Mike Pence officially accepts VP nomination
Vice president points to violence in ripping Democratic leadership
Mike Pence accepted his renomination as vice president Wednesday as Kenosha took center stage in the country’s political debate over police shootings, armed militias and civil unrest.
Standing at the entry to Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Pence addressed the Republican National Convention during a turbulent time, with Hurricane Laura bearing down on Texas and Louisiana and the coronavirus pandemic continuing to upend daily life.
He sought to mix an optimistic tone about the successes under President Donald Trump with a slashing attack against Joe Biden and the Democrats.
Pence continued with the convention’s theme of portraying Democrats as unwilling to put down riots that have erupted across the country over the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and, since Sunday,
the wounding of Jacob Blake.
“Last week, Joe Biden didn’t say one word about the violence and chaos engulfing cities across this country,” Pence said of the Democratic National Convention.
“Let me be clear: the violence must stop – whether in Minneapolis, Portland or Kenosha,” Pence said. “Too many heroes have died defending our freedoms to see Americans strike each other down.”
Kenosha has been the scene of nightly looting and firebombing since Jacob Blake, who is Black, was shot from behind by Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey, who is white. During the tumult, a gunman late Tuesday killed two people and injured another on the streets of Kenosha — sparking political recriminations.
“The hard truth is, you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America,” Pence said. “Under President Trump, we will stand with those who stand on the thin blue line, and we’re not going to defund the police — not now, not ever.”
Pence sought to portray Biden as a captive of the left who “is for open borders; sanctuary cities; and free lawyers and health care for illegal immigrants.”
“When you consider their agenda, it’s clear: Joe Biden would be nothing more than a Trojan horse for a radical left,” he said.
“Last week, Joe Biden said democracy is on the ballot, but the truth is our economic recovery is on the ballot, law and order is on the ballot. But so are things far more fundamental and foundational to our country.”
And Pence described Trump’s unique and blunt style.
“He does things his own way, on his own terms,” he said. “Not much gets past him and when he has an opinion, he’s liable to share it. He’s certainly kept things interesting, but more importantly, he’s kept his word.”
Defense of coronavirus response
Pence spoke to about 100 people, many of whom were not wearing masks, as health experts recommend to slow the spread of COVID-19. Pence said the Trump administration had dealt with the virus aggressively.
“We’re slowing the spread, protecting the vulnerable, saving lives,” he said. “And we’re opening up America again.”
Wednesday marked the second-tolast night of the convention, which is being conducted largely virtually because of the pandemic.
Right at the start, Republicans went after Democrats over the nation’s unrest with highly-charged language aimed straight at the party’s conservative base.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, seen as one of the party’s rising stars, said: “From Seattle and Portland to Washington and New York, Democrat-run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs. The violence is rampant. There’s looting, chaos, destruction, and murder. People that can afford to flee have fled. But the people that can’t — good, hard-working Americans — are left to fend for themselves.”
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee claimed that Democrats are “trying to cancel our heroes” and defund police, the military and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and their radical allies try to destroy these heroes, because if there are no heroes to inspire us — government can control us,” she said.
Michael McHale, president of the National Association of Police Organizations, which endorsed Trump, ripped into “elected officials in cities like Portland, Minneapolis, Chicago and New York” for making “the conscious and very public decision not to support law enforcement.”
“I’m shocked and disgusted by how far left Joe Biden has swung and how anti-law enforcement he has become,” McHale charged. “And Kamala Harris’ legislation to further restrict police would make our American communities and streets even more dangerous than they already are.”
The convention also heard from U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who is locked in a tight race with Democrat Theresa Greenfield.
“Folks, this election is a choice between two very different paths,” Ernst said. “Freedom, prosperity and economic growth, under a Trump-Pence administration. Or, the Biden-Harris path. Paved by liberal coastal elites and radical environmentalists. An America where farmers are punished, jobs are destroyed and taxes crush the middle class.”
Top White House staffers Kayleigh McEnany, the White House spokesperson, and Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser, were thrust into unusual and prominent convention roles as they sought to shore up Trump’s support.
McEnany described her decision to get a preventative mastectomy after learning she had a high likelihood of getting breast cancer, as eight women in her family had. She said the president’s daughter Ivanka had called her as she came out of anesthesia and the president himself called her days later to check on her, even though she didn’t know him personally at the time.
“I was blown away,” she said. “Here was the leader of the free world caring about me.”
Conway said 100 years after women gained the right to vote, women often still do not serve in leadership roles.
“Not so for President Trump,” said Conway, who managed his 2016 campaign. “For decades, he has elevated women to senior positions in business and in government. He confides in and consults us, respects our opinions and insists that we are on equal footing with the men.”
Trump doesn’t shrink from challenges, she said.
“He picks the toughest fights and tackles the most complex problems. He has stood by me, and he will stand up for you,” she said.
For Conway, the speech marked something of a farewell. She’s leaving the White House at the end of the month to focus on her children. Her husband, George Conway III, has been a prominent Trump critic. He also is stepping back from his role with Lincoln Project, which has sought to defeat Trump in the fall.
Richard Grenell, the former acting director of national intelligence under Trump, touted the president’s “America First” stance.
“The D.C. crowd thinks when they call Donald Trump a nationalist, they’re insulting him,” he said. “As if the American president isn’t supposed to base foreign policy on America’s national interests!”
He praised Trump for calling the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq disasters.
“He said out loud what we all knew: that American foreign policy was failing to make Americans safer,” Grenell said.
“In four years, Donald Trump didn’t start any new wars. He brought troops home. He rebuilt the military and signed peace deals that make Americans safer.”
Focusing on the theme, “Land of Heroes,” Republicans heard from a 1960s civil rights activist, a Catholic nun and a logger and trucker.
Chen Guangcheng, a Chinese human rights activist, charged “the policy of appeasement of former administrations — including (President Barack) Obama and Biden — has allowed the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) to infiltrate and corrode different aspects of the global community.”
Earlier Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York criticized Trump and the RNC and slammed the use of the White House for a political event.
They also attacked Pence over his role of leading the administration’s response to the pandemic.
“There’s nothing for him to be proud of in terms of his role in fighting this virus,” Pelosi said during a conference call with reporters. “There’s evidence to support the fact that he was very slow on the draw, held his punch when he should have been leading with it.”