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On the second day of the convention, speaker after speaker set the tone for the nomination process later in the day by ridiculing the Biden administration while contending that the country would be restored to greatness if Republicans are returned to power.
First up was Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who continually asked the question, “Are we a nation with no rivals?”
“Here we are again,” he intoned, “nominating the Republican candidate at a time when the world is truly at a crossroads – a Soviet-era dictator once again on the march in eastern Europe, Communist China threatening Taiwan, an open-border allowing the free-flow of terrorists and traffickers into our cities, and again, Iran wreaking havoc in the Middle East … I believe the choice in November will be straightforward. Today’s progressive Democratic party does not believe in, nor do they want, a strong America, an America with no rivals. They are content to concede, to compromise away, to abandon the very foundations that have made America exceptional.”
Said Youngkin, “At this crossroads today, Americans have a choice. Will we allow Joe Biden to further damage this country – to weaponize government, weaken military, the pursuit of equity over excellence, an open border causing chaos, an economy that has left so many behind – or we can choose to regain the America that has no rivals. An America where the might of our military is the greatest force for peace in the world. An America where a rip-roaring economy lifts up everyone. An America with energy independence for ourselves and our allies, and with secure borders that keep out drugs and terrorists and traffickers. An America with a moral clarity to lead and preserve the blessings of liberty and freedom.”
The next speaker, Donald J. Trump Jr., made a pitch for returning his father to power. In the process, he took every opportunity to demean the Biden Administration, building his speech around how he believes Joe Biden has failed as president, referring to international turmoil that has erupted during his presidential term. “We need to get control of our country again,” he declared. “ … failure after failure, we’re told there are successes. We’re led to believe the mainstream media, propagation, Big Tech boosted as if it’s real even if it’s not while simultaneously censoring you, crushing the other side, suppressing actual information – it’s science or at least that’s what we’re told. … ” He said he doesn’t pretend to relate to the hardships of the average working citizen as he says the Democrats attempt to do, and he acknowledged his lavish lifestyle growing up in Trump Towers. Nonetheless, he advocated for the people, claiming that “real” citizens don’t feel they have a voice in politics anymore. “I’m not one of these leftist, Hollywood elites that scream just about anything and live a very hypocritical lifestyle. I’m not the guy preaching climate change while flying in my G-6 while burning more fuel in seven minutes than the average American will spend in their entire lifetime. No, I’m not that guy – I get it.”
He continued, “But if I’m pissed off taking my kids to the grocery store like I did the other day shopping for our Super Bowl party because I feel it’s a rip-off, think about that. If I feel it’s a rip-off, what’s happening to the average American – the forgotten man, woman, and child in this country – who worked hard to make $50,000-$60,000 a year. If I’m pissed off, imagine what they’re actually feeling right now.”
The executive vice president of the Trump Organization lamented what he claimed was a double-standard between Republicans and Democrats. He referred to the Hunter Biden scandals, alleging that he would never escape that same scrutiny as Donald Trump’s son. Trump Jr. asserted that most of Biden’s foreign policy is devised for a personal agenda, because “I can’t think of a single policy advocated for in the last three and a half years that even remotely puts America first.”
Following Trump Jr. was Texas Congressman Wesley Hunt. An African American and Republican, Hunt said he is living the American dream. He alluded to his great-great grandfather, a survivor of slavery. “Three of his great-great grandchildren attended West Point. Three of his great-great grandchildren earned multiple master’s degrees from Ivy League schools. Three of his great-great grandchildren served his country in combat. One of his great-great grandchildren stands before you today as a United States congressman of Houston, Texas that’s a majority White district. … I am literally living the dream of my great-great grandfather.
“I stand before you today literally living the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King for I am being judged not by the color of my skin but by the content of my character.” Hunt implored the students to bond together as Americans and to use the 2024 election as a catalyst for change in the nation. “…This is the worst border crisis I have seen in my entire lifetime, and being from Texas we are feeling it more than you can imagine. Almost 10 million people have entered our country illegally … this is ridiculous. This is not what I fought for. … This is the worst economy that I have seen in my lifetime. The world is laughing at us right now. … The world is recognizing this weakness and that’s why we’re seeing so much turmoil.”
The next speaker, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, asked the students, “What are we going to do to restore the American dream? … Now just under 200 miles away from where we are today at our nation’s capital, too many of our so-called leaders on both sides are more concerned with getting on cable news than delivering results to the people of this country. … I will tell you, if Congress and this administration were its own company, it would be bankrupt, and the leadership would be fired.”
Kemp spoke of national concerns that he feels are not being properly handled by the Biden Administration such as balancing the budget, securing the border, debt relief, decreased military funding and inflation. “These problems are only made worse by a complete lack of presidential leadership. … Outside of the Washington/New York media bubble, it’s pretty clear to the American people that Joe Biden is incapable of doing the job as president. … This election should be about results, not personality … [our] priority should be to restore the American dream … and put our country back on the right track.”
Saturday evening, in the fourth and final session, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson was the first speaker. Hutchinson was a candidate for the GOP nomination for president before withdrawing late last year. He is one of the few prominent Republicans who openly criticizes Trump. He remarked that this might be the most unpredictable election year he has ever seen, and he mentioned that because of this unpredictability, the delegates need to determine what type of Republican party this candidacy will be. “This year, we’ve got to determine whether we’re going to be a pro-Putin Republican party or a pro-freedom Republican party. We have to determine if we’re going to be a rule-of-law Republican party or a party that is attacking our system of justice consistently and undermining.”
He continued: “We have to determine if we’re going to be a Republican party that is isolationist, that we’re going to withdraw from our role in the world, or whether we’re going to engage and be the leader that we have been historically for – freedom, for the rule of law, and for the uniqueness of our great country. That’s what’s at stake this year.” He made it clear he does not condone Trump’s behavior, and he believes that “there are lots of [storm] clouds on the horizon” when considering Trump and the various impending court cases. With that, Hutchinson granted his full support to Nikki Haley as the Republican presidential nominee.
The following speaker, Charlie Kirk, made it clear he disagreed with Hutchinson and that he fully endorsed Trump. Kirk was forced to join the convention via Skype due to a family emergency. As the convention’s youngest speaker, Kirk, 30, may have been viewed as the most relatable for students, speaking on behalf of their generation. That sentiment is what he founded his company, Turning Point U.S.A, on, he said. “There are some serious problems. I get into debates with ‘baby boomers’ a lot where they say, ‘Gen Z just has to work harder, and they have to apply themselves more and stop complaining. Everything is just fine. … Everything is not actually just fine. It is harder than ever for a young person to buy their own home. It’s harder than ever to be able to live the life that your parents live. Without engaging too much in kind of victimcomplaining politics, I think we need to talk about how our generation – within the same decade – it’s harder than ever to do the things that are necessary to pass down a stable and meaningful country from one generation to the other.”
Kirk said he believes those hardships for the younger generation are a result of neglect from both political parties. “My job and my goal is to try to make the Republican party one that actually puts this country first, puts your generation first, and passes down a stable country.” He lauded Trump for being the only president within this generation’s lifetime to not engage in foreign wars. He mentioned that the United States has gotten involved in three different wars with Joe Biden in office. “There is a war industry and war machine in Washington, D.C. that profiteers by sending your generation overseas and gets more and more taxpayer’s dollars, and quite honestly doesn’t make the country any safer,” Kirk said. “Donald Trump changed the game.”
Immigration worried Kirk more, he said. “We are in the midst of an invasion. … There are 15,000 [illegal] people coming across the southern border every single day … not to mention the guns, the fentanyl, the weapons, the young ladies being sex trafficked. … Right now, the Biden Administration is not only doing nothing, they are co-sponsoring and facilitating the invasion of our country on the southern border.” Kirk said he is advocating for the closing of American borders to protect against the “deterioration of our sovereignty.”
Trump, Kirk contended, “speaks for the forgotten man and woman of this country that are seeing themselves materially get poorer.”
