RNC NIGHT ONE After President Donald Trump's daytime acceptance of the nomination, and with some protests underway in Charlotte, NC, the Republican National Convention kicked off on Monday and featured, like the DNC, a mix of speakers appearing either on a stage before an audience of a few reporters, or by Zoom from remote locations. TIM SCOTT & NIKKI HALEY Sen. Tim Scott and former U.N. ambassador and governor Nikki Haley got a great deal of social media attention from the right for their speeches on Monday night. Scott talked about the party and the election, and gave a brutal assessment of Democratic nominee Joe Biden on racial issues. He also told his own personal story about the changes to American life over the last century and more. He said his grandfather, who'd been forced from school in third grade so he could pick cotton, "lived long enough to see his grandson become the first African-American to be elected to both the United States House, and the United States Senate, in the history of this country." "Our family went from cotton, to Congress, in one lifetime," he said. Haley, too, spoke about race, saying that the Democratic "fashion" of saying America is racist is a lie. "This is personal for me," said Haley, discussing her Indian heritage, and discrimination her parents faced. On Good Morning America, George Stephanopoulos challenged Haley on her lived experience by demanding to know why Trump hasn't healed the "racial divide' during his four years in office. The Gift of Freedom Florida businessman Maximo Alverez stole the show, though, with his emotional tribute to America and his compelling personal story of coming the U.S. from Cuba. “My family has fled totalitarianism and communism. More than once,” he said. “First my dad from Spain, then from Cuba. But my family’s done running away. By the grace of God, I live the American dream, the greatest blessing I’ve ever had.” “I may be Cuban-born, but I am 100 percent American. This is the greatest country in the world,” he continued, getting choked up. “If I gave away everything that I have today, it would not equal one percent of what I was given when I came to this great country of ours. The gift of freedom.” He was the star of the evening judging by social media. The Media's Favorite Speech But the show was all about Kimberly Guilfoyle, in mainstream media's world. Her speech was loud and ... let's say "actively" delivered. The press talked and talked about it. And talked and talked and talked. Also Donald Trump Jr. Donald Trump Jr. also had a speech. Coverage Fox's Sean Hannity complained in advance that news outlets wouldn't carry the Republican convention as quietly and uninterrupted as they did the Democrats. He was right: he talked over most of it. The president, for his part, praised CNN's coverage. No seriously. RNC NIGHT TWO Catch the live program for the second night, as well as all the clips and highlights, via our ongoing coverage. Night two features speakers to include: First lady Melania Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Sen. Rand Paul, Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Maine lobsterman Jason Joyce, Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer, and Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandman. FIND ALL OUR RNC COVERAGE HERE
FOX FIGHT Fox & Friends experienced a major league meltdown on Tuesday when conservative commentator Tammy Bruce and former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile fought over the first night of the Republican National Convention. They had to be cut off. Napolitano Defends Mail-In Vote Fox News legal analyst and former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano said American voters “need a choice between voting in person and voting by mail,” on Tuesday, “so if they don’t get the ballot they show up at the polls.” “In 2016, 40 million people voted by mail,” he said. “There were no complaints.” Going down Former FBI Director James Comey predicted Tuesday that Stephen Bannon faces an uphill battle against federal charges that he engaged in wire fraud and money laundering. It is a very difficult road, and if I’m him and his lawyers, I think I’m going down,” Comey said. Hell is other news outlets Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) criticized the media in a series of Instagram stories on Tuesday in which she claimed an NBC News post about her “made my life hell.” 6.5.0 |