MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Republican National Convention resumed Tuesday with immigration as a central theme and speakers highlighting a key aspect of the former president. Donald Trump It was his political brand that helped endear him to Republican voters when he first launched his campaign in 2015.
Among the speakers scheduled for Tuesday night are families affected by violent crime, part of a Republican strategy to link crime to border policy. They include: Rachel MorinThe Maryland woman, who prosecutors say was murdered and raped by a fugitive from El Salvador, has had her case frequently mentioned by Trump during the campaign.
Immigration has long been one of Trump’s main issues, and he An unprecedented surge in migrants The number of people illegally entering the United States from the Mexican border is increasing, and the trend is Suddenly slow down As the US has suspended asylum at the border.
At rallies and other campaign events, Trump has used the example of immigrants. Committed a heinous crime and Blaming immigrants Human trafficking Drugs like fentanylHis anti-immigrant rhetoric has strayed into arguments that are not supported by evidence. Unsubstantiated claims The immigrants are coming to the country to vote in the 2024 election.
Meanwhile, at the Milwaukee convention, there was an air of joy and gratitude that Trump had overcome all those hardships to attend. Assassination attempt At a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. With his ear bandaged, he appeared to cheers at a rally Monday night.
Mr. Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, who was recently announced as his running mate, are scheduled to appear at the convention each night, according to two people familiar with the schedule but not authorized to speak publicly.
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The presidential candidate and his newly appointed running mate sat together on Monday night in Trump’s first public appearance since the assassination attempt. Vance will speak on Wednesday night, and Trump is scheduled to headline the closing remarks on Thursday night.
Tuesday’s program will feature several Republican candidates in close races for the U.S. Senate this fall, including Bernie Moreno of Ohio, Sam Brown of Nevada and Tim Sheehy of Pennsylvania, according to sources familiar with the matter.
In the latest sign that he is gearing up to face President Joe Biden in November, several of Trump’s toughest rivals in the Republican primary also plan to speak on Tuesday, aides said. They include former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
A senior adviser to the Trump campaign said Haley’s planned appearance showed the Republican Party had repaired problems that needed repairing after a bitterly fought primary.
In the latest scene Presidential Election Already known for his dramatic turn of events, Trump emerged triumphant to rapturous cheers on the opening night of the convention on Monday, just hours after the convention formally named him the Republican front-runner to face Trump in November’s presidential election. Biden.
The raucous reception underscored the depth of the crowd’s affection for Trump, who won the nomination in 2016 as an outsider at odds with his party’s mainstream base but went on to defeat all his Republican rivals, silence most conservative critics and command loyalty from both inside and outside his party.
Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Lawrence Tabas said he hopes the assassination attempt on Trump will be a catalyst for a change in tone nationwide, starting with Trump’s planned remarks on Thursday.
“I believe his message will be better after having had such a close encounter with death, and I think it will speak to our better emotions,” Tabas said in an interview after a breakfast for Pennsylvania’s Republican delegation in suburban Milwaukee.
Trump appeared poised to deliver a more toned-down speech. His son, Donald Trump Jr., told Axios in an interview outside the Republican National Convention venue at Central Waters Brewing Company in downtown Milwaukee that he spent three or four hours revisiting his father’s convention speech and “tried to tone down some of the rhetoric.”
“I think that’s going to continue,” Trump’s son said of Trump’s shifting rhetoric. “Some things change you for a few minutes, and some things change you forever.”
At the convention, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp called the moment “a great opportunity for the country and the media, no matter what side of the political aisle you are, to get back to a place of civil dialogue and not try to demonize people.”
Still, some Republicans made clear that their calls for harmony and unity did not mean finding common ground with Biden or Democrats. Torn by worry At 81 years old, he doesn’t have the ability to defeat Trump.
Pennsylvania Representative John Fredericks offered a succinct suggestion to immigration speakers on Tuesday: “Close the border. If they’re here illegally, get them out now. That’s all I care about. Get them out.”
Trump campaign officials planned a convention with a softer, more optimistic message and focused on themes that could help the divisive leader expand his base. Moderate voters and People of Color.
Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump was in suburban Milwaukee on Tuesday urging more than 200 Pennsylvania delegates and guests to vote early. The guidance comes after The party shifted The former president has previously questioned early and absentee voting and urged people to vote in person on the day, but that did not happen in this election.
On Monday night, with a focus on the economy, delegates and a national television audience heard speakers pitched by the Trump campaign as “ordinary Americans,” including a single mother who spoke about inflation, a union worker who described herself as a lifelong Democrat who now supports Trump, and a small business owner.
Associated Press reporter Jennifer King reports that the Republican National Convention is continuing in Milwaukee.
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Swenson reported from Minneapolis and Fernando reported from Chicago. Associated Press writers Steve Peoples, Jill Colvin and Tom Beaumont contributed to this report from Milwaukee.
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