RNC Day 2 features calls for GOP unity from Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Trump allies
The second day of the Republican National Convention featured displays of unity from former President Donald Trump's onetime rivals for the party's presidential nomination, with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urging voters to send Trump to the White House once again.
Haley, Trump's fiercest critic during the presidential primaries, endorsed Trump as he looked on from the stands in Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Trump again wore a bandage on his right ear, which was pierced by a sniper's bullet in a failed assassination attempt just days before.
Haley offered her "strong endorsement" to Trump, and said the choice should be clear in November. "I'm here tonight because we have a country to save, and a unified Republican Party is essential for saving her," Haley said.
Seeking to appeal to voters beyond the Republican base, she said the party must acknowledge that there are Americans who don't always agree with the former president. "My message to them is simple: You don't have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him. Take it from me," Haley said.
DeSantis spoke immediately after Haley, and focused his remarks on criticizing President Biden and his administration. "As a citizen, as a husband and as a father, I am alarmed that the current president of the United States lacks the capability to discharge the duties of his office," he said.
The evening concluded with speeches from close Trump allies, including Sen. Marco Rubio, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law and co-chair of the Republican National Committee. All three sought to give viewers a glimpse of the Trump they know, and pointed to the assassination attempt to argue that he would fight for Americans if he wins the White House.
"We will not be alone in this fight. For leading us in this fight will be a man who, although wounded and facing danger, he stood up and raised his fist and reminded us that our people and our country are always worth fighting for," Rubio said.
Here's what happened Tuesday at the 2024 RNC in Milwaukee:
Lara Trump says she rewrote speech after shooting
Lara Trump, who is the co-chair of the Republican National Committee and is married to Trump's son Eric, said she had a "very different" speech planned for her primetime address but rewrote it after her father-in-law was shot.
"Nothing prepares you for a moment like that," she said. "Our family has faced our fair share of death threats, mysterious powders sent to our homes, tasteless and violent comments directed towards us on social media. But none of that prepares you as a daughter-in-law to watch in real time someone try to kill a person you love."
"I have seen this man dragged through hell and back, in and out of courtrooms, indictments, impeachments, mug shots and even an assassination attempt. And yet, he has never backed down," she said.
Lara Trump said the former president has shown that "when it feels impossible to keep going, those are the times we must keep going."
Rubio: Putting America first "must be what this election is about"
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a top contender for Trump's vice presidential pick who ultimately wasn't selected, delivered an impassioned speech arguing for the former president's "America first" agenda.
"There is absolutely nothing dangerous or anything divisive about putting Americans first," Rubio said, celebrating Americans "who wear the red hats" and simply want good jobs, lower prices and secure borders.
"By giving voice to everyday Americans, President Trump has not just transformed our party — he has inspired a movement," Rubio said.
Rubio ran against Trump for the 2016 presidential nomination and was among the Republicans considered to be on Trump's shortlist for his running mate this time around. He remained a contender until Monday afternoon, when Trump made his announcement.
In a nod to the former president's new running mate, Rubio said "as the life story of our next vice president JD Vance reminds us, we are all descendants of ordinary people who achieve extraordinary things."
The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio said Americans come from pioneers "who ventured west to chase their dreams," "slaves overcame bondage to claim their right to the promise of America," "exiles who fled tyranny in search of freedom" and "immigrants who left behind all they had."
"That is an American," he said, saying that putting America first "must be what this election is about."
The Florida Republican painted an image of a more favorable time when Trump was in the White House, saying that "the only way to make America wealthy and safe and strong again is to make Donald J. Trump our president again."
"It is time to put our country and our people first again," Rubio said.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders defends Trump, attacks Biden in primetime speech
In her primetime speaking slot, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders praised Trump for having her back when she was intensely criticized while serving as his White House press secretary.
"When the president hired me, I was the first mom and only the third woman to ever serve as the White House press secretary," she said. "And in that role, I endured relentless attacks from the left."
Sanders recalled being denied service at a restaurant, another parent spitting on her car at her son's preschool and a cable news host calling her unfit to be a mother.
"In those moments, it was President Trump who defended me," she said. "Our president pulled me aside, looked me in the eye and said, 'Sarah, you're smart, you're beautiful, you're tough, and they attack you because you're good at your job.'"
She claimed Democrats "don't care about empowering women," and said President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris "only care about empowering themselves."
On the assassination attempt against Trump, Sanders said, "God Almighty intervened."
DeSantis: "America cannot afford 4 more years" of Biden
Speaking quickly in energetic remarks, DeSantis focused on lambasting the Biden administration, while leaning in to criticism of the president that has swirled in recent weeks about his age and ability to serve another four years.
"As a citizen, as a husband and as a father, I am alarmed that the current president of the United States lacks the capability to discharge the duties of his office," DeSantis said.
"We need a commander in chief who can lead 24 hours a day and seven days a week. America cannot afford four more years of a 'Weekend at Bernie's' presidency," he added, referencing the 1989 film in which a dead man is propped up as if he's alive.
DeSantis, once thought to be Trump's chief rival heading into the primaries, ended his bid for the White House in January after a disappointing showing in the Iowa caucuses. Since then, he and Trump have seemingly buried the hatchet, and his appearance at the convention — along with Haley's — comes amid an effort to show unity within the party.
The Florida governor touted his actions in the Sunshine State, claiming that due to "bold leadership," the left is "in retreat" in the state, and "freedom reigns supreme." He argued that with Trump as president, the party has a chance to do the same "all across America."
"Let's make the 45th President of the United States the 47th President of the United States," he said.
Nikki Haley endorses Trump in convention speech: "We have a choice to make"
Haley endorsed Trump from the convention stage, as the former president sat in attendance. Haley appealed to unity within the party, and highlighted the choice Americans face in November.
"President Trump asked me to speak to this convention in the name of unity," Haley said as she opened her speech, calling it a gracious invitation that she was "happy to accept."
She went on to make clear that "Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period," while she painted the choice between Trump and President Biden as an obvious one.
"For the sake of our nation, we have to go with Donald Trump," she said.
Haley said her message to voters is they don't have to agree with the former president all of the time, adding that "I haven't always agreed with President Trump."
"I'm here tonight because we have a country to save," Haley said. "And a unified Republican Party is essential to saving her."
In May, Haley said she would vote for Trump, despite previously calling him "not qualified" to lead the nation. But she stopped short of endorsing the former president, encouraging Trump to appeal to the voters who had supported her.
Haley's acceptance of a speaking role at the convention came as a surprise in recent days, marking a reversal from an earlier statement that she hadn't been invited. Last week, Haley released the several dozen delegates she won in the primaries and encouraged them to vote for Trump.
Haley's speech comes as the party looks to project unity, with DeSantis, another former rival, speaking as well.
Cruz delivers dark speech blaming Democrats for crimes by undocumented migrants
Ted Cruz, who was booed at the 2016 convention when he failed to endorse Trump and told people to vote their conscience, took the stage tonight shortly after Trump arrived at the convention.
This time, Cruz began his speech: "God bless Donald J. Trump."
Cruz accused Democrats of deliberately releasing migrants into the U.S. for political reasons, and shared the stories of girls and women who were raped and murdered by people who were in the U.S. illegally.
"These aren't just stories or statistics. They're our daughters, our sisters, our friends," he said. "I've sat with these families in living rooms where the silence is so loud that it hurts, where photo albums are opened with trembling hands. How did we get here? It happened because Democrats cynically decided they wanted votes from illegals more than they wanted to protect our children."
Cruz said Trump can fix the situation by securing the border.
Trump arrives in the hall for Haley and DeSantis speeches
The former president arrived in the convention hall for the upcoming speeches by Haley and DeSantis, his former rivals for the GOP nomination. One campaign aide called it a "big unity moment" and said Trump changed his schedule to be on hand for the speeches.
Trump is again wearing a bandage covering the wound on his ear. He took his place alongside Vance.
In fiery speech, Vivek Ramaswamy seeks to court minority and younger voters
Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, 38, made an appeal to key voting groups in his primetime speech.
"Our message to Black Americans is this: The media has tried to convince you for decades that Republicans don't care about your communities, but we do. We want for you what we want for every American — safe neighborhoods, clean streets, good jobs, a better life for your children and a justice system that treats everyone equally, regardless of your skin color and regardless of your political beliefs.
"Our message to every legal immigrant in this country is this: You're like my parents. You deserve the opportunity to secure a better life for your children in America," he said, also warning migrants who come to the country illegally that they will be deported — "not because you're all bad people, but because you broke the law."
Millennials, he said, have been sold "a false bill of goods" with the Iraq War, the 2008 financial crisis and college debt. They deserve a leader who tells the truth, "even if it comes with some mean tweets from time to time," he said.
He said Gen Z will be the generation that saves the country.
"If you're at home and you disagree with everything I just said, our message to you is this: We will still defend you to the death your right to say it, because that is who we are as Americans," Ramaswamy said.
House GOP leaders slam Biden policies as they pledge to take control of Congress next year
The four top House Republican leaders addressed the delegates, delivering a unified message slamming the Biden administration's policies while pledging to grow their House majority and flip control of the Senate in November.
"We're in a fateful battle of ideas, my friends, we have to recognize that," House Speaker Mike Johnson said. "But in this battle and in November, the American people will reject the party of self-destruction and they will elect the party of peace and prosperity and opportunity."
Johnson, along with Majority Leader Steve Scalise, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, criticized the Biden administration's handling of the southern border; its economic policies; its posture toward the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war; and the approach to protests on college campuses, among other things.
"House Republicans have held the line," Emmer said, despite the party's small majority that he said was elected to "stop the Biden-Harris agenda."
Emmer said next year, "with the support of Trump majorities in the House and Senate," Republicans will "put America first again."
Scalise lambasted the Biden administration's economic approach, saying "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have spent your tax dollars trashing America's finances in ways no sane or sober minded person ever would." He committed to making Trump's tax cuts, which are set to sunset after 2025, permanent within the first 100 days of the new Congress.
Johnson painted the divide between Democrats and Republicans as the most existential.
"We're now in the midst of a struggle between two different visions of who we are as Americans and what our country will be," the speaker said. "Now is our time to fight and we will."
The latest RNC fashion statement: an ear bandage
Several delegates have been spotted on the floor wearing bandages on their right ear, in an homage to the injury Trump suffered in the assassination attempt. Trump sported a bandage in his first public appearance since the shooting on Monday.
Joe Neglia, a delegate from Tempe, Arizona, was among those wearing a makeshift bandage, with his fashioned out of a folded envelope. He said it was "the new thing."
"This is the newest fashion trend," Neglia quipped to CBS News on the convention floor. "I'm getting this going. Everybody in the world is going to be wearing these pretty soon."
He added: "My wife tells me I dress like an engineer, but I'm setting new fashion ground here."
GOP Senate candidates argue Biden policies make America less safe
A number of Republican Senate candidates made their pitch to voters by criticizing the policies of the Biden administration, arguing they have made Americans less safe. The Senate Democrats they're challenging have rubber stamped Mr. Biden's agenda, they said.
Former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is looking to replace Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow in the Senate, accused the Biden administration of trying to force Americans to buy electric vehicles as they face the high costs of groceries and rent.
Bernie Moreno, who's challenging Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, walked out to chants of "Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!" He recalled his family immigrating to the U.S. from Colombia "legally." He claimed Democrats have "put the welfare of illegals ahead of our own citizens."
"They've destroyed our border. They've destroyed our economy. They've destroyed our standing in the world, and they'll destroy America if we don't stop them," he said.
Hung Cao, who was born in Vietnam and is challenging Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, also touched on immigration.
"As an immigrant to this great country, let me be very clear to everyone who comes here. Don't ask for the 'American Dream' if you're not willing to obey the American laws and embrace American culture," Cao said.
Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL running against Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, said the "world is on fire" under Mr. Biden's leadership. He argued there has been "zero accountability" for the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and said he is running "to bring back accountability to our government."
Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown, an Army veteran who nearly died in an explosion in Afghanistan, asked attendees to look at his scarred face.
"This is the high cost of war," Brown said. "If Joe Biden stays in office, more service members will pay this price."
Dave McCormick, the candidate taking on Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in Pennsylvania, said "the choice this November is clear."
After criticizing Mr. Biden's border policies, Eric Hovde, the GOP candidate Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, shifted, saying the country "has become too divided."
"We need to heal this country from the division that the left has brought. And the media, you have to stop dividing us," he said.
Babydog, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice's bulldog, steals the show
Babydog, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice's famous bulldog, accompanied him onstage, patiently waiting in an armchair as Justice spoke.
"Now as the world watches, you didn't really expect that, did you?" said Justice, who is running for Sen. Joe Manchin's seat. "She makes us smile, and she loves everybody, and how could the message possibly be any more simpler than just that?"
Justice, a former Democrat, said his dog predicted Republicans will retain control of the House, flip the Senate majority and Trump will win the White House.
Justice sought to humanize Trump, spending most of his remarks talking about the former president instead of his Senate race.
"He's tough, he's super smart, he's a business guy, but maybe there's something that you've missed, and that is he genuinely cares," Justice said.
Jim Banks, who is running for Senate in Indiana, took the stage following the duo.
"I don't know about you, but thank God Babydog is a Republican," he said.
Kari Lake blasts Biden and Democratic opponent over immigration
Kari Lake, a Republican candidate for Senate in Arizona, turned her focus to the border, pointing to "disastrous Democrat policies" pushed by President Biden and the Democratic candidate in the race, Rep. Ruben Gallego.
"Gallego and the Democrats have handed over control of my state Arizona's border to the drug cartels," Lake said. "And because of them, criminals and deadly drugs are pouring in, and our children are dying."
Lake, who lost a bid for the governor's mansion in 2022 and gained notoriety for refusing to accept the election results, spoke about the Arizona parents she has heard from on the campaign trail who have lost children to drug use.
"We are losing a generation of young people to this fentanyl crisis, and it's got to stop," she said.
Lake is one of a slew of GOP Senate candidates set to speak Tuesday night. She said "the problems we face are huge," putting the blame on Democrats.
"But the solutions, guys, they're really simple," she added. "First of all, stop the Biden invasion and build the wall."
First hour of convention features Reince Priebus, Tennessee governor and other Trump allies
The first hour of tonight's program featured Reince Priebus, the former chairman of the RNC who went on to serve as Trump's White House chief of staff, a job that ended up being short-lived.
Priebus called Wisconsin "nation's premier battleground state" and predicted it would help send Trump back to the White House.
"We can make Wisconsin red again in 2024," he said.
The state is one of seven battleground states that are likely to determine the outcome of the presidential election. Hosting the convention in Wisconsin puts the Republican Party's message in front of key voters.
Attendees also heard from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee; Matt Brooks, the CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition; Hayden Padgett, chairman of Young Republicans; and Julie Harris, president of the National Federation of Republican Women.
GOP Senate candidates to speak as campaigns heat up
A slew of Republican Senate candidates are set to take the stage Tuesday night, most of whom are from key battleground states that the party is hoping to win in November. Among them are Kari Lake, who's seeking an Arizona seat, and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice. The GOP Senate candidates from Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Nevada, Montana and Virginia are also scheduled to speak.
This year's Senate map is especially favorable to Republicans, who are aiming to flip control of the chamber come November. Three Democrats are up for reelection in states that Trump won in 2020, and another five in states where their reelection isn't guaranteed, making Democrats' hopes of maintaining their majority especially difficult.
Who is speaking on Day 2 of the RNC?
Earlier in the day, the Republican National Committee and Trump campaign released the list of speakers who are expected to address the convention Tuesday evening. The most prominent names include:
- Nikki Haley
- Gov. Ron DeSantis
- House GOP leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson and Reps. Steve Scalise, Tom Emmer and Elise Stefanik
- Vivek Ramaswamy
- Republican Senate candidates
- Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida
- Ben Carson
- Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders
- Lara Trump
What happened on Day 1 of the RNC?
Delegates gathered on the floor of Fiserv Forum on Monday afternoon, where the GOP adopted its 16-page platform, which was heavily influenced by the former president. The delegates went on to officially nominate Trump as the Republican presidential nominee before nominating Vance, his vice presidential pick. Trump first announced Vance as his running mate in a social media post, calling him the "person best suited" for the job while touting his education, military and business records.
A number of prominent Republican lawmakers, candidates and officials spoke on the first day of the convention, including Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Katie Britt of Alabama, Tim Scott of South Carolina and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; Govs. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Kristi Noem of South Dakota; and Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Wesley Hunt of Texas, John James of Michigan and Byron Donalds of Florida. With a focus on the economy, the Republicans took aim at President Biden, while touting a better outlook under a second Trump administration.
Near the night's close, Trump made an appearance at the convention center. With a bandage on his ear, the former president joined members of his family and his new running mate in a box, as chants of "we love Trump" reverberated through the crowd. Trump is expected to accept the party's nomination on Thursday.