Melania & kids lead norm-stretching 2nd
clear of such thorny grounds in her speech and focused on what she called her husband’s ability to “make change.”
“From the day that I met him, he has only wanted to make this country the best it can be,” she said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, one of the night’s other keynote speakers, offered a fullthroated endorsement of Trump’s reelection bid in a video recorded from Jerusalem, where he’s visiting on a diplomatic mission.
“President Trump has put his America first vision into action,” Pompeo said, becoming the first sitting secretary of state to deliver remarks at a political convention.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this week released an internal State DeIt’s partment cable issued by Pompeo warning U.S. diplomats that, under the Hatch Act of 1939, they cannot take overt sides in presidential campaigns and that even Cabinet-level officials such as himself should “not engage in any partisan political activity.”
The Democratic-controlled House committee has already launched an investigation into potential Hatch Act violations by Pompeo.
But the secretary of state claims his speech is in line with his ethical responsibilities because he was acting in his personal capacity.
Still, Pompeo listed off the Trump administration’s foreign policies, country-by-country, in his speech and lauded how “safe and secure” the president’s agenda has made the world.
“The way each of us can best ensure our freedoms is by electing leaders who don’t just talk, but who deliver,” Pompeo said.
Earlier in the mostly virtual second night of the Republican convention, Trump issued an unprecedented mid-convention pardon in a White Housebranded video to Jon Ponder, a convicted Nevada bank robber who has turned his life around and runs a religious nonprofit to help former inmates get back on track.
“Jon, we honor your devotion to showing returning citizens that they are not forgotten,” Trump said from the White House, standing alongside Ponder and Richard Beasley, a retired FBI agent who arrested him and has since become the ex-con’s friend.
Later on, Trump pulled off another unprecedented move, overseeing a naturalization ceremony of five new American citizens in a move that blurred the lines between government work and political theater.
“The history and heritage of the United States are now yours to preserve and pass down to the next generation. Our culture, our traditions and our values are now yours to uphold and live by,” said Trump, whose administration has worked aggressively to curtail both legal and illegal immigration.
Eric Trump, one of the president’s sons, offered carefully scripted remarks from an auditorium near the White House that didn’t offer much emotion and anecdotes of what the candidate is like behind closed doors, as is typically customary for family members.