Don Jr. says this election is 'church, work and school vs. rioting, looting and vandalism' - while Kimberly Guilfoyle attacks Biden and his 'socialist comrades' who will 'fundamentally change this nation'
Donald Trump Jr said Monday night 'this election is church, work and school versus rioting, looting and vandalism' as he took aim at Joe Biden's 'socialism' on the first night of the Republican National Convention.
His girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host, went after the Democrat nominee's 'comrades who will fundamentally change the nation' during her rollicking address to the GOP faithful.
The Republicans sought to paint Donald Trump as America's guardian angel against unscrupulous socialist forces who want to overthrow all that the Founding Fathers stood for.
The President appeared in two segments, speaking to frontline workers and then to freed hostages and prisoners from overseas during the heavily-produced evening which largely avoided discussion of coronavirus.
Organizers rolled out 'ordinary voters' who praised Trump for his impact on their lives, including a cancer patient and a recipient of PPP bailout cash as they tried to present a diverse face of the party.
There was an emotional Cuban immigrant and black speakers for the event which began with a movie-style voiceover by Jon Voight and ended before 11pm EST.
Trump had said last week that he wanted more of his convention to be live than the Democrats' but just three speeches were - those of Ronna McDaniel, the Republican Party chair, Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations, and Tim Scott, the South Carolina senator.
But it was the pre-recorded speech of the president's eldest son which stood out as the major political argument of the night and struck directly and forcefully at his father's rival for the presidency.
'This time the other party is attacking the very principles on which our Nation was founded,' he said of Democrats, in a speech taped before it was aired.
He accused Biden, who has spent over 40 years in public office as a senator from Delaware and then as vice president, 'the Loch Ness Monster of the Swamp' – which is the nickname for Washington D.C.
Donald Trump Jr took his turn in the spotlight on Monday night as the highest profile member of the first family to address the Republican National Convention
Grand setting: Republican speakers delivered their speeches from a podium at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium - including Donald Trump Jr. TV cameras largely stayed tightly focused on them for their speeches
Kimberly Guilfoyle's remarks seemed to come from the pulpit, with her arms reached over head in prayer as she shouted out praise for President Trump
Emphatic point: Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.'s girlfriend, delivered her pre-taped speech to an almost entirely empty Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington D.C.
Donald Trump Jr. fist bumps his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle after they pre-recorded their addresses at the Republican National Convention
Watching from the side: Donald Trump Jr. watched his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle deliver her speech on a TV in the auditorium'Joe Biden is basically the Loch Ness Monster of the Swamp. For the past half-century, he's been lurking around in there. He sticks his head up every now and then to run for President, then he disappears and doesn't do much in between,' Trump Jr. said.
The couple recorded their speeches a few hours before they aired and did them in one take, live to tape, DailyMail.com has learned.
In his remarks, Trump Jr. addressed some of his father's weakness - his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and race relations - while hitting Biden in one of his areas of strength - his appeal to middle-class workers.
The president's son echoed his father in blaming the 'Chinese Communist Party' for the pandemic that has infected more than 5.74 million Americans, including his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, and killed more 177,00 people.
He and Guifoyle, like most of the convention speakers Monday night, spoke from the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington D.C., just a few miles from the White House.
Trump Jr. complained when the president shut down travel from China that 'Joe Biden and his Democrat allies called my father a racist and xenophobe for doing it. They put political correctness ahead of the safety and security of the American people.'
He also attacked Biden for saying he would shut down the country to help combat the pandemic.
Biden told ABC News in an interview that aired Sunday night that he would close down the country if scientists recommended it.
'I would shut it down; I would listen to the scientists,' he said - a line Republicans promptly pounded on to attack the Democratic candidate.
Trump Jr. said Biden's actions – if elected – would destroy the American economy.
'Biden's radical leftwing policies would stop our economic recovery cold. He's already talking about shutting the country down -- again. It's madness,' he said.
The president's son, who works for the family business The Trump Organization, attacked Biden in one of the Democrat's strongest areas – his appeal to blue-collar voters, the same voters that helped elect President Trump in 2016.
'In fact, if you think about it, Joe Biden's entire economic platform seems designed to crush the working man and woman,' Trump Jr. said. 'He supported the worst trade deals in the history of the planet. He voted for the NAFTA Nightmare. Down the tubes went our auto industry. He pushed TPP. Goodbye manufacturing jobs.'
He also warned that Biden wants to open American borders so 'more illegal immigrants' can 'take jobs from American citizens.'
'Biden also wants to bring in more illegal immigrants to take jobs from American citizens. His open border policies would drive wages down for Americans at a time when low-income workers were getting real wage increases for the first time in modern history,' he said.
Trump Jr kicked off the opening night of the Republican National Convention, which moved its hub of operations to Washington D.C. on Monday night after the business of the gathering - the formal nomination of the president - was completed earlier in the day in Charlotte, North Carolina.
President Trump's family will take center stage at this week's convention: first lady Melania Trump will give the keynote address on Tuesday night while Eric Trump and Tiffany speak the same evening. Ivanka Trump will introduce her father on Thursday night ahead of his key note address, delivered from the South Lawn of the White House.
Meanwhile, Trump Jr appears to have found a calling in politics. A popular surrogate for his father at campaign rallies and a prolific fundraiser for the Republican Party, Trump Jr has sparked talk he'll run for office one day himself.
But on Monday, he advocated for a second term for his father. He addressed the racial tension in the United States, which is another area where voters give President Trump low marks.
'All men and women are created equal and must be treated equally under the law. That's why we must put an end to racism, and we must ensure that any police officer who abuses their power is held accountable. What happened to George Floyd is a disgrace. And if you know a police officer, you know they agree with that, too,' he said.
However, he also repeated the Republican line that police must be defended.
'But we cannot lose sight of the fact that our police are American heroes. They deserve our deepest appreciation. Because no matter what the Democrats say, you and I both know when we dial 911, we don't want it going to voicemail. So 'defunding' the police is not an option,' he said.
Biden has said repeatedly he does not want to defund police departments.
And Trump Jr closed with a vision for the future.
'Imagine the country you want to live in--one with true equality of opportunity, where hard work pays off and justice is served with compassion and without partiality. You can have it,' he said, adding it would just take re-electing President Trump.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, one of President Trump's most energetic supporters on the campaign trail and the girlfriend of his eldest son, preceded Trump Jr on stage.
The couple make a popular side show ahead of the president at his campaign rallies with their cute, couplely shtick about their life in politics, complete with cute nicknames for one another.
After Guilfoyle finished her remarks, Trump Jr gave her a fist bump.
Guilfoyle stuck to the campaign's talking points in her brief remarks, emphasizing that Trump is the 'law and order president' while Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want to defund the police, which Biden has said is not true.
'As Commander-in-Chief, he always puts America First! President Trump is The Law and Order President,' she said. 'Biden, Harris and their socialist comrades will fundamentally change this nation - they want open borders, closed schools, dangerous amnesty and will selfishly send your jobs back to China, while they get richer! They will defund, dismantle and destroy America's law enforcement.'
She also criticized her former home state of California. Guilfoyle is the ex-wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. When he was San Francisco mayor the couple were portrayed as the future of Democratic politics.
'If you want to see the socialist Biden/Harris future for our country, just take a look at California. It is a place of immense wealth, immeasurable innovation and immaculate environment – and the Democrats turned it into a land of discarded heroin needles in parks, riots in streets and blackouts in homes,' she said in dramatic tones.
She then pivoted to what life is like under President Trump.
'In President Trump's America we light things up, we don't dim them down. We build things up, we don't burn them down. We kneel in prayer and we stand for our flag!' she said.
She spoke dramatically, waving her arms and practically shouting her words.
Guilfoyle, who is the finance chair of the Trump re-election campaign, promised the 'best is yet to come' under President Trump. She raised her arms wide, as if in prayer, shouting her support for the president.
'President Trump is the leader who will rebuild the Promise of America and ensure that every citizen can realize their American Dream!,' she said and closed with: 'Ladies and Gentleman, Leaders and Fighters for Freedom and Liberty and the American Dream – The best is yet to come!'
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley's speech showcased a compassionate brand of Republicanism which described her life story and heritage.
Haley, the 48-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants, was a rising Republican star when Trump tapped the then-South Carolina governor to become ambassador to the United Nations in 2017.
She cited her successful efforts to remove the Confederate flag from the South Carolina state capitol grounds following the 2015 massacre of nine Black churchgoers in Charleston by a white supremacist. But she avoided mentioning the word 'Confederate,' instead calling the flag a 'divisive symbol.'
'In much of the Democratic Party, it's now fashionable to say that America is racist. That is a lie. America is not a racist country,' Haley said.
She noted her father wore a turban and her mother a sari. ' was a brown girl in a black and white world,' Haley said.
'My mom built a successful business. My dad taught 30 years at a historically Black college. And the people of South Carolina chose me as their first minority and first female governor.'
She praised Trump for taking on Iran, China and North Korea, while supporting allies like Israel. Critics have accused the president of cozying up to U.S. adversaries such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, while alienating NATO allies.
Haley added the United Nations was not for the faint of heart and was a place where dictators put their hands out and ask for Americans to pay their bills.
'Well, President Trump put an end to all that. With his leadership, we did what Barack Obama and Joe Biden refused to do. We stood up for America and we stood against our enemies,' Haley said.
Also speaking at the convention were the St. Louis couple who went viral for wielding guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home.
Mark and Patty McCloskey, who are facing felony charges, touted Trump's defense of the Second Amendment and also warned Americans of the 'mob.'
'At this moment in history, if you stand up for yourself and for the values our country was founded on, the mob – spurred on by their allies in the media – will try to destroy you,' Mark said as he sat beside his wife and addressed the camera in remote remarks.
The night began with a video montage narrated by actor Jon Voight as patriotic and pro-Donald Trump images and clips showed on screen.
In an attempt to expand speaking time and to upstage Democrats, the festivities Monday night began a full half-an-hour earlier than Democrats began their convention each night last week.
Voight, an avid Republican, touted in his monologue narration that Trump was elected because he works 'tirelessly' for Americans.
'We chose a different path,' Voight said of Trump's election. 'A man who is not a politician. A man who cares. A man who loves America, and all Americans. A man who works tirelessly for you. Even tonight during this nomination.'
Republicans on Monday nominated Trump for a second term as he faces Democrat Joe Biden in the November 3 election.
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Kimberly Guilfoyle seemed to be speaking from the pulpit when she addressed the Republican National Convention on Monday night
Donald Trump Jr and Kimberly Guilfoyle tweeted their praise for one another during the Republican convention on Monday n'Amped up.' Donald Trump Jr. posted a video on Instagram showing him dressed in a stars and stripes jacket, with two cans of Red Bull 'getting ready for my speech,' before former Trump ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell entered the frame and said: 'Don't forget your purse.'
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks to the largely virtual 2020 Republican National Convention in a live address broadcast from the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, U.S., August 24, 2020
GOP starts the mainly virtual RNC by calling Donald Trump 'the bodyguard of Western civilization' as it showcases 'ordinary voters' including St Louis gun couple who say he stands between America and 'the mob'
The first night of the Republican National Convention kicked off Monday evening with warnings from several speakers of a 'vengeful mob,' painting Donald Trump as the only thing standing between it and America.
The first speaker, Charlie Kirk, who founded conservative student organization Turning Point USA, set the mood for the night by warning Americans of angry liberals and claiming 'everything we love' is at stake in November.
'I am here tonight to tell you – to warn you – that this election is a decision between preserving America as we know it, and eliminating everything that we love,' Kirk said during live remarks from a podium at the Andrew W Mellon Auditorium in Washington D.C.
He also lauded Trump for putting 'his own life of luxury on the line' to run for president.
'From the moment he came down that famous escalator he started a movement to reclaim our government from the rotten cartel of insiders that have been destroying our country,' Kirk continued.
'We may not have realized it at the time, but this fact is now clear: Trump is the bodyguard of western civilization,' he lavished praise on the president.
'Trump was elected to protect our families – our loved ones – from the vengeful mob that wishes to destroy our way of life, our neighborhoods, schools, church, and values,' he said. 'President Trump was elected to defend and strengthen the American way of life.'
Also speaking at the convention were the St. Louis couple who went viral for wielding guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home.
Mark and Patty McCloskey, who are facing felony charges, touted Trump's defense of the Second Amendment and also warned Americans of the 'mob.'
Charlie Kirk, the first speaker of the first night of the Republican National Convention Monday, warned of a 'vengeful mob that wishes to destroy our way of life'
St. Louis couple Mark (right) and Patty (left) McCloskey also warned a 'mob' would come for Republicans – especially pro-gun Americans – if Donald Trump is not reelected in November
The McCloskeys went viral after a video of them wielding guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home went viral. The two are facing felony charges
'At this moment in history, if you stand up for yourself and for the values our country was founded on, the mob – spurred on by their allies in the media – will try to destroy you,' Mark said as he sat beside his wife and addressed the camera in remote remarks.
Monday night started with a video montage narrated by actor Jon Voight as patriotic and pro-Donald Trump images and clips showed on screen.
In an attempt to expand speaking time and to upstage Democrats, the festivities Monday night began a full half-an-hour earlier than Democrats began their convention each night last week.
Voight, an avid Republican, touted in his monologue narration that Trump was elected because he works 'tirelessly' for Americans.
'We chose a different path,' Voight said of Trump's election. 'A man who is not a politician. A man who cares. A man who loves America, and all Americans. A man who works tirelessly for you. Even tonight during this nomination.' ight
Actor Jon Voight (pictured left with Donald Trump) opened the first night of the Republican National Convention by narrating an video montage of patriotic and pro-Trump clips Among the ordinary American speakers Monday were Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was a victim of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida in 2018.
'I got to see who President Trump really is. He's a good man and a great listener. And he cuts through the B.S.,' Pollack said. 'Then the president did what he said he would do. He took action. He formed the school safety commission that issued dozens of recommendations to make schools safe. But I bet you never heard about that.'
In criticism of the press, Pollack said, 'Instead, the media turned my daughter's murder into a coordinated attack on President Trump, Republicans and our Second Amendment.'
Pollack also said that children's safety are dependent on Trump getting reelected.
'It's hard to tell how much Mr. Biden understands about what happened at Parkland,' Pollack said.
'But he doesn't even seem to know when this shooting happened—he said that he was Vice President when it happened. But he wasn't,' he continued, pointing to the gaffe-prone candidate.
Andrew Pollack, the father of a victim of the Parkland school shooting, said that American children's lives depend on Trump being reelected
'Mr. Biden may not know who was Vice President that day but I do. It wasn't Joe Biden. It was Mike Pence, thank God,' he continued. 'And I know who the President was too. It wasn't Barack Obama. It was President Donald J. Trump. And he took action.'
'I truly believe the safety of your kids depends on whether this man is re-elected. I hope you'll join me in helping to make that happen,' he concluded.
Also speaking on the gun front was Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican who was shot in 2017 during practice for the Congressional Baseball Game. He recalled the incident during his remarks from Washington D.C. Monday.
'After I was shot on a baseball field by a leftist gunman, first responders rushed me to a hospital where I battled for my life,' Scalise said.
He recalled both the president and first lady visiting him that night.
'They were there for my family in the darkest hours,' Scalise said. 'Donald Trump would call to check on me throughout the following weeks, just to see how I was doing. That's the kind of person he is.'
Besides giving Trump a personality endorsement, Scalise also railed against some Democratic calls to 'defund' the police.
'This is personal - I wouldn't be here without the bravery and heroism of the men and women in law enforcement who saved my life,' Scalise argued
Also on deck for remarks early on in the convention kick-off Monday were California public school educator Rebecca Friedrichs, who spoke out against unions and propped up Trump's pro-school choice agenda; and businesswoman Tanya Weinreis, who owns a coffee shop in Montana and was able to remain in business after receiving the Payment Protection Program grant in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
'My company was one of the first to get help from the PPP loan and Praise God, it has been a lifesaver for us,' Weinreis said.
'I feel for workers and businesses across America, who are under assault from shutdowns, from riots, and now face the terrifying prospect of Joe Biden coming after everything we've built,' she continued of the Democratic nominee.
'I am so grateful that we have leaders like President Trump standing up for us who understand the good local business do in our neighborhoods and are not afraid to fight for us every day,' the Mountain Mudd Espresso owner said. 'Thank you President Trump - it is so exciting to be a part of this great American comeback story.'
Maryland Republican congressional candidate Kim Klacik also made remarks after she garnered national attention for a city walk-through ad where she urged black Americans – specifically those in Baltimore – to leave the Democratic Party.
Kim Klasick, a Republican running for the U.S. House in Baltimore, went viral for a campaign ad where she urged black Democrats to leave the party. She repeated the same message during her short remarks at the convention Monday'The Democrats still assume that black people will vote for them, no matter how much they let us down and take us for granted,' Klacik, who is running for Elijah Cumming's vacant House seat. 'Nope! We're sick of it and not going to take it anymore. The days of blindly supporting the Democrats are coming to an end.'
She lashed out against Biden, claiming he 'believes we can't think for ourselves -- that the color of someone's skin dictates their political views.'
'We're not buying the lies anymore – you and your party have ignored us for too long,' she asserted.
Biden holds a vast majority of the black vote and usually is most popular among this demographic.
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, the lone black Republican in the U.S. Senate, closed out the first night of the convention as the keynote speaker.
He said Biden has said if black people don't vote for him then they aren't really black – he also accused the candidate of seeing all black voters as the same.
Some of President Trump's most ardent defenders inside the Capitol including Rep. Matt Gaetz tore into Democrats at Monday night's GOP convention – as the Florida Republican said Democrats would invite gang members to live next door.
'They'll disarm you, empty the prisons, lock you in your home, and invite MS-13 to live next door. And the defunded police aren't on their way,' Gaetz said, in one of several charged lines.
The Judiciary Committee member and Trump loyalist during the Mueller probe accused Democrats of 'blaming our best and allowing society's worst.'
'He believes in war without winning, war without end,' Gaetz said of Biden, who voted for the 2003 Iraq war authorization.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, one of Trump's most vocal impeachment defenders, also trained fire on Democrats in his convention remarks, saying cities run by Democrats were facing 'mob rule.'
'And when you take on the swamp, the swamp fights back,' he said. 'They tried the Russia hoax, the Mueller investigation, and the fake impeachment. But in spite of this unbelievable opposition, this president has done what he said he would do,' Jordan said.
Donald Trump appears with frontline workers and freed 'hostages' and Americans held abroad as Republicans try to showcase him having conversations with people he has helped
President Donald Trump appeared Monday night at the Republican National Convention leading conversations from the White House with people he's helped.
Trump talked with frontline workers and then with six hostages who were returned home over the course of his first term.
'You took unprecedented steps, actually, to secure my release and your administration really fought for me,' Pastor Andrew Brunson told the president from the Diplomatic Reception Room.
President Trump spoke with six hostages his administration freed during one of two segments of the Republican National Convention filmed at the White House Monday night
The president also appeared with frontline workers at the White House, briefly leading a discussion with them
President Trump invited hostages to the White House including Pastor Andrew Brunson (left), Sam Goodwin (center) and Michael White (right)
THE HOSTAGES DONALD TRUMP APPEARED WITH ON NIGHT NO. 1 OF THE RNC
PASTOR ANDREW BRUNSON: Brunson is an American pastor who was imprisoned in Turkey for two years. Brunson was jailed in October 2016 during the purges that followed the unsuccessful coup that year. Brunson was held for a year without charges and then was charged with involvement in the coup. Throughout 2018, President Donald Trump pressured Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan using Twitter and sanctions. In October 2018, Turkey charged Brunson with aiding terrorism, but sentenced him to time served, allowing him to leave the country and return to the United States.
JOSHUA AND THAMARA HOLT: Joshua Holt is a Utah man who traveled to Venezuela in June 2016 to marry his now-wife Thamara. Holt was arrested outside his wife's Caracas apartment, accused of stockpiling weapons, with authorities linking him to American efforts to destabilize President Nicolas Maduro's regime. His wife was also arrested. U.S. officials including then Sen. Orrin Hatch, former GOP Rep. Mia Love and others in the Trump administration applied pressure to get the Holts freed, which happened in May 2018.
SAM GOODWIN: Sam Goodwin was traveling in Syria in 2019 who was held for 63 days. Goodwin, a tourist who aspired to visit every country, was freed with the help of Lebanon as a mediator in July 2019.
PASTOR BRYAN NERREN: Pastor Bryan Nerren was arrested in India in 2019 for failing to claim $40,000 he was carrying. Nerren's family called the arrest targeted due to Nerren's Christian faith. He was imprisoned for six days in deplorable conditions, then released but with his passport confiscated. COVID-19 slowed down his trial, but President Donald Trump's trip to India in February was viewed as instrumental to Nerren getting his freedom. He returned to the U.S. in May.
MICHAEL WHITE: Michael White is a U.S. Navy veteran who was held in Iran for nearly two years by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. President Trump's State Department and former Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, worked with Swiss authorities to barter for White's release. He returned to the U.S. in June 2020.
Brunson returned to the U.S. from Turkey in October 2018, after imprisoning him during the purges in 2016 that followed an unsuccessful coup.
'We had to get you back,' Trump said.
American tourist Sam Goodwin, who was held for 63 days in Syria, sang the praises of Robert O'Brien and said he was happy that Trump promoted him to national security adviser. 'I can't say enough nice things about him,' Goodwin said, crediting O'Brien with his July 2019 release.
Michael White spoke about being jailed by the Iranian regime.
'It was a major, major trap. I was apprehended there,' he said. 'But what you did sir, is you were able to get me out of that prison in record time, it was amazing,' White said.
And then Josh Holt, along with his wife Thamara, who had both been jailed in Venezuela, talked about how it was a 'great honor' for Trump to immediately welcome them to the White House in June 2018, when they got back.
'I don't really remember a whole lot of it,' Holt admitted. 'It's nice to meet you again.'
Pastor Bryan Nerren, who was detained as he was traveling through India to get to Nepal.
'The darkest moment of our whole time together, your letter to my wife came, and it really gave her the hope and the peace,' Nerren said.
Overall, Trump boasted that he had freed 50 American hostages from 22 countries.
Earlier in the first night of the RNC, Trump thanked a group of frontline workers from the White House.
'There are my friends, these are the incredible workers that helped us so much with the COVID - we can call it many different things, from China virus - I don't want to go through all the names because some people may get insulted but that's the way it is,' Trump said jumpstarting the conversation.
'These are great, great people. Great job, thank you!' he continued.
The president then went around and found out he was spoking to two postal workers, including a Post Office custodian.
'That profession will never be out of business,' Trump commented.
He had also invited to the White House a trucker from Ohio.
'Well, congratulations, I love the truckers,' Trump said. 'They're on my side.'
Two nurses were in the room, along with a police officer from Colorado who had contracted - and recovered from - COVID-19.
'We jsut have to make this Chian virus go away, and it's happening,' the president said.
The two Trump-helmed segments were part of more than two hours of programming that marked the first night of the Republican Pary's own 'virtual' convention.
Most of the mainstage speeches were being filmed several blocks down the road at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.
While others, like that of Rep. Jim Jordan, one of the House's most pro-Trump Republicans, were filmed from home.
Earlier Monday, Trump had traveled to North Carolina, which had been the original site of the 2020 RNC, before the president called it partially off and tried to move the major speaking portions to Florida.
The president spent the day blaming the convention not happening in North Carolina on the state's Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
The Jacksonville, Florida portion had to be cancelled as well due to a spike in the state's coronavirus cases.
The president is due to speak Thursday from the White House to officially accept his party's nomination.
Republicans try to present a diverse face by having Donald Trump endorsed by Herschel Walker, and Georgia Democrat who says his party wants to keep black Americans 'on their mental plantation'
Donald Trump's Republican Party sought to present a diverse image of the candidate's support by showcasing endorsements from two African American supporters – including a state lawmaker who accused Democrats of running a 'mental plantation.'
Former NFL great Herschel Walker lent his famous name and football swagger to his endorsement, while also recalling a time he bonded with Trump at Disney World.
'I watched him as the owner of a professional football team,' said Walker, who started out his pro football career in the New Jersey Generals, a USFL team Trump owned.
NFL great Herschel Walker endorsed Donald Trump at the Republican convention
'Right after he bought the team, he set out to learn,' said the former Heisman trophy winner. 'He learned about the history of the team, the players, the coaches. Every detail. Then he used what he learned to make the team better,' said walker.
The pitch came days after Democrat Joe Biden staged a multi-cultural convention that celebrated the late civil rights hero John Lewis, had a cast of emcees including Eva Longoria, and highlighted the black and south Asian ancestral of running mate Kamala Harris.
President Trump has made repeated appeals for black support, even as his convention repeatedly blasted protesters it linked to the 'socialist left' and 'mob rule' following the death of George Floyd.
Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones, a Democrat, delivered scathing remarks at his own party, which he accused of exploiting black voters.
'The Democratic Party does not want Black people to leave the mental Plantation they've had us on for decades,' he said.
'But I have news for them: We are free people with free minds,' said Jones, at a time when Biden is holding large leads among black voters, but hopes to build a critical advantage over Hillary Clinton's performance, where black turnout dropped off from 2012.
Georgia State Representative (D) Vernon Jones said the Democratic Party 'does not want Black people to leave the mental Plantation they've had us on for decades,' he said
Kimberly Guilfoyle pre-records her address to the Republican National Convention at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC, USA, 24 August 2020. She mentioned her Puerto Rican and Irish roots
U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) waits to speak to the largely virtual 2020 Republican National Convention in a live address from the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, U.S., August 24, 2020. He called out Joe Biden for several flubs on race
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks by video feed during the largely virtual 2020 Republican National Convention broadcast from Washington
Jones accused Biden of being 'all talk and no action,' and said: 'When President Trump sought to earn the Black vote, the Democratic Party leaders went crazy!'
He talked up Trump's support for historically black colleges. 'That's right. Donald Trump did that.,' he said.
And he talked up criminal justice reform, which Trump successfully negotiated with Congress, building on bipartisan efforts there.
'Democrats couldn't do it! Obama couldn't do it! Joe Biden and Kamala Harris definitely couldn't do it!' he said.
He accused Democrats of having 'turned their backs on our brave police officers' in recent protests.
As the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported, Jones exonerated himself after facing rape accusations in 2005 when he was De Kalb County Executive in Georgia. The woman stood by her story and the state AG said the charges were dropped because the alleged victim didn't want to go through a trial.
The woman who accused him told investigators that Jones raped her, following an encounter at his home involving her and another woman. The then-29 year old acknowledged telling Jones at the time the encounter was consensual, but did so in order to leave his home. Jones and his lawyer denied the charges and issued statements saying the contact was consensual.
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley also vouched for Trump and talked about her own diverse background.
'He knows that political correctness and cancel culture are dangerous and just plain wrong,' said Haley who is of Indian descent.
The pitches came after Democrats stressed multiculturalism at their convention
Actress Eva Longoria was one of the rotating hosts at the Democratic convention
In this image from video, Philonise Floyd, right, and Rodney Floyd speaks during the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday, Aug. 17, 2020 about George Floyd, who died in police custody
'In much of the Democratic party it's now fashionable to say that America is racist. That is a lie. America is not a racist country. This is personal for me,' said Haley, who called herself the 'proud daughter of Indian immigrants.'
Sen. Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, called for people to paint a 'full picture' of Trump.
He called several of Joe Biden's flubs, including one he made while appearing withe Charlamagne tha God on his syndicated show 'The Breakfast Club.' Biden walked back the comment afterwards.
'Joe Biden said if a Black man didn't vote for him, he wasn't truly black,' said Scott, recalling the incident. 'Joe Biden said black people are a monolithic community. It was Joe Biden who said 'poor kids can be just as smart as white kids.''
'And while his words are one thing, his actions take it to a whole new level,' he said, blasting Biden for the 1994 Crime Bill.'
Cuban immigrant comes close to tears as he tells Republican convention that Democrats are like Fidel Castro and says his father told him of America: 'There is no other place to go.'
Florida businessman Maximo Alvarez came close to tears as he talked about how those in his native Cuba were deceived by Fidel Castro and Americans shouldn't make the same mistake.
'I may be Cuban born, but I am 100 per cent American,' he told those watching the first night of the virtual Republican National Convention. 'This is the greatest country in the world. If I gave away everything I have today, it would not equal 1 per cent of what I was given when I came to this great country of ours: The gift of Freedom,' he said, his voice breaking.
He added that, 'I still hear my dad: there is no other place to go.'
Florida businessman Maximo Alvarez, a Cuban immigrant, recalled the empty promises made by Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and suggested that progressive Democrats were making many of the same claims
Maximo Alverez spoke from the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., and came close to tears when he talked about escaping Castro's Communism for freedom in the United States
Alvarez, the founder of Sunshine Gasoline, recalled growing up under Castro.
'And I can never forget all those who grew up around me, who looked like me, who could have been me, who suffered and starved and died because they believed those empty promises,' he said. 'They swallow the Communist poison pill.'
Alvarez said that at Miami's Freedom Tower, referred to as the 'Ellis Island of the South,' 'you can still hear the sound of those broken promises.'
'It is the sound of waves in the ocean, carrying families clinging to pieces of wood, families with children who can't swim, but willing to risk everything to reach this blessed land,' he said. 'It is the sound of tears hitting the paper of an application for American citizenship.'
He recalled that Castro lied when asked if he was a Communist.'He said he was a Roman Catholic,' Alvarez said. 'He knew he had to hide the truth.'
Alvarez suggested that progressive Democrats were doing the same thing now.
'Free education, free healthcare, defund the police? Trust the socialist state more than your family, than your community,' he said.
'They don't sound radical to my ears, they sound familiar,' Alvarez said.
Alvarez said that today President Donald Trump was 'fighting the forcres of anarchy and Communism.'
'I have no doubt they will hand the country to those dangerous forces,' the Florida businessman said of Democratic rule.
He spoke to an empty auditorium in Washington, D.C., several blocks from the White House, where many of the main speeches were delivered on Monday night.
'I choose President Trump because I choose America, I choose freedom,' he also said.
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