2024 Election Latest: Republicans shift their gaze to national security as RNC enters third day

Jul 17, 2024 8:52 AM - 2218 words

By The Associated Press

The third day of the Republican National Convention kicks off Wednesday with Republicans — led by the newly nominated Donald Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio — shifting their focus to issues of national security and foreign policy.

Republicans are expected to focus on Democratic President Joe Biden’s handling of the ongoing crises in Europe and the Middle East. Former Trump administration officials are also expected to take the stage to outline what foreign policy would look like if he returns to the White House for a second term.

Vance will also introduce himself to a national audience Wednesday evening when he delivers his first speech as the Republican vice-presidential nominee.

Follow the AP’s Election-2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024

Here's the Latest:

Vance ‘will only be loyal to Trump,’ VP Harris says in new video

Vice President Kamala Harris is criticizing Republican Donald Trump’s new running mate ahead of the speech he’s making Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention.

In a video released by President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, Harris dismissed the choice of Ohio Sen. JD Vance as Trump looking “for someone he knew would be a rubber stamp for his extreme agenda.”

“Make no mistake: JD Vance will be loyal only to Trump, not to our country,” Harris says in the 45-second video.

Trump and other top Republicans have recently intensified their criticism of Harris. That comes amid speculation she could replace Biden at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket if he were to heed intensifying calls for him to leave the race.

Congressman calls for open process to pick new Democratic presidential nominee

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, the first House Democrat to publicly call on President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, says the Democratic National Committee should not “fast-forward” the nominating process for his reelection bid.

Doggett said in a statement Wednesday that plans for a quick nomination — which the DNC is considering with a virtual roll call before the August convention — would jeopardize their chances of winning. He called instead for an open process to select a new Democratic presidential nominee.

“Fast-forwarding the nomination process is no way to convince the many unconvinced voters in the growing number of battleground states,” he said. “The risk of Trump tyranny is so great that we must put forward our strongest nominee.”

“Short-circuiting the normal Convention process jeopardizes the White House, Senate and House,” he added.

Homeland Security inspector general investigates Secret Service handling of security at Trump rally

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general says it’s investigating the U.S. Secret Service’s handling of security for former President Donald Trump on the day a gunman tried to assassinate him at a Pennsylvania rally.

The agency says in a brief notice on its website the objective is to evaluate the Secret Service’s “process for securing former President Trump’s July 13, 2024 campaign event.”

▶ Read more about the Department of Homeland Security’s investigation

FACT FOCUS: A look at ominous claims around illegal immigration made at the RNC

After Donald Trump triumphantly entered the hall on the second night of the Republican National Convention, the program turned to one of his signature issues: illegal immigration. An ominous video of chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border led into to a speech by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who declared, “We are facing an invasion on our southern border.”

▶ Here’s a look at some of the claims made Tuesday

‘A pleasant conversation’

The mayor of Milwaukee says former President Donald Trump called him Tuesday, and the two had “a pleasant conversation.”

“Mr. Trump had positive things to say about his experience so far here in Milwaukee,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson said at an early-morning briefing. “He shared his gratitude for the security and for law enforcement preparations.”

The mayor said he wished Trump a speedy recovery during the phone call, which Johnson said lasted two to three minutes.

Police saved the life of ‘an unarmed man’ in Tuesday shooting, Milwaukee mayor says

Milwaukee’s mayor says he was saddened by the death of a man shot by a group of bicycle police from Columbus, Ohio, who were in town to help with convention security.

The officers were briefing each other on the day’s activities Tuesday when they witnessed a man with two knives lunge at an unarmed man, Mayor Cavalier Johnson said at an early-morning briefing.

Police body camera footage of the encounter was released Tuesday.

“The information we have leaves a clear impression that these Columbus officers, they saved the life of an unarmed man from death or perhaps serious injury,” Johnson said.

The shooting occurred about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 kilometers) from the convention arena, near a park where demonstrators have been protesting this week.

JD Vance, Trump’s pick for vice president, will introduce himself to a national audience at the RNC

Donald Trump ’s running mate JD Vance will introduce himself to a national audience Wednesday as he addresses the Republican National Convention.

The Ohio senator’s headlining address will be his first speech as the Republican vice-presidential nominee. He’s a relative political unknown who rapidly morphed in recent years from a severe critic of Trump to an aggressive defender.

Vance, 39, is positioned to become the next potential leader of the former president’s political movement, which has reshaped the Republican Party and busted many longtime political norms. The first millennial to join a major party ticket, he joins the race when questions about the age of the men at the top of the tickets — 78-year-old Trump and 81-year-old President Joe Biden — have been high on the list of voters’ concerns.

▶ Read more about JD Vance’s expected appearance

Senate candidates feature prominently during second night of RNC

The presidential race was top of mind for everyone in Milwaukee. But Republicans also want to flip the Senate, and they highlighted on Tuesday night seven of their candidates hoping to nab seats from Democrats.

Only one of them was greeted with significant applause. That was Kari Lake of Arizona — a strong Trump supporter who became a conservative celebrity when she denied that Trump had lost his 2020 race or that she’d been defeated in her bid for governor.

All the Senate hopefuls had a common approach: slam Biden for his stewardship of the country and then link their opponent to the president.

Overall, the Senate candidates didn’t sketch out much of an individual agenda, instead hoping to tie their races to the presidential one. With most Senate elections going to the winner of the state’s presidential election, and Republicans bullish on Trump’s odds, it’s not an unreasonable calculation.

DNC offers up some political counterprogramming with investment announcement

Democrats are trying to offer political counterprogramming to the RNC, announcing $15 million to fund campaign operations in seven key swing states — even as some in the party have urged President Joe Biden to bow out of November’s election.

The Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday that it is investing $15 million in state parties, meant to help them open more field offices and bolster staffing. The funding will let them add to the 217 existing coordinated campaign offices working jointly for Biden’s reelection bid and state parties that already employ 1,100-plus staffers in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the DNC said.

The investments will pump nearly $3 million into Wisconsin; nearly $2 million each into Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada; almost $1.5 million in Arizona; more than $1.2 million in North Carolina; and more than $1 million in Georgia.

Who is Usha Vance?

Usha Chilukuri Vance, wife of JD Vance, is a Yale law graduate and attorney.

She stood next to her husband on Monday as he was named the Republican vice presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention.

The 38-year-old Chilukuri Vance was raised in San Diego, by Indian immigrants. Her mother is a biologist and provost at the University of California at San Diego; her father is an engineer, according to JD Vance’s campaign.

She received an undergraduate degree at Yale University and a master of philosophy at the University of Cambridge through the Gates Cambridge scholarship.

▶ Read more about Usha Vance

There's growing anticipation for Trump's speech

Trump and Vance were expected to appear in the hall each night of the convention. Vance is slated to speak Wednesday and Trump will speak Thursday.

Trump, who has long decried rivals with harsh language and talked about prosecuting opponents if he wins a second term, seemed poised to deliver a more toned-down speech. His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., said in an Axios interview outside the RNC that he spent three or four hours going through his father’s convention speech with him, “trying to de-escalate some of that rhetoric.”

But there were hints in Tuesday’s programming of some of Trump’s old grievances, including several references to Trump’s disproven theories of election fraud. One of the primetime speakers, Madeline Brame, railed against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office prosecuted Trump for illegally orchestrating a hush money scheme to influence the 2016 election. That made Trump the first former president convicted of a felony crime.

Brame accused Bragg of having mishandled the cases against the people accused of killing her son. Of Trump, she said, “He’s been a victim of the same corrupt system that I have been and my family has been.”

The recent attempt on Trump's life lingers over convention

Trump’s survival of an attempted assassination Saturday at a rally in Pennsylvania was on the minds of many inside the convention hall. One of the delegates in the crowd could be seen with a folded white piece of paper over his ear — an apparent tribute to the bandage Trump wore when he entered the hall Monday to a roaring crowd.

He was wearing it again when he arrived Tuesday night, appearing even earlier than he did the night before. Trump entered a few minutes after his newly chosen running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

Many of the speakers so far have referenced the assassination attempt on Trump’s life, and that’s something we can expect to hear more of as speeches go on.

Unity at the RNC, and other takeaways from day 2

With Trump’s primary rivals speaking, Day 2 at the RNC was an occasion for the GOP to demonstrate its unity, a sharp contrast to the Democratic party’s mounting concerns over the viability of Biden.

▶Read the AP’s takeaways from night 2

Mother of crime victim brings RNC focus to NY district attorney Alvin Bragg

Madeline Brame, whose veteran son was stabbed to death in Harlem in 2018, brought the crowd’s focus Tuesday night to one of right’s biggest boogeymen: New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Brame has publicly criticized Bragg for being soft on crime, including in the case of her son’s alleged killer. The crowd responded with roaring applause as Bragg is one of the officials involved in Trump’s various legal battles. “They betrayed us and stab us in the back,” Brame said about Democrats. “Trump was right when he said they’re after us, he’s just standing in the way.”

Family members of victims of fentanyl overdose make forceful case for Trump

As part of the convention’s ‘Make America Safe Again’ session, family members of those who have lost loved ones to fentanyl overdose appeared back-to-back on the RNC stage to make the forceful and at time emotional case for why Trump would fix the epidemic.

Michael Morin, the brother of a woman who was killed by a man who was allegedly in the country illegally, said that Trump would take more action on the drug crisis than Biden and Harris have in the past three and a half years. Another speaker, Anne Funder, lost her 15-year-old son Austin to an overdose two years ago. As she got choked up on stage, the crowd began to chat “Joe must go!” to which she responded, “Yes, he must.”

Pennsylvania delegate recalls speaking to Trump minutes before shooting

Tom King, a Pennsylvania delegate from Butler, Pennsylvania, said he spoke to Trump at the rally 10 minutes before the shooting erupted on Saturday. He says he sat about 20 feet in front of Corey Comperatore, the former fire chief who was killed.

“It was a great day to see the president,” said King, who is general counsel for the Pennsylvania Republican Party. “He was in a great mood. He was energetic, but he was very serious about what we need to do in Pennsylvania to win the election.” When an AP reporter asked him to specify what he said needed to be done in Pennsylvania, King said, “I won’t say what he said.”

“We pledged to do everything we could to help him,” he said. “He’s a great guy.”