MILWAUKEE (AP) — Republicans welcomed J.D. Vance as President Donald Trump’s running mate on a night when they criticized President Joe Biden’s leadership on the world stage.
Vance, a 39-year-old Ohio senator, spoke of his own life as a son of Appalachia and reaffirmed Trump’s connection to Americans who feel socially, economically and politically marginalized.
The mix of debate over national security, relentless attacks on Biden and the announcement of a potential successor to the MAGA movement encapsulates what Trump’s “America First” policies mean for the Republican Party and the United States’ role as a global superpower.
Here are some takeaways from Day 3 of the RNC.
J.D. Vance emphasizes that the Republican Party is more populist, protectionist, and isolationist.
Vance has used his national profile to blend his working-class Appalachian roots with Trump’s economic populism and nationalism. The young senator is a natural fit for the former president and potential future president. His nomination effectively crowns Vance as the heir apparent to the Trump movement.
Vance railed against Wall Street and “multinational corporations.” He praised Trump as someone who would stand up for “American corporations” and workers, “union and non-union.” He spoke about raising wages, taking on China in the global marketplace, and getting other countries to pay for their military expenditures to ensure international security and stability.
Senator Vance slammed Biden for his support of international trade deals and foreign wars during his time as a U.S. senator. “At every step of the way… jobs were shipped overseas and children were sent to war,” said Vance, who has opposed U.S. aid to Ukraine.
The historic US policy decisions Vance mentioned all had broad support from the Republican Party — the Iraq War was driven by George W. Bush, the last Republican president before Trump — but this is no longer Bush’s party. It’s not even Ronald Reagan’s party.
“This party has a broad base of support across national security, economic policy and beyond,” Vance said, nodding at the apparent gap between what he stands for and what would have been welcomed at a Republican convention a generation ago, or even just a decade ago.
It remains to be seen how much Vance will extend Trump’s political influence — he has frequently mentioned key states like Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania — but the 2024 electoral map may not be the most important takeaway from Vance’s national debut.
Instead, his sweeping argument, laid out with more clarity than Trump’s, reflects how the former reality TV star and real estate brand who tops the list of candidates has reshaped the Republican Party and American politics.
There was no apology for January 6th, but many of the Trump administration’s convictions were remembered.
Programming over the first two days of the Republican National Convention included little mention of the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Navarro ended that streak.
Navarro, a former White House adviser to President Trump, woke up in a Miami federal prison on Wednesday and appeared on a stage in Milwaukee to prolonged applause a few hours after completing a four-month sentence for refusing to testify before Congress about President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“Y’all just want to know if you can see the MAGA tattoo I got there,” he said jokingly, launching into a series of attacks on Democrats.
He referred to a “Ministry of Injustice.” Some delegates chanted “Free them! Free them!”, referring to the hundreds of people convicted in connection with the January 6 attack.
It was a surreal moment for a party that has long portrayed itself as a staunch defender of law and order — and a fresh reminder of the legal troubles facing Trump, who was convicted of a felony in May, and the scores of aides, advisers and allies who have been charged or jailed for breaking the law on his behalf.
“If they can come after me, if they can come after Donald Trump, watch out, they’re going to come after you,” he said.
Navarro’s dark vision stood in stark contrast to the unifying theme the Trump campaign tried to project over four days of rallies.
The families of the slain service members have strongly criticized Biden.
There have been many accusations that Biden is “weak”, pursuing “appeasement” and failing to rein in Russia and China. This is despite the fact that many Republicans, including Vance, oppose aid to Ukraine and the left wing of the Democratic Party resent his support for Israel.
But the strongest indictment of Biden’s foreign policy came from the families of Gold Star medal recipients who were among the 13 service members killed in a suicide bombing in August 2021. Their deaths were part of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan after two decades of war.
Trump had promised to withdraw troops from Afghanistan before leaving office but left no detailed plan behind, but the withdrawal actually took place under Biden, and its disorganized implementation was one of the Biden administration’s biggest blunders.
“Joe Biden refused to acknowledge their sacrifice,” Sergeant Nicole Gee’s mother, Christy Shamblin, told the crowd. “Donald Trump knew all of our children’s names. He knew all of their stories.”
The tearful mother of Marine Corporal Hunter Lopez told delegates, “We have another son in the Army, and we are not going to trust his life to Joe Biden.”
Biden visited Dover Air Force Base to witness the solemn transfer of the remains, and was seen glancing at his watch frequently. Trump later hosted some of the family members at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Biden further angered military families during a presidential debate in June when he falsely said no military personnel had been killed during his presidency, but seeing them speak out and call out their children’s names was more effective than the typical attacks from partisan politicians.
Women talk about Trump’s softer side
Trump has demonized immigrants, mocked the LGBTQ community and was convicted by a jury of sexually abusing women in the 1990s, charges he still denies.
But at the Republican National Convention this week, Trump sought to soften those corners and called on women to help.
His daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, offered a humanizing portrait of “the Donald Trump I know” on Tuesday, portraying him as a doting grandfather, family man and supportive father-in-law who encouraged her to take a job as a commentator on Fox News. Model and rapper Amber Rose said the former president didn’t care “if you were black or white, gay or straight.”
On Wednesday, Conway emphasized that “everyone is welcome” in “Donald Trump’s” Republican Party, and the delegation also heard from one of Trump’s granddaughters, Kai Trump, who spoke glowingly about her grandfather.
If successful, the effort could boost support among suburban women, Black people and Hispanics – key groups that could flip states Biden narrowly won in 2020.
Culture war rhetoric was flying, testing the limits of the “unity” argument.
Callista Gingrich, President Trump’s former ambassador to the Vatican, criticized the Biden administration, led by a devout Catholic president, for pursuing “anti-faith policies” and “trying to impose far-left ideology on believers.”
Tom Homan, who served as director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Trump administration, openly threatened would-be immigrants and those in the country illegally.
“You’d better start packing right now,” Homan said, “because we’re going home.”
There were references to “woke ideology”, as well as transgender rights and “men in women’s sports”.
All in all, this was another blatant battle in the culture wars, with one notable exception: abortion was barely mentioned.
Certainly, that rhetoric energizes Trump supporters, who believe there are policy differences between Biden and Trump, at least on immigration, that are to the Republicans’ advantage.
But a tough stance on cultural issues has hurt Republicans in recent elections. On abortion, Trump has warned that abortions could return and argued for the Republican platform not to include a call for a nationwide ban on abortion access.
Whenever Republicans emphasize their cultural conservatism, they mean they’re not talking about inflation or the economy. Some of Wednesday’s messaging gave wavering Democrats more ammunition for their argument that Trump, Vance and Republicans are too extreme.
Biden isn’t the only older man keeping details of his health private.
Rep. Ronny Jackson, President Trump’s former White House physician, had plenty to say about Biden’s health and vitality. Jackson said Biden’s family and aides should have been convinced that the 81-year-old was unfit to serve. But Jackson said nothing about Biden’s health, either in general or after the assassination attempt.
Biden’s health and visible aging have been a focus of the campaign even before his performance faltered in last month’s debate. Biden will become the oldest president in history when he takes office in 2021. But Donald Trump, at 78, is a few months older than Biden was when he accepted the Democratic nomination in 2020. And if Trump wins in November, he could become the same 81-year-old president that Republicans say is too old for the presidency.
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Slodisko reported from Washington.
