given the circumstances,’ he told reporters at the White House on Thursday evening.
Asked whether that means some, but not all, attendees will be tested, Meadows replied: ‘I didn’t say that. … I chose my words carefully.’
Washington D.C. limits gatherings to 50 people but, because the White House is the property of the federal government, it is not subject to those restrictions.
The opening video of the night, featuring a voice over by actor Jon Voight, railed against Democrats ‘telling you what to wear.’
About five empty rows of chairs in the back were being removed as convention programming prepared to start.
President Trump leans over the stage to talk to supporters ahead of his speech
Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky arrives at the White House for the president’s speech
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham arrives at the White House for the speech
There were 1,500 guests invited included Trump family members, elected officials, supporters, first responders and friends
MyPillow CEO Michael Lindell (R) poses for a photo on the South Lawn
The president’s supporters walk to the White House for his speech
Trump will use his Republican Convention nomination acceptance speech Thursday evening to rail against Joe Biden as ‘extreme’ and create a clear divide between the two party’s vision for the next four years.
‘At no time before have voters faced a clearer choice between two parties, two visions, two philosophies, or two agendas,’ Trump is expected to say in excerpts from the speech obtained by Politico and published Thursday morning.
‘We have spent the last four years reversing the damage Joe Biden inflicted over the last 47 years,’ he will say. ‘At the Democrat convention, you barely heard a word about their agenda. But that’s not because they don’t have one. It’s because their agenda is the most extreme set of proposals ever put forward by a major party nominee.’
The speech for Trump to formally accept his nomination for reelection will be delivered on the South Lawn of the White House in front of a crowd of more than 1,500 people around 10:30 p.m.
Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign’s director of communications, told reporters during a press call Thursday that the president will use his time focusing on failures of Biden because he says the media won’t do it.
‘The media generally has ignored or glossed over many of the criticisms of Joe Biden’s record and what his plans for the future are should he get elected,’ Murtaugh said.
He added that Trump’s speech will be ‘tough’ because Americans have ‘tough choices in front of them… and unless the president does it, the media will be tempted not to cover it.’
The venue for the remarks was relocated several times with constantly shifting lockdown rules in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Campaign officials revealed to CNN last Wednesday night that the crowd size could top 1,500. And, if first lady Melania Trump and Vice President Mike Pence’s live audience speeches in prior nights are any indication, it’s unlikely proper social distancing will be observed. Also similar to previous nights, there’s likely no expectation that masks will be worn by attendees.
Law and order will be the focus of the president’s speech, which was still being revised Wednesday night, but aides have signaled to the Associated Press that the contents will not be as dark as some of his other previous remarks – mainly his ‘American carnage’ inaugural address.
On Thursday evening, Trump is expected to offer himself as the last defense against the radical left threatening the American way as his recent stump speech has centered on anarchists overrunning city streets.
The president’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner said Trump will give a message of hope for the next four years while proposing solutions for issues currently facing Americans.
‘Last week, what you heard, was a lot of complaints and a lot of rhetoric, a lot of people who were complaining about a lot of things in America without offering a lot of solutions,’ Kushner said during an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box Thursday morning.
‘Tonight, what you’re going to hear from President Trump, is a very hopeful vision for America,’ he said.
President Donald Trump is expected to rail against Joe Biden in his Republican nomination acceptance speech on the final night of the convention Thursday
Trump’s will speak on the South Lawn of the White House Thursday evening to close out the 2020 Republican National Convention in front of a live crowd of 1,500 people
The president is expected to further distinguish himself as the law and order president and the last defense against the radical left threatening the American way as riots continue to ravage Wisconsin in the wake of Jacob Blake’s shooting
The looting, arson, murder, violence and general unrest sparked in Kenosha, Wisconsin after Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old father of three, was shot seven times by a white police officer. While he is currently paralyzed from the waist down, it is not clear if the paralysis is permanent
‘He’s obviously going to explain this is a serious election with serious consequences and he’s going to explain what the consequences would be of making a change at this point,’ Ivanaka Trump’s husband said.
In recent days, the president has framed the violent unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin in the wake of Jacob Blake’s shooting as fallout from inept leadership in Democrat-run areas, and the inability of those individuals to control their cities.
Incidentally, the mayor of Kenosha, John Antaramian, is a Democrat.
As Black Lives Matter protests and riots ravaged the nation after George Floyd’s death starting at the end of May and prevailing since then, Trump has further painted himself as the ‘law and order’ president.
Trump announced Wednesday that he would send in the National Guard to Kenosha and criticized Wisconsin’s Democratic Governor Tony Evers for not doing so – even though he already deployed guard troops on Monday.
Some Democrats are worried that the social unrest, looting, rioting and clashes in the battleground state and beyond are feeding Trump’s argument that this is what life would look like under the so-called radical left.
The Democratic Party is especially worried that the more violence suburban swing voters witness, the more their sympathy for the peaceful protesters will diminish.
Initially, Trump was scheduled to make his speech from the original location of the Republican Convention in Charlotte, North Caroline. But after Democratic Governor Roy Cooper told organizers they could not give Trump his desired crowd for the speech, the president moved it to Jacksonville, Florida, where, at the time, lockdown orders were less restrictive.
Once Florida went back into lockdown due to surges in cases, Trump was forced to scramble yet again to choose a new location for the speech.
His decision for the White House has been slammed by critics who claim it is in violation of the Hatch Act.
Trump has defended the move, claiming it is the cheapest and most convenient alternative and saying the Hatch Act does not apply to the president – and his administration insists it’s OK because it’s his residence.
The final night of the unconventional Republican Convention will also include speeches from some of the president’s cabinet members and Capitol Hill allies, including Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who flipped from Democrat to Republican in the middle of his term.
Trump’s eldest daughter and Senior Advisor Ivanaka Trump will also address the convention following Wednesday night’s focus on what the president has done to boost women during his tenure.
The former mayor of New York City and president’s attorney Rudy Giuliani will make an appearance.
Some star power will be added to the night with UFC President Dana White delivering remarks on behalf of the president.
In an appeal to his Evangelical base, Franklin Graham will speak on the final night.
Carl and Marsha Mueller, the parents of Kayla Mueller, a humanitarian worker who was tortured and killed by ISIS, have a speaking slot as well as Ann Dorn, the widow of former St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn, who was shot and killed while working as a security guard.
Also speaking Thursday is Alice Johnson, the ex-inmate who Donald Trump pardoned at the request of pop culture icon Kim Kardashian.
Mike Pence’s remarks Wednesday, where he accepted the renomination as vice president, also were focused on unrest across the nation as he issued a stark warning about Joe Biden, saying the country ‘won’t be safe’ in Biden’s America.
It was one of many rhetorical bombs Pence lobbed as Donald Trump’s Democratic opponent at an outdoor speech at Ft. McHenry in Baltimore, where crowd members seated in spaced folding chairs called out for ‘four more years!’
Pence hailed Trump in a prime time speech as someone who ‘does things his own way’ as he accepted the Republican nomination for vice president where he wove together stories of patriotism with scathing attacks on Biden and Democrats.
Pence alternately praised Trump for his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, and blasted the Democratic nominee for stressing a season of ‘darkness’ at his party’s convention last week.
‘Joe Biden would double down on the very policies that are leading to violence in America’s cities. The hard truth is you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America,’ Pence warned, after calling for ‘law and order’ on the streets.
‘And under President Trump, we will always stand with those who stand on the thin blue line and we’re not going to defund the police, not now not ever.’
Convention organizers constructed a colorful patriotic backdrop at the historic fort, amid unfolding events in Kenosha, Wisconsin that intruded, following a white police officer’s shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man. Hours before Pence spoke, police arrested Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, and charged him with first degree intentional homicide in connection with a shooting that happened amid protests over the Blake incident, leaving two dead and one injured.
Rittenhouse was a white Trump supporter who crossed from Illinois to Wisconsin with his long gun and seemed to coordinate with militias before the deadly shootings. He had been pictured in February at a Trump rally in Iowa.
On the podium: Mike Pence spoke in the center of Fort McHenry for more than half an hour to make the case for four more years of the Trump presidency
‘You won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America’ said Vice President Mike Pence
Historic site: Mike Pence spoke at Fort McHenry, where Old Glory flies like it did in 1814 – a point he made in his speech
Big night: Mike Pence arrived hand in hand with his wife Karen for his speech – in which he said she would go back to teaching in a classroom next week
The Milwaukee Bucks are boycotting Wednesday’s playoff game against the Orlando Magic in response to the police shooting of 29-year-old African-American man Jacob Blake by Kenosha, Wisconsin police on Sunday. In this picture, referees huddle on an empty court prior to tip-off
The sporting world has been thrown into chaos as professional athletes from the several sports codes boycott matches over the shooting of African-American man Jacob Blake. LeBron James reportedly walked out of an NBA meeting on Wednesday evening, and his LA Lakers have allegedly voted to boycott the remainder of the basketball season
Former President Barack Obama has voiced his support for the sports boycott, seeing it as a sign of peaceful protest
Protesters gathered near the courthouse in Kenosha for the fourth night in a row, defying a 7pm curfew to denounce the police shooting of black man Jacob Blake. Peaceful marchers pictured on Wednesday evening walking in Kenosha
A protester holds up her hands during a demonstration against the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha on Wednesday evening, marking a fourth evening of walk outs demanding justice
Donald Trump denounced the violent protests unfolding in Kenosha in the wake of the police shooting of Blake on Wednesday
But Pence made no reference to that, nor to the extraordinary boycott of the NBA playoffs in protest at the shooting of Blake. It was started by the Milwaukee Bucks, then spread on Wednesday night with LeBron James tweeting ‘f*** this,’ reportedly calling for a full-scale boycott and Barack Obama congratulating the teams on speaking out. MLB, NLS and WNBA teams also called off games in solidarity.
Pence, who heads the president’s coronavirus task force amid the pandemic that has seen more than 5 million Americans be infected with COVID-19, acknowledged those killed or harmed by the virus in his speech.
‘We’re finding our way forward again,’ Pence said. ‘In this country we mourn with those who mourn and we grieve with those who grieve,’ he continued, eschewing the president’s favored term: ‘China virus.’
Pence called it a ‘time of testing’ for the nation.
‘In the midst of this global pandemic, just as our nation had begun to recover, we’ve seen violence and chaos in the streets of our major cities,’ he said.
‘President Trump and I will always support the right of Americans to peaceful protest. But rioting and looting is not peaceful protest. Tearing down statues is not free speech,’ he said.
‘But rioting and looting is not peaceful protest,’ Pence said.
He claimed Biden would send the nation on a ‘path of socialism and decline.’
Pence spoke to Trump’s strength and character, while acknowledging Trump’s unpredictability, after Democratic speakers called him unfit for office.
‘He does things in his own way, on his own terms. Not much gets passed him,’ Pence said. ‘And when he has an opinion, he’s liable to share it. He’s certainly kept things interesting. But more importantly President Donald Trump has kept his word to the American people.
Vice President Mike Pence is joined onstage by U.S. President Donald Trump after delivering his acceptance speech as the 2020 Republican vice presidential nominee during an event of the 2020 Republican National Convention held at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland
(L-R) Audrey Pence, Second Lady Karen Pence, US Vice President Mike Pence and Charlotte Pence Bond stand on stage at the end of the third night of the Republican National Convention at Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, Maryland, August 26, 2020. The family was featured in a sleek video that played before his speech
The Trumps and Pences listened to Clay Adkins’ rendition of the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’
I’ll BRB: White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows sits with Vice President Mike Pence’s Press Secretary Katie Miller behind Trump/Pence supporters listening to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence as he delivers his acceptance speech as the 2020 Republican vice presidential nominee during an event of the 2020 Republican National Convention held at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., August 26, 2020
Pumped up: Donald Trump gestures to the crowd and Melania waves as they celebrate the end of Mike Pence’s speech
Mother: Mike Pence singled out his mom Nancy Pence for thanks, saying she is ’87 years young’ and that he might only be her second favorite candidate on the Trump-Pence ticket
Salute: Donald Trump saluted in the direction of wounded veterans who were in the front row for Mike Pence’s speech
He blasted Biden for the tone of the Democratic convention, which he characterized as bleak.
‘Joe Biden said that we were living though a season of darkness,’ Pence said.
‘But as President Trump, said where Joe Biden sees American darkness we see American greatness.’
The former two-term Indiana governor and six-term congressman also called Biden, who spent four decades in the Senate, a ‘career politician.’
In outdoor remarks in Baltimore – a city Trump called ‘a disgusting rat and rodent infested mess’ during a spat with the late Rep. Elijah Cummings last year – Pence spoke to a crowd that included Meal of Honor winners, Purple Heart recipients, and a Gold Star mother, as well as the family of a fallen police officer.
‘In these challenging times our country needs a president who believes in America,’ Pence said. ‘America needs four more years of president Donald Trump in the White House.’
Pence told the crowd as he accepted his nomination: ‘I humbly accept your nomination to run and serve as vice president of the United States.’
Backed by flags at the fort where Francis Scott Key penned the poem that became the National Anthem, Pence repeatedly talked up patriotism and national heritage, hours after shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
‘Let me be clear: the violence must stop – whether in Minneapolis, Portland or Kenosha,’ Pence said. ‘Too many heroes have died defending our freedom to see Americans strike each other down. We will have law and order on the streets of this country for every American of every race and creed and color.
During his law and order speech, Pence mentioned Department of Homeland Security agent Dave Patrick Underwood, who was killed amid protests in California.
‘He was shot and killed during the riots in Oakland, California,’ said Pence. ‘Dave’s heroism is emblematic of the heroes that serve in blue every day.’
What he did not mention was that Underwood was not killed by protesters. Authorities have charged a suspect affiliated with the boogaloo boys, the Washington Post reported, a fringe group whose adherents say they want to start a race war.
Speaking at a virtual convention that flashed repeated night-time images of monuments and statues in Washington D.C., Pence said those who topple them would be prosecuted to the ‘fullest extent.’
Anthem: Having railed against athletes who kneel, Mike Pence and Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump and Second Lady Karen Pence all put their hands on their hears as The Star Spangled Banner was played
Gesture politics: Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to supporters as he and Melania get ready to leave after Mike Pence’s acceptance speech
That’s my guy: Donald Trump points to Mike Pence as he takes to the stage at Fort McHenry
Hail to the chief: Mike Pence led the applause when Donald and Melania Trump arrived to greet him at the end of his speech
With the first lady: Donald and Melania Trump make their way to the stage at Fort McHenry, MD
President’s surprise appearance: The audience did not know that Donald Trump was going to come to greet Mike Pence at the end of the vice-president’s speech
Meet the guests: There was no social distancing and few signs of people wearing masks as Donald Trump and Mike Pence greeted the crowd after the president’s unscheduled appearance
WHITE ‘DOUBLE KILLER,’ 17, AT MAGA RALLY
The 17-year-old gunman charged with the fatal shooting of two BLM protesters in Kenosha attended a Trump rally earlier this year.
Kyle Rittenhouse was charged with first degree intentional homicide on Wednesday after viral video footage showed the teen shooting three people during the third night of Jacob Blake protests in Wisconsin.
Two people were shot dead just before midnight on Tuesday – one in the head and one in the chest. One of the slain men has since been identified as Anthony Huber. A third man, a 36-year-old from West Allis, Wisconsin, was shot in the arm but his wounds were not believed to life-threatening.
According to video footage and witness accounts, the gunman first shot someone at a parking lot, then jogged away, stumbled and fell in the street, and opened fire again as members of the crowd closed in him.
Rittenhouse was arrested on Wednesday afternoon in his hometown of Antioch, Illinois – 15 miles from Kenosha. Court records say the teenager ‘fled the state of Wisconsin with the intent to avoid prosecution for that offense’.
In the wake of his arrest, photos and videos have emerged revealing the teenager had a strong admiration for law enforcement, with much of his social media containing references to Blue Lives Matter – the movement that supports police – and at a MAGA rally at Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, in February.
Police-obsessed gunman, Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, charged with murder of two BLM protesters during Kenosha riots sat front row at a Trump MAGA rally at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa in January this year
Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, has been charged with first degree intentional homicide following the shooting death of two protesters in Kenosha on Tuesday. Social media photos show the teen had a strong admiration for law enforcement and guns
‘If you want a president who falls silent when our heritage is demeaned or insulted, he’s not your man,’ he said.
But he did stop short of mentioning Confederate monuments, which the president has repeatedly said have to be preserved.
He also blasted Biden for saying at the Democratic convention that no miracle is coming – part of the Democratic convention’s repeated attacks on Trump’s handling of the coronavirus.
‘Last week Joe Biden said that no miracle is coming. Well what Joe doesn’t seem to understand is that America is a nation of miracles,’ said Pence, who Trump picked in part due to his support among evangelical voters.
‘And I’m proud to report that we are on track to have the world’s first safe, effective coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year,’ he said.
He also painted a rosy economic picture, saying that the country had ‘gained back 9.3 million jobs,’ omitting the actual unemployment figure of more than 11 million, and the uptick in new jobless claims last week.
Pence also backed reopening schools saying his wife would be returning to the classroom.
In contrast Barron Trump’s school is not reopening.
‘Because of the strong foundation that President Trump poured in our first three years, we’ve already gained back 9.3 million jobs over the last three months,’ he said.
‘And we’re not just opening up America again—we’re re-opening America’s schools. I’m proud to report that my wife Karen, a lifelong school teacher, will be returning to her classroom next week.’
Pence presented the election as an all-or-nothing choice about the American future.
‘Last week, Joe Biden said democracy is on the ballot but the truth is, our economic recovery is on the ballot, law and order is on the ballot. But so are things far more fundamental and foundational to our country,’ Pence claimed.
‘It’s not so much whether America will be more conservative or more liberal, more Republican or more Democrat. The choice in this election is whether America remains America.
‘It’s whether we will leave to our children and our grandchildren a country grounded in our highest ideals of freedom, free markets, and the unalienable right to life and liberty — or whether we will leave to our children and grandchildren a country that is fundamentally transformed into something else.’
He described the Trump vision as ‘freedom and opportunity’ in an attempt to offer a positive vision after a dark version of ‘Biden’s America,’ a section of his speech which did not acknowledge that the violence he described happened during his and Trump’s administration.
When he concluded his remarks, Pence said: ‘And with President Donald Trump in the White House for four more years and with God’s help, we will make America great again again.’
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump flew to the event to join Pence on stage and chat with supporters, keeping a few feet away and avoiding the handshakes and hugs of conventions past due to the coronavirus ravaging the nation.
Then country singer Trace Adkins sang ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ whose lyrics recount the British bombardment and waving flag at the fort during the War of 1812.
But at that point social distancing was abandoned, with the crowd rushing to get close to the Trumps and the Pences as they left the stage and came down to the front of the audience.
Among those at the front were wounded veterans, some of whom Pence fist-bumped and chatted with.
The president and first lady posed for selfies – a rare spontaneous engagement for Mrs. Trump, and the second day in a row she has been with her husband.