2024 Republican National Convention | RNC Night 1 | PBS News special coverage

by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you thank you at a volatile time in American history the attempted assassination of former president Trump shocks the world and deepen divisions ahead of an historic election we cannot we must not go down this road in America against this unprecedented backdrop Republicans gather to nominate Mr Trump for a third time we're going to take our country back now with a new vice presidential pick defiant as ever he promises to reshape a nation now on edge we will make America great again it is the opening night of the 2024 Republican National Convention welcome to PBS news special coverage of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Wisconsin I'm Jeff Bennett and I'm omna Nas this is the first day of the Republican National Convention we will be here every night through Thursday covering the official proceedings over the next four nights we will hear from speakers including Senators Governors entertainers ordinary Americans as described by the Trump campaign the new Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance and the former president and GOP nominee Donald Trump and of course our panel will be with us all week as well that is Amy Walter of the cook political Report with Amy Walter David Brooks of the New York Times and Jonathan Kart of the Washington Post but first we want to start off with a guest who is joining us tonight in the booth Senator Ron Johnson who represents the great state of Wisconsin who is of course hosting the convention this week he joins us after addressing the convention a little earlier this evening and before sitting in the Trump family box in just a little bit thanks so much for being here we appreciate it well welcome to Milwaukee welcome to Wisconsin thank you for having us thank you indeed so let's start with the big news of the evening Donald Trump's pick of Senator JD Vance your colleague to serve as his vice presidential pick what does Senator Vance 39 years old venture capitalist turned senator who has embraced Donald Trump's populist brand of politics what does he bring to the ticket in your view so first of all I hate to lose him as a colleague uh he brings intelligence he brings Integrity uh he's articulate he's got a great story and you know from my standpoint it just kind of solidifies where where I think our politics have shifted the Republican party has become the party that represents workingclass Americans people who work hard they want to play by the rules and they're struggling right now so I I think he's a great choice again I hate to lose him in the Senate but uh president Trump I think really had a wealth of talent to pick from I think he chose well in terms of the Electoral PLL here in terms of broadening the base what he brings to the ticket in terms of pulling in voters actually the best way for me to do this is probably to ask our friend Amy Walter to lay out the case she laid out earlier which isert that this is sort of a blue wall battle right that adding him is not necessarily expanding the base but it is really leaning into it Amy take it away and then we'll have Senator Johnson respond well that if uh the case that I made earlier tonight was that the Biden campaign it sort of laid out that they think the easiest path for them and the most realistic path for them to 270 comes through Wisconsin Pennsylvania and Michigan and that Vance given where he is from and what his story is is a good messenger for that that's really what they're going for do you see it that way well listen he he will appeal to Wisconsin nights you know Wisconsin LS like genuine people people they want people that whether they agree with him or disagree they know that that person is saying what they believe and that's JD Vance I I've served with him now a little less than two years but you know he doesn't talk all the time but when he talks about something he's adding something to the conversation and is he's adding something intelligent to the conversation when the Biden campaign does point to that blue wall Michigan Wisconsin Pennsylvania what's your honest assessment what's the state of play here in this state that Joe Biden won by fewer than 20,000 vot votes or around 20,000 votes in 2020 and of course Donald Trump won the state in 2016 and I won by about 26,000 votes and Scott Walker lost about by about 30,000 votes it's going to be close I mean ignore the polls I mean I've run races where I was down 16 points last time I was supposedly up seven points I never believed him I knew it was going to be very close election it will be close again in 2024 so does it come down to having Whoever has the the most solid turnout strategy or is it something like what Donald Trump is doing here picking one who he sees JD Vance as is making the best case uh to the kind of Voters that you're talking about it's a combination I would love to see President Trump come in do a rally here in Milwaukee like the Bronx rally you'll specifically go and seek the the votes from the Americans he wants to represent and I truly believe Donald Trump first of all loves his country you know he didn't have to do this that's one of the first things I thought of after I saw the shooting is he didn't have to do this he didn't have to risk his life he knew he was but he didn't anyway because he loved this Country Now based on that episode that attempted assassination that's changed him I TR that's a life-changing event he loves this country I think most Americans do let's listen to both presidents who are calling for Unity for healing but let's take advantage of this moment that's certainly what I'm hoping and praying for can I just pick up on that though because you you just delivered your remarks on stage here and as part of your remarks you said that Democrats are a clear and present danger the country Democrat policies democratic now I'll also give you a little inside scoop that was Speech was written last week they literally loaded the wrong speech did you not mean to say that then I I I I had taken that out okay and instead I I loaded about that we Meed a somber moment in history we should heed president Trump's call to unite to be strong to be determined we must heal and unify this nation I didn't know how to get that in without screwing up the teleprompter I will say soly I was not happy with that but I but again a very different message to the one you delivered to the delegates in the room and people watching at home I will first of all understand it is completely legitimate to talk about the difference in Vision the difference in policies I will absolutely stand by the fact that Democrat policies are destroying this country open borders 40e High inflation at Dollar is not worth 83 cents a waren fossil fuels the weakness encouraging our adversaries it's destroying this country I'll stand by that we have to we have to run on those truths those realities but we also have to try and unify and heal this nation again I didn't attack an individual I was talking about their policies what responsibility do you think Donald Trump has himself to turn down the temperature because he in the past he's called his political enemies Vermin he's called some undocumented immigrants animals he said that there will be a blood bath if he's not elected in November what additional responsibility does he have in your VI so if you just narrowly escaped being assassinated if a American hero died in that same incident would that change you would that be a life-changing circumstance he's already announced that he's totally Rewritten his speech he said it was a great speech now he's going to call for Unity why don't we give him and quite honestly President Biden remember President Biden eight times in in his inaugural address said his number one goal was unifying heal of this nation he did not do that he's done the exact opposite so hopefully both men both presidents recognize the error of their ways and they really have come to the realization we can't go keep going down this path in America this is dangerous this will divide us I think it is the greatest threat to this country I've been saying it for 2 years the debt and deficit was now the fact that we are a horribly divided nation is the greatest threat here's the good news we're not naturally divided people you think about the major goals in life safety security Prosperity you know we wish that for all Americans it's goals we share why are we divided well because there are politicians there are groups that are purposely dividing us stop resist it I hear you saying it's incumbent upon politicians including yourself to call for Unity and to deliver that message as part of that can you say that regardless of how this 2024 election comes out you will accept the results so you're ask me to say something I can't guarantee cuz I don't know what I'm going to see there were irregular in 2020 election there's no doubt about that and quite honestly here in Wisconsin we passed reforms to restore confidence in our election system that's the goal every every Wisconsin every American should have confidence in the results so you need controls you can't you can't loosen the controls and we've done that but again I want I absolutely want to believe it's a legitimate result and we made progress in 2022 by the way and we had observers we had we had po workers we had results in Milwaukee during my election close the election by 11 o'cl at night that restores confidence was just cuz I won we didn't have the vote holding out there till 3:00 in the morning just raising suspicion so we need greater control I want to have confidence I want to accept the result but I can't guarantee that want to say the record there were no irregularities or any kind of fraud that led not the scale but there all kinds of Senator this was widely investigated and litigated and no evidence was found of fraud that changed the election results I didn't say that I said there irregularities Senator Ron Johnson we thank you so much for hosting us here in Wisconsin thank you for joining us here in the US Senate please come back and join us again soon thank you all right joining us now from down on the floor of the convention is our political correspondent Lisa deard Lisa you are in the midst of it all down there tell us a little bit as we heard Senator Johnson right there mentioned why is it so important that this convention is being held here in Milwaukee why is Wisconsin so important well we are fortunate right now I am stage right as you look at the stage I'm on the right of it in a position overlooking uh what we call the bowl or the actual convention floor and you will see me on the floor from time to time as well I'm but that's the right question why are they here in Wisconsin number one this is where the Republican party was born 1854 some 30 men and we think maybe two women came together to form the Republican party over the issue of slavery now today I'm looking at some 2347 delegates from all over the country that represent this party and one reason they're here in Wisconsin of course is because this is a swing state as you mentioned with Senator Johnson and here already in our broadcast this was one of the closest States Amy Walter knows it well just over 20,000 votes 20,800 votes I think is what separated Biden and Trump in this state this is a do or die in this next election one other thing that's important om that I'm actually hearing from delegates and people who aren't participating in the convention is that the Democratic Pary inability to hold their Convention as planned in 2020 was heartbreaking for milwauke and for Wisconsin that was because of the Corona virus it was moved to Delaware it became sort of that Drive-In convention but Republicans were strategic they knew that Milwaukee suffered that loss and they brought their convention here four years later that is Lisa dejar Dan on the floor of the Republican National Convention thanks Lisa Lisa thank you so much let's turn now to our panel here at the table Jonathan Kart David Brooks and Amy Walter guys I'd love to get you to jump in here and give me your first impressions we are in day one of the Republican convention we now have a Vice Presidential nominee David what do you make of the pick and what does it mean for the ticket yeah I think it's become a much more uh consequential election in 2016 Maga was a slogan it was just a bunch of words uh and now there's a group of people there are think tanks there are political activists there's an entire Army that has created the substance of Maga and JD Vance is symptomatic of that he was a never Trumper uh and then he was slowly turned populist and some of that was sheer opportunism but not all of it he served in Iraq and was upset about how that happened he was from a part of America that's de-industrialized he's been scorned by what he calls the cultural Elites and he has become a convinced populist like Victor Orban like Marine lean it's a global movement and so now we see a reasonably intellectually coherent convention surrounding of all people Donald Trump when my view has no ideological bone in his body uh but it surrounded him and the Democratic party has to figure out how not just to discredit Trump but how to argue against this entire failen of right-wing populist and what would that effort look like to discredit Senator Vance John well well the first thing Democrats would need to do is to stop bickering amongst themselves get their act together stand behind the man who is in the job and running for reelection who again said this evening that he is in the race so get rally around him especially given what David just said there is an entire apparatus there's Donald Trump there's now Senator JD Vance there's project 2025 the Heritage Foundation there is a whole as David said army with policy prescriptions now Democrats started talking about project 2025 last week president talked about it in his interview with Lester Hol earlier today they have to keep doing that that's how Democrats will be able to then push back uh against Donald Trump on the campaign Trail but can I just say something about Senator Johnson please he um he talked about Unity Unity Unity Unity okay but Unity isn't just one speech from from the Presidential nominee it's also about the speakers already we have heard from congresswoman marjerie Taylor green who on that stage went after trans kids we heard from Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson the of North Carolina running for governor who in a sermon on June 30th said some folks need killing it's time for somebody to say it it's a matter of necessity if we want Unity if if if they're serious about Unity shouldn't that Unity also be reflected in the speakers who are going to be talking to to the convention and to the nation this week I will say there was a little bit of news that he made there in saying that that was not at all the speech he intended to give which I think should probably be made a bigger deal of because it was very different in tone from the remarks he said that he intended to give here I'd like to see a copy of that speech if weekend too but can just got turn you back to the Democrats for just a minute now do you think the conversation around changing the ticket there is over now I I I don't think it's over just yet it is my hope that it will be over after tonight and returning to the selection of of JD Vance let's talk more about his age we were talking earlier on the newsour this evening about the fact that he's 39 years old he'll turn 40 this this summer and this of course is an election cycle where the electorate has said that both Donald Trump and Joe Biden are too old of course Joe Biden has been feeling more of the brunt of that of late uh but how does that how does this shift The Contours of the race if at all I just want to build on what David talked about it how David talked about it because I think it's less about his age as a contrast to the age of Biden as much as it is um Trump picking somebody who is a young version of the Maga movement who will be taking on that mantle into the future that this isn't just about Donald Trump this isn't just being held by one older man but that he is the future of uh of where that movement is and and building on David's point about 2016 when I remember being around this table uh and being at a party convention that was so divided you still had members of the so-called establishment who were very reticent to embrace Donald Trump there was talk like there is now among Democrats of replacing Trump maybe the delegates would rise up and take uh uh and replace him this is a more organized and much more disciplined convention than we saw last time around it's a convention that's still very much a live look now at the speaker star in the Republican party she's speaking now from the podium let's listen to We need to change the direction of our nation and Donald Trump is the change we need to my fellow moms and dads Across America I think we all know that raising a family is hard add in smartphones and social media and we already had plenty to worry about but then Joe Biden and kamla Harris came around now our lives are that much more difficult and way more expensive under Biden Harris prices are high and expectations well they're Low grocery prices are up more than 21% electricity is up 31% gas is up 48% mortgage rates have more than doubled and and rent is skyrocketing to me these aren't just numbers this is pain for millions of Americans it means that so many American families have to live with so much less this is too high a price to pay for an Administration that has brought us to such lows the American people won't have the wool pulled over our eyes we see how Biden and Harris keep making things worse and we know the current president is not capable of turning things around his weakness is costing us our opportunity our prosp erity our security our safety each diminished all in Decline just like the man in the Oval Office and it doesn't have to be this way under President Trump we had the strongest economy in his history that's right you didn't need to go into debt just to make ends meet energy dominant stable prices secure borders Safe Streets strong families and communities that's what Donald Trump will deliver with President Trump the tough choice was which job offer to accept now it's which second job to take just to pay the bills your family can't afford this costly and dangerous decline for four more years four more years of Biden Harris will impose a life time of financial damage on our children and our nation it is time to return president Trump to the White House yes Republicans will put parents families and hardworking Americans first with President Trump back in the white house we will reawaken the exceptionalism of the greatest nation ever known we will defeat decline dust off our dreams and Forge our future because families across our nation deserve better once again America will be the land of Limitless opportunity for all and Paving that path starts today so let's roll up our sleeves send president Trump back to the White House and get America back on track God bless ladies and Gentlemen please welcome United States that was Alabama Senator Katie Brit and you know what let's let's keep our eye on the floor here as South Carolina Senator Tim Scott addresses the crowd here wow wow wow wow thank you so much thank you hello Milwaukee are you ready for four more years of Donald Trump oh me too listen if you didn't if you didn't believe in miracles before Saturday you better be believing right now thank God Almighty that we live in a country that still believes in the King of Kings and the Lord of lords the Alpha and the Omega and our God our God still saves he still delivers and he still sets free because on Saturday the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle but an American lion got back up on his feet and he roared oh yeah he roared yeah yes he did you see America this is a difficult time for our nation inflation is crushing families illegal immigration is crushing ing American workers failing schools and victimhood culture are crushing our poorest kids and the weakness of the commanderin-chief has invited World Wars all around our world Joe Biden is asleep at the wheel and we're headed over a cliff we we hear to spare in the voices of a millennial couple raising two kids in a one-bedroom apartment because they can't afford a house we see pain on the faces of goldar parents because their commander-in Chief Joe Biden literally forgets their son died in uniform on his watch America we deserve better we deserve so much better I was raised by a single mom in poverty we had plastic spoons not Silver Spoons but she taught me to work hard to take responsibility and reject victimhood thank God for my wonderful mama I know I know this is going to offend the liberal Elites every time I say it it offends them but let me say it one more time America is not a racist country no we're not but if you were looking for racism today you'd find it in cities run by democrats look on the south look on the south side of Chicago poor black kids trapped in fail schools thousands shot every single year including one of my former interns dayquan but there's good news it's conservative values that restores hope it's Republican policies that lifts people up I partnered I partnered with the greatest president of my generation president Donald J Trump on the biggest tax cuts ever for working people and single moms and opportunity zones for neighborhoods that need the most but Joe Biden and KLA Harris they give illegal immigrants free hotel rooms while our veterans while our veterans sleep on the streets disgusting disgusting Trump secured our border once and Donald Trump will secure it again this November this November we are not deciding simply the Fate for the next four years years we're setting a course for the next 40 years I I see our Heartland filled with huge American factories powered by Abundant American Energy building what America needs creating generational wealth for blue collar workers you see we are the Republican party of Frederick Douglas and of Abraham Lincoln of Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump but we four more years I love it awesome we are not simply the party of our leaders we are also the party of a young woman in Wisconsin taking over her family farm and Hispanic father working 16-hour days in Nevada and a black teenager in Philly starving for opportunity we're not just the grand old party of the past we are the great opportunity party of America's future and there's only hear me clearly and there's only one person who can make that vision a reality Donald J Trump God Bless America so that was Senator Tim Scott uh recounting Amy Walter his bootstrap story talking about how he grew up in a workingclass household the son of a single mom but yet through hard work and determination found himself elevated to one of the highest offices in the land US senator before that senator Bri talking about the pain that average Americans feel the high costs of everything across the board is that is that still something that resonates among people you poll absolutely I mean what we're seeing in polling Trump's advantage on the economy is about as twice or in some cases three times as large as it was in 2020 over Biden so really leaning iner the economy is surging right now well on certain aspects yes if you look at the GDP if you look at unemployment but what we hear over and over and over again from voters is housing costs gas prices and it really starts right at the grocery store I think something else that's been really interesting before Tim Scott you had uh Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson who's running for governor in North Carolina Congressman uh Wesley hunt from Texas congressman John James from Michigan all afcan American Republican members it's pretty clear that the message that they're sending tonight is that we're not just a party when we talk about the workingclass vote or the blue wall um we're not just talk we're talking we're trying to talk beyond that is the message I think that Republicans are sending tonight with those Messengers Jonathan what do you make of what we've heard from the speakers so far tonight both the selection of who is giving these prime time slots and also the messages they're delivering well the messages are the messages we've been hearing for months now depending on the speaker they've just gone back to their tried and true messages which is um in the case of margorie Taylor green congresswoman from Georgia it's culture War stuff um in the case of the lieutenant governor I mean he's running for governor of North Carolina um but there's been plenty of stories about some of the off-the-wall say incendiary things he has said uh on the campaign Trail and even that sermon that I mentioned before where he said um um some PE some folks need killing it's out of necessity um I'm going to make the same point I made when Senator Johnson was here it is one thing to say that the former president has torn up his speech it's going to be a speech about Unity he said he was going to talk about Unity yet he didn't um when he was on the on the stage but it's another thing when the that Unity message is not matched by the types of people you bring to this stage there should be if it's going to be a Unity convention then you need to go back and look through all the speakers and bet them for whether or not they not just here in this Hall but throughout their before and after are they going to carry that Unity message David what do you make of that yeah first I've always found Tim Scott tremendously appealing as a person he's a nice guy wonderful guy I'm looking for three things one if you remember 2016 there was just a lot of craziness lock her up lock her up there was just a lot of craziness are we going to see that kind of craziness two how do they talk about Biden's age KD brender Brit sort of wandered close to it but I think they really make a mistake if they go full bore he's too old I think let the American people decide that Republicans don't need to pile on third how do they talk about the assassination I was wondering like what do we do with this Tim Scott sort of answered that question hand of God came in and saved our guy uh and that was like I think that had resonance with people had resonance with a lot of Americans so I was struck by those three things but can they maintain this as a normal party in the way it has not been since 2012 yeah you know it's interesting we I'm sorry go ahead oh well and to to Jonathan's point about The Messengers remember Tim Scott had the he was running on an optimism message and that fell completely flat in the in the Republican primary so he was kind of if not a UniFi running on a unifier message one that said we can't be so angry we shouldn't be just a pugilistic party let's bring some hope and voters were like no no thanks we're not we're not looking for that we want a fighter we want a fighter they even started chanting fight fight fight when he told this you know his Messianic story that has now become something of a of a rally cry here right David that what we saw president Trump after the assassination attempt raise his hand and raise his fist and kind of mouth fight fight fight I heard it earlier on the floor too that's not exactly what I would call a Unity message taking a hold here yeah though I mean the guy had just been shot at so like he's allowed to say fight fight fight I think we'll see uh how that how that how big an event that photograph was I don't think we have polling yet to know how big but it it could be like I don't know I don't want to say EA that's overstating it but it could be a significant moment in this stand as we've been talking you might be hearing some audio behind this this is one of the Trump campaigns uh produced videos one of several that will be shown here tonight let's take a closer look have fallen three straight years now Biden's proposing a new $4.9 trillion tax hike the largest ever $36,000 per American family and an end to the Trump tax cuts it's obvious Biden must be fired president Trump didn't just give us the strongest economy in the world he gave us the largest tax cuts in history and he'll do it again including bringing back the Trump tax cuts for your family president Trump's also going to provide economic relief for millions of American Service workers who have been ignored by Biden you are looking at America's service workers and they're over 150 million strong waitresses and waiters drivers and doormen bartenders and Baristas and like so many others in Joe Biden's America they're struggling economically the majority now live paycheck to paycheck their credit card card balances at record highs at astronomical interest rates and their incomes are down three straight years the good news help is on the way president Trump's economic plan to restart America includes no tax on tips earned by our service workers a huge financial shot in the arm you see unlike Biden president Trump doesn't want these Americans to just survive he wants them to thrive president Trump he'll make America affordable again please welcome the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia Glenn yunan yes Joe must go good evening I'm Glenn yunan the governor the governor of the home of Washington Jefferson Madison and Monroe the great Commonwealth of Virginia tonight we stop for a moment we ask for God's grace to be on innocent victims we ask him to be with their families we thank him for this moment of unity and we thank him for protecting our next president Donald J Trump and tonight our nation can have the conversation that so many families have at their kitchen tables yes those tough conversations how do we make it all work the conversation young families from Midlothian Virginia to Milwaukee Wisconsin whose dreams of buying a home have been Shattered by 7 and 1 12% mortgage rates the veteran from Fredericksburg Virginia to Phoenix Arizona whose raises can't keep up with 30% increases in grocery prices and 40% increases in gas the retirees from Rowan Oak Virginia to Reno Nevada whose fixed income has been crushed by the silent thief of inflation Unleashed by Joe Biden and kamla Harris tonight America the land of opportunity just doesn't feel like that anymore but 8 years ago 8 years ago there was an outsider a businessman who stepped out of his career to rebuild a great nation with the strongest economy the mightiest military energy Independence unlimited opportunity lifting up every American that Outsider businessman was Donald J Trump and he will do it again I'm proud to be a homegrown Virginia from a family like a lot of families with ups and downs and highs and lows my mom was a nurse and she was my hero she pulled our family together after my dad lost his job at 15 washing dishes and flipping eggs I learned that there is dignity in world at the height of the pandemic four years ago I asked my amazing wife Suzanne to go on a walk with me I told her I planned to quit my job and run for governor she looked at me with tears in her eyes and a quivering lip and asked governor of what we prayed together and we asked God for guidance and wisdom and we said if elected we would serve after 12 years of only electing Democrats Statewide in November 2021 Virginians elected a republican outside businessman as their 74th governor and and I believe this year Virginia will elect another Republican outside businessman as president of the United States President Trump proved that Common Sense conservative leadership works it works for America and we're proving it in Virginia too5 billion of tax relief backing the blue slashing red tape declaring loudly that yes parents matter and creating jobs lots of jobs Virginia now has record job growth and we were just named America's top state for business friends could this election be more simple it's Common Sense versus chaos it's strength versus weakness friends it's not just Republicans who see this it's Republicans Independents and lots of Democrats it's Americans under President Trump America had high high growth and low inflation under Joe Biden America has low growth and high inflation 66% of Americans now live paycheck to paycheck moms and dads worrying can they buy new shoes for their kids going back to school can they write the tuition check for college will they ever be able to retire under President Trump 2.4 million Americans were lifted out of poverty women black Americans Hispanic Americans asian-americans all saw record low employment under Donald J Trump we once again will have that rip roaring economy that lifts up all Americans that is our tomorrow a tomorrow where work is celebrated where taxes are cut and inflation is slashed where we cut red tape where we unleash American Energy dominance where businesses proudly say made in America where entrepreneurs dream and small businesses Thrive where americ an from any background can pour their god-given talents into building their American Dream this is the moment this is our moment to make America the land of opportunity again a nation a nation built on a basic truth that we are granted certain unalienable rights not by a king but by an allmighty Creator and that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness our foundational principles are non-negotiable they are inscribed on our national soul my fellow Americans the Spirit of Hope is spreading everyone can feel it and it will sweep across this nation when we elect Donald J Trump the 47th president of the United States may God bless you and may God bless the United States of America thank you please welcome the CEO of Boya Foods America First policy Institute board member and chairman of the Hispanic leadership Coalition Mr Bob unano we'll take a break now from the speeches return you as other folks take the stage there here on day one of the Republican National Convention in the meantime let's bring in our White House correspondent Laura Baron Lopez who joins us from Washington DC she's been following the Biden team and Democrats messaging and their reactions to the news this week Laura always good to see you just tell us a little bit about what your sources have been telling you about what's clearly the biggest news coming out of the convention today about this selection of JD Vance as former president Trump's running mate well sources inside the Biden campaign uh say that they feel as though Senator JD Vance gives them a lot of ammunition to work with essentially they're saying that uh they feel as though they can attack him especially on abortion which is a big pillar of President Biden's campaign more access to abortion abortion rights uh this is something that Senator Vance has said in the past that that he supports a lot of restrictions on abortion and that's something that the campaign believes that they can go after him on they've also said that they essentially uh believe that Senator Vance is not very different from Donald Trump that he's someone who would give Donald Trump a blank check he's someone who would be incredibly loyal to Donald Trump and President Joe Biden was asked about this from reporters uh today after the announcement was made and Biden called Senator Vance a clone of Donald Trump and Laura while we've been here in Milwaukee this evening President Biden was at the White House he gave an interview to NBC News among other things he said that he views his mental acuity as pretty darn good but he also addressed a comments he made in a closed private uh fundraiser event where he said something to the effect of putting Donald Trump in the bullseye this was well before Saturday's uh assassination attempt give us a sense of how he he tried to clean that up and put more context around it president uh Biden told Lester Hol Jeff that that he wasn't saying crosshairs he meant Bullseye as in focusing on Donald Trump and that he feels as though there hasn't been enough uh people paying attention to Donald Trump's rhetoric to his second term plans and he said that he isn't the person that uses violent rhetoric on a regular basis and that's correct President Biden doesn't he often con condemns political violence across the board and has for years uh President Biden as well as c as well as his campaign have made clear that that he got into the race in 2020 in response to the the violence in Charlottesville at the unite the right Neo-Nazi rally and so President Biden told Lester Hol that he's not the guy that is talking that is trying to incite political violence that that it's Donald Trump who has incited political violence against election workers who has put Target on uh prosecutors and judges and he also really pinpointed rhetoric from Donald Trump saying that the past election was stolen and laying the foundation that the current election was stolen he also called it a mistake though Jeff he said that he shouldn't have use the term Bullseye But ultimately that he is not going to be backing away from his argument that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy Laura Baron Lopez Laura our thanks to you as always I'm told that Lisa de jardan is on the convention floor has some delegates with her her eyes and knes ears there on the floor Laura who who's who's with you yeah hi Jeff I'm in the Idaho delegation which is in the back of the auditori look state but right next to the Trump family box and the theme tonight is make America wealthy again so we wanted to talk about what that means to these Republican delegates with me is first time delegate to the National Convention Lyn brisu and National Committee man Brian Smith Lynn we were talking about grocery parsers okay I want to get specific here because a lot of the rhetoric on stage is General about all Americans but grocery prices in your life what were you telling me what does it mean to you your kids and grandkids well a year ago when I went to the grocery store because I'm fortunate enough to have a pretty substantial income I work hard but I never really looked at a loaf of bread or a carton of eggs but I went recently and I'm like wait a minute $6.99 for a little loaf of bread and $8 for eggs I'm like this is in Boise idah in Boise I'm like this is nuts this is really really different from from what I remember well you know those who support President Biden say hey the unemployment is down jobs are great the economy is good and and and inflation's gotten better because people have given up looking for jobs and they're taking really low- wage jobs or they're doing something they're getting it doesn't even go through the unemployment department they just go get a job you know working as a construction worker or a babysitting or something like that that's a lie Brian there's some who believe that presidents actually can't do that much about the economy that it's cyclical you know that it it goes up and down why do you think president Trump can actually change prices the grocery store or a gas station well if you look at what the price of groceries were I just looked at a Walmart receipt somebody who had bought all their groceries from Walmart on an app and four years ago those groceries were $70 today they were like $149 they were able to just do a side by side they just a side by side comparison over four years so if Biden can crank them up that much over four years a good president can lower him in four years you both mentioned something interesting to me about Idaho you have a 6% sales tax on groceries and a republican Governor though it sounds like you you you want your Republican Governor to do more about this absolutely we've been trying to repeal that grocery tax as long as I've lived in Idaho and that's 23 years yeah you shouldn't have to pay taxes on your food to eat at the family dinner table should you your Governor's not here tonight he not is there sort of a difference in the party here or or does he need more motivation to be here what's going on uh I think he had something else to do this week but I hear you you need prices to come down the grer we need prices down thank you so much Brian Smith L I really appreciate it back to you I'm no Jeff all right that is our Lisa de shardan on the convention floor the first night of the Republican National Convention unfolds up here in our booth we of course have our panel with us all night long all week long in fact I get to say Amy Walter guys jump in on this point Amy was making earlier Jonathan kick us off here about the speakers we've been seeing on the stage which in all fairness very diverse Bunch not really representative of the delegate makeup we've been seeing here or the Republican voting base in a lot of places but Jonathan this is a party that has been making gains with some voters of color tell me how you're doing all this today as you give me that side ey that side that's something else I mean I'm not going to sit here and say that Donald Trump hasn't made some inroads into communities of color but the idea that he's getting 20% of African-American support is just insane it's ludicrous um and I take your point Amy about the the first opening speakers being African-American particularly African-American men you know that's great the Republican Party should be reaching out to other people don't problem is I have seen this movie before I remember it was at the 2000 convention Republican convention in Phil in Philadelphia I wrote a column when I was at Bloomberg News where I said I hadn't seen that many black people on television since Roots I mean it is we've only seen three today there might be more or well we had Senator SC four we've got three more we've got three more days terrific wonderful the only problem is the policy that they are pushing are to the detriment of African-Americans of people of color of Americans and that is they can make their case to the people here in the hall and to the people watching across the country it will be incumbent upon Democrats to give the alternative ver the alternative vision and do it with with certainty and and determination but look I'm listening to everything that everyone's saying and you know to Tim Scott was Tim Scott um I think we just heard a a um Glen yunan talking about the talking about the economy all things I have heard before not necessarily Maga but I think as we get closer to the speeches of the vice presidential nominees Senator Vance and the Presidential nominee Donald Trump that we will get into full on Maga where I I think it'll feel like um the Republican convention in '92 when Pat Buchanan spoke and Dan quail and Marilyn Quail spoke and like terrified the country I think with their sort of finger wagging School Maring of America well you know what's interesting about this Susie Wilds one of the Trump campaign co-managers told our friend Tim Alberta that the Trump campaign in this go around isn't trying to appeal to Black voters they're trying to appeal to a very specific group of black voters that's black men between the ages of 18 and 34 so Amy is that a group that the Biden campaign at this juncture risks losing that the Trump campaign could actually pick up what you hear from the Biden campaign and Democrats I talk to they're as worried about losing them to the couch as they are losing them to Donald Trump so even if Donald Trump doesn't get 20% it suggests there's 20% of black voters out there really unhappy with their the Democratic candidate for president and could end up if any nothing else just staying home David how do you view all this Jonathan's reminding me of a bad joke I told in 2000 at that convention that it was pleas here we go it was like watching a Utah Jazz basketball game where all the stands were all white and the people in the floor were not so much but um so I I do um I do think uh class has become more Salient and not only income but education levels and this Trump policy of getting rid of taxes on the service on tips that's a politic smart policy and so will he get 20% I'm with Jonathan I I don't think 20% but among Hispanic male workingclass voters he get well you look at some of the results already the polling in Arizona he's like doing super well in Arizona and it's in part because of some of those but does this in some ways come back to the failure of democratic messaging because one of the reasons that prices are still high is because of corporate price gouging it's not for a lack of President Biden trying I mean he's always talking about corporate green is the reason why prices are so high it say no we don't cover it the Press doesn't press doesn't cover it oh and it's great that he's talking about not taxing tips but if you read project 2025 they're talking about doing away with overtime pay um for people um at this increased increased income level that President Biden put in place so you give it with one hand and you snatch away with the this is what I love this is the substantive policy discussions we expect to have here with the very bad jokes we appreciate you bringing back those are always welcome here hey guys we are going to take a short break for our PBS stations right now we'll be right back with continued live coverage of the Republican National Convention stay with us John baraso US senator from Wyoming the convention where Ronald Reagan came back to give his final speech it was a remarkable time where people in a convention hall are pretty rockus usually people were it was so quiet that they could actually hear the breathing as Ronald Reagan would speak and whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes not your worst fears to your confidence rather than your doubts my dream is that you will travel the road ahead with Liberty's lamp guiding your steps and opportunity's arm steadying your way and once again instill in the crowd basically an inspiration for a future for the country and welcome back to PBS news live coverage of the Republican National Convention I'm Anna NAD and I'm Jeff Bennett we have a couple of more hours this evening with many speakers to go but let's uh return to our panel here we have David Brooks Jonathan capart and Amy Walter Amy as this house band continues to just shred behind us really shred really what do you think is the metric of success for Republicans this week as as as we sit here for night one and uh that's a great that's a really great question because as I said in 2016 and I went back and I looked at this when asked right before that convention are you satisfied that Donald Trump is the nominee only 45% of Republicans felt that way today it's over 70% so back then it was can they unify the party now the question is um are they going to be able to take what has been for the Republicans for Donald Trump a pretty th they're in a very strong position they he's ahead in the states that matter the um issue Matrix works for him right now whether it's the economy or immigration and it's really now just a question of whether he can keep that is that momentum sustainable is the what is the message really going to look like what's the message discipline going to look like I don't think in you know in the old days they talked about convention bounces is we don't have convention bounces we don't have any bounces we don't have we have such a high floor now for both parties because so many folks are just deeply dug in so really it's here's here is an opportunity for Donald Trump to show those voters who right now feel either that they dislike both candidates right the so-called douber doubters double haters can he appeal to those voters and and just being able to hold on to what he has now I mean there are several political lifetimes before voting ends right but David there does really seem to be this conversation right now about the momentum behind the Trump campaign does it feel like this is his race to lose right now I think so I mean you just look at the swing States he's up by a chunk in all of them and he's some of the states like Glen yunkin Virginia which should not be swing States or maybe swing States you know what we're going to go live now to the floor taking the stage right now is South Dakota governor Christy gnome let's take a listen listen I'm Governor Christine Nome from the great state of South Dakota leadership has consequences it matters who's in the white house now I've been Governor under both president Trump and Joe Biden and people ask me all the time what's the biggest difference and I tell them that President Trump honored the Constitution he let me do my job and he let me keep my people free now leadership on the state level it matters too it certainly mattered in South Dakota I am so proud to say that South Dakota's strong economy has been a beacon of freedom for America most of you most of you probably first heard about me during covid didn't you because South Dakota was the only state in the country that stayed open for business we didn't mandate anything we never ordered a single business or a church to close I never even defined what an essential business was because I don't believe that the government has the authority to tell you that your business isn't essential when other states were pushing mandates and lockdowns instead in South Dakota we hit the gas we embraced Liberty we told our story and we invited people to come and to enjoy our beautiful state now all of the things things that conservatives have always talked about we just did it and it worked our economy took off and since I've been Governor we broke the national record for the lowest unemployment rate in American history at 1.8% in South Dakota everybody works we paid off State debt and bonds we fixed dams and bridges we built roads we have a fully funded pension plan and a AAA credit rating we broke records for surpluses and we balance our budget every single year and last year last year in South Dakota we passed the largest tax cut in South Dakota history under my Administration incomes in our state have gone up 36% women owned businesses are thriving we also have the highest birth rate in the nation people are having babies because they're happy and in South Dakota we love babies our mental health challenges have gone down our suicide rates are declining and we are the number one state in the country for a decline in overdoses because people have hope we're growing so fast that we needed more workers to catch up so we launched the most successful Workforce recruitment campaign in the history of South Dakota and they have come by the thousands to join us into live with us do you guys remember those ads when I was a really lousy plumber and a really terrible electrician do you remember those well since we started Those ads we have seen a 78% increase in licensed plumbers in the state of South Dakota we've seen a 44% increase in electricians in our state now people aren't moving to South Dakota for our beaches or for our beautiful January weather they are moving to our state for opportunity and for freedom and all of this happened because our people were bold we took action and I was strong now South Dakota proved that freedom will make America wealthy again and with President Trump in the white house with Senator JD Vance by his side we will prove it across America listen two days ago the whole world changed evil displayed itself in the very worst way through a cowardly at an innocent American lost his life and we will continue to lift his family up in our prayers every single day prior to this week we already knew that President Donald Trump was a fighter he is the toughest man that I have ever met nobody has endured more than what he has gone through they've attacked his reputation they impeached him they tried to bankrupt him and they unjustly prosecuted him but even in the most perilous moment this week his Instinct was to stand and to fight Donald J Trump is our man in the arena he will never stop fighting for us he will never stop and now he is bringing all of us together now I know that many of you are angry but now is the time to unite and we have to get to work we have to win the hearts of and minds of every single American wake them up with truth and with wisdom we need to listen to them you can't win people over by arguing with them visit with your neighbors at your job at your church at the gas station or even at the grocery store listen there are moments in our history often after great hardship and tragedy when true leaders unite our country at one time President Lincoln he United our country he delivered my favorite presidential address of all time in fact it's the only speech or poem or song that I ever made my kids memorize when they were young when they were little it was the get isburg address and it was delivered during our nation's bloodiest conflict that speech so inspired people that they continued to fight for years and they lost loved ones in order to preserve this Union we call the United States of America now at that time President Lincoln encouraged us to take increased devotion that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that a government of the People by the people and for the people shall not perish from this Earth like Lincoln in the midst of our pain and division Donald Trump is calling us to be touched by the better angels of our nature as Paul wrote in second Timothy God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and a sound mind we must not be afraid Even in our darkest days we have never once given up hope so don't quit on America if we lose this country where else will we go that provides more freedom and opportunity for our kids and our grandkids and I've got three grandkids and I'm counting on a whole lot more and yes democracy can be messy but there is a great invisible strength to a people's Union we have shown the world that we can endure sacrifice and that we can still unite we should still aspire to be worthy of this Union America president Donald J Trump is the leader we need for such a time as this so now I need you to get to work get out there go do it don't quit keep fighting keep uniting keep talking to people win the hearts and Minds and may God bless you and may God continue to bless the great United States of America thank you that was South Dakota governor Christy gome joining us now in the booth is Republican strategist Lonnie Chen a fellow at the Hoover institution at Stanford University it's good to have you with us good to be here thank you and we were talking as tonight's uh special coverage kicked off about Donald Trump selection of JD Vance as his vice presidential pick uh you are a veteran of Republican politics what do you think JD Vance brings to the ticket well first of all I think he cements the populist turn the Republican party's taken if you look at some of the policy positions he's espoused recently whether it's with respect to trade issues uh the view of unions for example I think on all of these issues he really represents a very different perspective on economic policy than traditional Republicans might there's also the obvious generational differences I mean 39 years old uh would would move the party in a very different direction from a leadership perspective and then from a political perspective one can argue that he really changes the dynamic in the midwest that blue wall that's been talked about so much uh you know he really allows Donald Trump to cement a lot more support in some of those States uh that are part of that blue wall so I think that um the the pick makes sense for a number of different reasons if you think about who Donald Trump is is and what the politics of our time look like Lonnie you heard uh South Dakota governor there talk about the world changing a couple of days ago referring of course to the assassination attempt on former president Trump what kind of impact do you think that has on the Contours of the race moving ahead or do we not yet know how do you view that well I I feel like it might be a little early to tell in the sense that you you end up with poll numbers that tend to bounce all over the place during the course of a of a campaign I mean having uh been on the senior team that supported Mitt Romney in in 2012 we saw those numbers bounce a lot for example after the debate in Denver where uh former Governor Romney did very well we thought we were going to win the election obviously uh history tells us otherwise uh so you might look at an event like this now granted this particular situation very different from a debate right an assassination attempt uh is something that is truly you can argue path altering in a different way but I expect that we'll see the polling bounce for the former president and he'll gain support the question is how durable those gains will be and where those gains are coming from so for example if they're coming from independent voters that might be something that's a little bit more concerning to the Biden team to the Democrats if they're coming from Republicans who eventually come home who would have come home anyway the dynamic might be a little different what does the Vance pick suggest about how Donald Trump would govern if he's reelected on just the specific issue of Ukraine for instance yeah Senator Vance has said that his view the US doesn't have the capacity doesn't have the interest really to even respond um to to Ukraine and he has been against Ukraine funding which really puts him at odds with the with the the you know Republican National Security establishment yeah in fact it's funny I've gotten a lot of notes from people in the sort of former Republican National Security establishment expressing some concern about what that might mean uh and I guess I would say we'll have to see what happens when uh and if they win and take office I think that a lot of times during the course of a campaign maybe you express some points of view that are perceived to be more politically popular I I actually don't really know where where Senator Vance is on these issues he's made some public remarks but I don't think that he's really explored really deeply uh what that policy might imply and and what it might mean for example for the US position in NATO for how our European allies might see some of this and I think that governing tends to bring a level of sobriety that campaigns don't Lonnie you mentioned uh your work with Mitt Romney so I have to ask because this party is a long way from the party a little bit that little bit of distance the party that had a Romney Ryan ticket in 2012 that I know you were the the policy director for in that campaign and I just wonder how you reflect on the priorities the agenda the messaging coming from the stage tonight and that we know will come from the ticket with regards to your background I I mean there are some serious differences um the this is not really a party that Embraces open markets uh anymore the notion that we would pursue uh multilateral trade agreements I think is Fallen by the wayside uh we used to be very concerned about entitlement reform and thinking about the role that entitlement spending played uh in increasing our federal debt burden uh that seems to have fallen largely by the wayside uh I think the perspective on unions which I mentioned earlier um you know something like paycheck protection which have been at the core of the Republican economic agenda probably will not be part of the Trump Vance agenda I'm guessing so in number of areas there have been differences but I'll say this these are all Trends we saw in 2012 uh whether uh these are new things or not is really debatable I mean I remember in 2012 probably beginning in 2008 there was great skepticism about open markets about trade about the impact of trade particularly on Midwestern community so this is not new I would say the emphasis and articulation is new how do you see that David is the Republican party that you remember that you knew and loved is that uh is that version of the Republican party going forever Lonnie understates how big the change is I remember back that you didn't build that the the slogan of the 2012 campaign this that was a convention for entrepreneurship and capitalism this is very different if I could ask you one question take the liberty of Planet Romney can I take over your job please know uh your old boss said uh of JD Vance I don't know if I could disrespect someone as much as I disrespect JD Vans how should we how should we think about that statement from a guy you presumably still admire m r i i do I and I will always admire um Mitt Romney for the work that he did and continues to do um you know look he's got an assessment based on his work with Senator Vance I I I don't have a similar uh record in terms of working with him to be able to make a similar comment but obviously there's been some transitions that have taken place on on on on on some issues and and in certain ways um but I'll say this I think it's reflective of transitions the party's taken more broadly and and so I don't know that it's a particularly unique thing to JD Vance but look I I I'm not going to opine on it because I don't have a personal experience I can't assess in the same way whether what Senator Romney said is is accurate or not all I would say is um JD Vance is not been alone in terms of the view of Donald Trump then and now mhm let's go back to the convention floor there was a warm welcome for Congressman Byron Donalds who's just started speaking let's take a listen life was hard and we struggled when I was in the first grade my mother took me out of public school because she could see that public education was failing me I needed to be challenged and I needed the opportunity that only a private school could provide my mother is an educator and she truly believed in my potential but Democrat politicians wanted to trap me in a failing school but my mom fought for me mom I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you thank you Mom words cannot describe how deeply grateful I am to be your son when I was in the seventh grade my mom lost her job we went on government assistance and my grandma helped us pay for private school my mom and my grandma sacrificed to ensure that I could build a successful future through a commit to academic achievement and hard work I'm standing here today as a result of their love good and safe schools and great teachers and to the teachers of America who pour your heart and your soul into your students and teach the Next Generation to love honor and serve our great country we all say thank you but what about those kids whose parents can't scrape money together for private school don't those kids who grew up like I grew up deserve the same chance that I had Joe Biden and KLA Harris sent their kids to high-priced private schools but since they are in the pocket of the far left teachers unions they trap poor kids like me in failing schools with no way out they say they're pro-choice but not if you want a choice over what your kids are taught Donald Trump believes every parent deserves a choice and every child deserves a chance and in November when Donald Trump is elected our nation 47th president we will make sure all America's children get that chance growing up poor I know the pain of high food prices High Energy prices and housing costs I remember as a kid my mom yelling at me turn off that light you don't pay the bill we know there's a bunch of kids in America today who are hearing that from their parents the massive inflation created by Joe Biden and kamla Harris has only made it worse during my first term in Congress I served on the budget committee and the small business committee we told Joe Biden that his so-called American Rescue plan was going to cause inflation the Biden Harris Administration told us not to worry but I knew better I have nearly two decades of experience as a financial professional and the evidence is in go to any grocery store buy eggs buy beef buy milk even housing prices have skyrocketed all Americans deserve a shot at the American dream but under Joe Biden's debilitating economic policies far many Americans far too many for far too many of them that dream has slipped away this shows that we were right that that Joe Biden was wrong and that you the American people are paying the price as Americans we've all been struggling the disastrous results of the Biden Harris agenda transcend race religion or income but under President Trump all of this will change and if there was ever a time in our Nation to come together that time is now with trump our economy will boom again you will have more money in your pocket again and your children will have a future again together I know we will make America wealthy again and together America we will make America great again God bless you Milwaukee God bless the United States of America that was Florida Republican Congressman Byron Donalds addressing the uh RNC crowd here the crowd of delegates Jonathan capart question about this similar refrain we've heard um from black conservatives tonight and of course we've heard this before whether it's Tim Scott Byron Donalds Ben Carson Mark Robinson winom Sears the Virginia lieutenant governor there always seems to be this bootstrap story that is Central to the appeal that they are making to largely white Republican audiences I don't even have a well articulated question what's up with that what what what is that about well I I think it's about it's about several things one I don't want to take away from their up by the bootstrap stories I mean their stories are very compelling and they're you know heart they tug at the heart strings um but to the point the point you're you're making and I'll and I will expand on it for this largely white convocation to hear black people talk about how they work their way up of their uh you know by their own grit and determination that they are defying this thing about systemic racism and things like that if they can do it everyone should be able to do it and that's just not how it works and so I you know buying to talk about up by the bootstraps but I would really like for some of them to go the next next step and talk about okay yeah I pulled myself up by the bootstraps but let me talk about wealth creation and that is what that is what if you if you go back and look at what Democrats have been talking about and particularly the president and especially the vice president they're talking about yeah like we want to tide lift all boats but we want to close the racial wealth Gap we want African-Americans to get to the position where they can build wealth it's not enough to bring yourself up by the bootstraps you have to do more than that and what's wrong with that that is the American dream I just wish these folks who have wrapped themselves in the flag and the American dream and think it's their own to realize that there are lots of other people out there who come at this from different different points of view who would like to do more than just lift up by the bootstraps they want they want to be as prosperous and Wealthy as their white neighbors David what do you make of that and also how that message jives with what we know to be the economic policies of the current party where it is well I you know I think the party has not been able to tell a complicated story about race the one note that I thought really hit falsely in the Tim scottt remarks where America is not a racist country that's just too simple that like Tulsa happened racial terroris in the 1890s happened the wealth Gap exists to this day Red Line like you can just tell the story of American History it's a complicated story and if you want to be a plausible party you have to be able to tell a complicated story and I think Joe Biden is able to do that and I think the Republican party I can't think of a single Republican nominee who has been able to tell that story very well because they they just want oh we're not racist we're not racist but that's not reality can the electorate digest the complicated story do American voters get Nuance do American voters care about Nuance uh they do but at its core what politics is about what a voter wants to know is what is it going to do for me well I is voting for you going to help me it's a very um in some ways very transactional event and what you hear over and over again from voters especially those who are in places where the economy is not great what you hear from voters in communities and a lot of communities of color are saying okay but Democrats what have you been doing for us we see you coming into our communities around election time every four years but where's the payoff uh in terms of my own and my family's security safety whatever uh the case may be so I think that's where yes politics is very much it's a you're getting a binary Choice it's hard to have Nuance in that conversation but it is fair to ask for a broader conversation to be happening among political leaders um which is not what we usually get I I think that's why there's this intentionality in the messaging around cost of living because I think most Americans digest economic policy they digest tax policy and Regulatory all the things I love they digest them in terms of what's it cost me to buy milk and eggs and all the things that Byron donals talked about and if you look at the survey research when Americans think about the state of the economy they're not thinking about GDP growth they're not thinking about the U6 unemployment number they are thinking about what does this cost me and and so I think there's is a messaging component that is potentially very effective in a campaign now the the reality of solving the cost of living problem is extremely hard it's extremely hard from policy perspective but I can tell you that from a political perspective in a campaign it's a very powerful motive a very powerful theme and that's why you're going to hear it over and over again and and and to that point we've been asking questions in polls that we're doing now in these swing States and asking voters you know who you think would do a better job on certain issues so it is true Donald Trump wins the question of who do you think would do better on the economy but for many swing voters including some of these so-called double haters the folks who are sitting on the fence who voted for Biden last time around they do think that Biden looks out for people like them so it's this difference between and we saw it in 2012 right yes Romney would be better on the economy but I don't think he understands my life because he's a capitalist Rich capitalist not a right not a person who lives in the kind of real world that I do and that's that worked that's the division that Donald Trump's managed to Bridge I mean you know probably no less wealthy in some ways and that's right I I'm sure Donald Trump does not lead the same life as most of the people on the floor here at the fer Forum but he he has a way of of sort of being one of them and communting the grievance and conc in a effective way and I think you know to see if JD Vance can do the same thing I mean you know in some ways we' talked about the similarities between Vance and Trump I think something else that Vance tries to do is to channel that sense of disaffection and it'll be interesting to see if he can bridge the gap in the same way as a former venture capitalist from Silicon Valley yeah to that point how do you think the party now builds that kind of enthusiasm around JD Vance because at least here in the room when he first walked out for the first time being introduced to the delegates here as the Vice Presidential nominee was kind of a tuer response folks didn't seem terribly excited just yet what did you make of that look um we know about JD Vance most Americans have no idea who this guy is so it will be a process of introducing him to the American people that's what the convention is is introducing usually introducing both the presidential and the Vice Presidential nominee so you're telling a story about who this person is and who these people are in a very full way um they don't have to do that with Donald Trump everyone knows who Donald Trump is they do have to do it with JD Vance and so the reason why I think the response is a little bit muted is because people don't know who JD Vance is they don't even know his story they don't know he's married to they don't know he has kids so all of this will be the process we'll see and then and then we'll have to see how it comes out I mean I I don't think vice presidential nominees matter a whole lot for anything to be hon I mean just from the politics of politics I I don't think it matters right but uh what I do think will matter is message consistency and that is where JD Vance will be incredibly effective if JD Vance is the future of the Republican party let's say you know we we've learned now that that the trumpian approach trumpian politics really only works for Donald Trump Ronda santis learned that lesson Marco ruio learned that lesson when he tried to be a little trumpy during the 2016 primary to use Lonnie's phrase Bridging the Gap I mean is is does it make sense to think that JD Vance can assume that mantle it's an if you know I've known him for a long time uh and at some State as I said I think some of his move from never Trump to prot Trump is somewhat opportunistic some of is genuine but he's still somewhat faking it and so when you fake it you overstep and he'll overstep in ways that I think are just dumb like he opposes us Aid to Ukraine fine that's a policy a legitimate policy but then he'll go overstep and say I don't really care what happens to the people of Ukraine well you look at kids getting bombed in hospitals really you don't care like he'll just overstep in order to the left and whether he can get away with that without seeming permanently unattracted I'm a little we'll see I was just I was just sitting there thinking um to me he overstepped before being named the Vice Presidential nominee in that tweet he sent out in the immediate moments after the the attempt to to kill Donald Trump a very intemperate um volatile thing to put out there when the nation is in shock and at a moment when the nation needed to be brought together I mean I was on air anchoring my show at MSNBC when my EP yells in my ear go to Trump I had no idea what was going on now look my Show on MSNBC is a perspective show it is a point of view show and my point of view is pretty clear from from watching here but in that moment when I saw on the screen the blood on Trump's ear I said whoa something terrible has happened all of the partisanship and and whatever my views of him and his policies and his presidency went out the window it was about a former president of the United States looked like someone tried to kill him and in that moment my job as an anchor you would feel the same feel the same way Al you're news side folks you would do it anyway but my job was to be the bridge to show that despite the politics this is a this is something very important for the country that we need to unify and there's nothing I should do to inflame that and Senator Vance did that at a moment when what he should have done was be a Statesman and I have yet to see that from him we have lots more to talk about on that topic as well as the night goes on in the meantime we're going to thank you Lon for joining us here at the table was a pleasure to see you thanks for being here I think our Lisa de jardan is down on the floor uh keeping an eyee on the proceedings and talking to some delegates as the night goes on as well Lisa what's the latest down there hi we're right up in front by the Pennsylvania delegation I heard the conversation you all had earlier about the appeal that Trump is hoping to have to Black voters younger black voters and I found Georgia delegate Rufus Montgomery uh you're not imagining it he is a full foot taller than me I'm going to wear my heels tomorrow night and then we it'll be a little bit closer but Rufus tell me how long have you been a Republican what does it mean to you to be a republican I'm a lifelong Republican I got out of the military in ' 92 and had to register to vote and I became republ been repu ever since why what what does the party stand for to you well from the beginning it was President Bush and being a war veteran uh deser deser storm Republicans did what they said they would do in terms of sending us to war and bringing us back home my dad served 37 years in the Army and I was born as a a military Brad so it's kind of natural as a veteran to be a republican thank you for your service first of all you're you're the second black Republican I've talked to you on the floor who's got a military history but what is it about former president Trump he he himself is not a military veteran you said so you said black Republicans we're all Republicans we just Happ to be the black ones we're easy to SP I he I've seen more here than I've ever seen at a convention from the five that I've been involved in uh I just look around and I go wow people are here there's no there's no program there's been nothing to say we need a ex we don't do like the Democrats we don't have quotas people are here because they want to to be here and and the the real driver behind it is Donald Trump why why what do you like about Donald Trump Man black people loved Donald Trump until he told said he was a republican over 400 um uh music songs rap TV people love Trump until he said he was a republican the media kind of did a a hit job on him but he's done some great things for African-Americans I'm the HBCU graduate he's Joe Biden and I'll give him credit has tried to double everything that Donald Trump did but he put HBCU on the map with his funing and as a result there's three or four schools that obviously would have closed without Donald Trump stepping in and doing what he did uh the first step act thousands of African-Americans are out of jail now as a result of what he actually did opportunity zones I mean we I could go on and on I hear you but you know when he was in New York though he definitely pushed for the jailing and even the death penalty young black who look everybody saw and thought that those kids did what they did I'm not defending what he did at the time but at the time he was doing what you you don't think a racist element in that in his assuming that the young black men were guilty I don't if you were a racist there would be a history of it you would have all these celebrities all of these I mean people like Jesse Jackson who he supported back for president you'd have op you'd have all these celebrities and people saying such a thing there's no record of it people want to go back and find uh something that Donald Trump did in the 80s I want you to Google Joe Biden said the nword 13 times and for some reason that doesn't show up anywhere in the media let me ask you one more question no and I'm sorry to cut you off I I I I hear what you're saying I want to ask you about younger black younger blacks well I'm 52 so I don't know that well in the US Senate you'd be young us said you would be young but but what what do you think the Trump campaign is hoping that it can get you know move from like a low percentage of black young black support to you know Amy Walter was saying 10 15 20% are you are you seeing I believe it's going to be the highest number in in my lifetime I it's going to go back to the Nixon times could easily hit 20% with black male votes people forget you think so Trump count yeah people forget um Ronda SZ got 19% with black women in Florida when he ran the first time there's ways to get there there's ways that uh that President Trump is is conducting himself that says to young people uh we're the proper We're the Party of opportunity and so it's resonating obviously it's resonating with people it's resonating in the polls Tim Scott brought down the house just a little while ago the guy he's he's the guy I think the media can can go spend a day or two with him and see how really black he is they don't portray him and show him as much that he's actually done for African-Americans I I wish they do that with him Rufus Montgomery delegate from Georgia Military veteran thank you so much omna Jeff I'll send it back to you all right that's our Lisa de jardan on the floor of the Republican National Convention here in Milwaukee up here in our PBS news Booth we are now joined by Republican congresswoman cat kamak of Florida congresswoman thanks so much for being here hey thanks so much for having me we have been talking all evening about the big news of the day former president Trump picking JD Vance is his vice presidential pick uh how does it change the race and what do you think he brings to the ticket well this will be the first time that we've had a marine veteran on the ticket so I think it's a very strong message that we're sending to our veterans to our military Community but as a millennial I'm a little bit biased you know he's 39 years old I love seeing that young energy on the ticket and I think it's going to be in St contrast to vice president Harris when they have their debate so I'm excited I think he brings a lot of energy a lot of passion a great voice and messenger for the America first movement so you expect that they will debate in September I believe it is later later this summer as as plan absolutely absolutely do you see Senator Vance is sort of the air of parent here of what has now become a Maga movement in the Republican party I think it's bigger than that and I know there's been a lot of talk today about a so-called aab parent I think that the America first movement it's not just about Maga right it's about whether you're young or old or white or black it doesn't matter where you come from obviously we have now a vice presidential candidate who represents the Rust Belt this is somebody who is really speaking to the blue collar workingclass Americans across the country and so it's far bigger than just the quote unquote magga crowd I think he brings an entirely new Dynamic to the race following the assassination attempt over the weekend both former president Trump and speaker Mike Johnson have said that they in intended to to shift this convention a bit focus on Unity yeah uh what responsibility do you think Republicans have to move forward in that regard with to focus on unity and and bringing down the the level of of of sort of tamping down the rhetoric yeah you know I I affectionately call the era that we're living in right now anger tainment that is the new business model in politics today anger tainment you say a crazier thing or a more outrageous thing than the last guy and it's a way to raise money and get attention that leads nowhere POS POS and it happens on both sides and it's recognized that both sides engage in this so-called anger tainment so in order to really get us back on track in order to break that we have to start having a thoughtful dialogue we start have to we have to start talking to each other as Americans not as Republicans Or democrats but as Americans first and that's again why I think the America first movement is so attractive to so many people regardless of what box they check to that point can I just follow up on some a quote and was attributed to you in a breakfast here before the Republican convention Florida MERS you laid the blame directly onoc the assin attempt on on Donald Trump you said first they tried to censor him then they arrested him then they convicted him then they shot him I wouldn't call that exactly tamping down the political rhetoric or Unity message do you regret saying that no because I actually also gave credit to the media for also encouraging a lot of this rhetoric we've heard for the last several years almost a decade at this point in the media's eyes that he is a threat to democracy there were interviews aired with unquestion unquestioning members of Congress like representative Goldman saying that he needed to be eliminated and then the the reporters saying nothing in response back how is that responsibility how is that responsible journalism so it's not just the Democrats it's also the media who has some to blame in this role on this assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am an equal opportunity offender so I will say that both Republicans and democrats for the last several years have engaged in rhetoric that is not helpful in unifying us as a nation so we have an opportunity here at this convention to move forward to look past and really take responsibility but to look past what we have created through this enterainment business model in politics today and say you know what we're better than this we can do better and we can do it United one team one Mission so I hear you saying you want to move Beyond these kinds of comments where you are blaming Democrats and the media do you hope to see that on the stage cand I'm stating a fact I mean they did they impeached him twice they did that they they censored him large social media platforms deplatformed him they arrested him they convicted him all those are facts that is really just laying out the case that has been made and despite all that we are here at the Republican convention saying you know what we want to be one Team One mission we want to put Americans first doesn't matter what box you check we want to come together as a nation and do what's best for our kids and our grandkids so what does that look like in a real sense moving forward so I think when you look at the policies of what the Republican conference is standing for what we're championing it's less government and more freedom we want the American people to be able to make the best decisions for themselves and their families you just heard my colleague from Florida representative Donald's talk about school choice and how parents should have the ability to send their kids to the best school possible for their kids we want people to sit down at the kitchen table and say you know what we're not going to have to make a decision today about whether we're going to buy gas or groceries what Bill are we going to pay late we don't want that we want people to sit down at the kitchen table and talk about how they can plan for their future not how they can scrimp and scra save just to make ends meet because I've heard it said multiple times in the last 3 years you know what it used to be paycheck to paycheck but in this current economy what we're facing is paycheck to Wednesday and then we borrow the rest I know you and your fellow colleagues Republicans in the house are looking to expand which is a really razor thin majority you have right now in the next election tell me a little bit about about how you do that in particular how you look back at at say you know the 2022 midterms in which you didn't make the gains you expected to and what the Lessons Learned are moving forward you know I think couple of things were the big takeaway when you look at the midterm elections we really only won the house by 6700 votes 6700 people woke up on Election Day and said you know what I think I'm going to go out and vote and that's what gave Republicans a four-vote majority when we started the 118th Congress so we look back now and we say you know what we didn't chase ballots we didn't go out and work the polls the way that we should have and so for us it really comes down to a round game and getting the Grassroots motivated and activated so I think you're going to see an incredible ballot chasing initiative I personally am serving as the recruitment chair for the nrcc the national Republican Congressional committee and what we are focused on is not only recruiting candidates that look like everyday Americans like they come from all different communities and backgrounds but then we're giving them the resources and infrastructure to back them up so we're chasing ballots we're getting people to the polls early we're making sure that if you want to vote by mail you can do that we are doing everything possible to support these candidates and that was one of the biggest takeaways is that we didn't put in the effort on the ground game and making sure we were banking the boates I was going to ask you that question is does the infrastructure exist now in a way that it hasn't previously and I hear you say yes yeah you know there's tremendous uh different initiatives going on the bank the vote initiative I myself like I said I'm building the national ballot chasing Initiative for our recruited candidates we're protecting our Frontline Patriot rots that are the the swing states in the house I think you're going to see an infrastructure the the Trump campaign has already hired over 500 lawyers we are going to have pole Watchers at every single Precinct this is going to be an all hands on deck effort do you think there are any Lessons Learned From 2022 in terms of Republican campaigns moving forward on how to message when it comes to abortion rights is that something Republicans have coales around yet yeah you know I really do think that that seems to be a focus for my colleagues on the left they see that as really a lightning rod and unfortunately it's been used to divide and that's really disappointing because I don't believe that anyone goes and and seeks out an abortion that you know they feel good about that and people have always seemed to use it as a means to divide and I think there's an opportunity for us to bring people into the fold and say you know what maybe we don't agree on this issue but just like Ronald Reagan said if you're with me 80% of the time you're a good and trusted friend not a 20% Trader I think we can find common ground on this issue Florida congresswoman Kat kamak thank you so much for being here with us we appreciate it we're going to go live now to the Republican National Convention where Tennessee senator Marsha Blackburn is speaking forgotten men and women of America people like Brad Bordeaux a small businessman from White Bluff Tennessee Brad leads bordo medals by the end of the Obama Biden Administration high taxes Mass government spending and overregulation almost put him out of business but things changed when we elected Donald Trump thanks to president Trump's tax and regulation Cuts Brad and those that worked for him prospered he hired new workers expanded the business life was good and getting better but bid nomics was a four-letter word for bordo medals Joe Biden kamla Harris their High inflation High interest high taxes and green new scam are destroying small businesses Biden and Harris outsourced our energy Supply driving electricity prices up over 29% the day Joe and comma walked into office gas was 240 gallon today it is $354 our platform says we will make America energy dominant you know and let me hear you now you know who will make that happen Donald Trump Joe Biden and kamla Harris also think that small business owners are wealthy and they should pay their fair share we all know that's leftwing code for you got to pay more taxes well in Tennessee I led the fight against a proposed state income tax we killed that thing we are income taxfree in Tennessee so when Donald Trump was president I helped him spread economic Prosperity with the largest tax cut in American history now president Trump will make those tax cuts permanent but if if Joe and comma are reelected they say they're going to let them expire that will be the biggest tax increase in American history our party's platform commits to making the Trump tax cuts permanent and you know you know who will return us to an Era of prosperity Donald Trump now Joe and comma blessed their hearts they couldn't help themselves they hired 85,000 new IRS agents to harass hardworking Americans IRS penalties have surged 300% and they're not on big corporations they're on gig workers freelan ERS small business owners and the self-employed let me ask you a question who is going to look at those 85,000 IRS agents and say you're fired Donald Trump under Biden and Harris people are also crushed by more regulations that it any time send Jimmy Carter their regulations aren't just burdensome often they include racist Dei requirements many small businesses are going bankrupt some are throwing up their hands in discussed our party's platform pledges seven times to cut regulations that are killing jobs and costing you thousands of dollars now you know who will SL lash that red tra and return this country to economic greatness Donald Trump the harmful Biden Harris policies are why so many small business owners like Shaina gray she is a black female owner of gr Jet cafe right here in Milwaukee she voted for Biden in 2020 and in 24 she is voting for president Donald Trump our platform is a promise to people like Shaina people like Brad and president Trump will keep his promises just like he did the first time so I've got one more question for you who should be the next president of the United States Donald Trump God bless you protect you and God bless and protect the United States thank you and that was Tennessee senator Mara Blackburn delivering remarks here on the first night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee also joining us here at the table in our booth is a familiar face to you all for the rest of the evening our senior correspondent the one and only Judy Woodruff is here with us now Judy great to see you it is so good to see you I've been watching the coverage it is terrific I've been sitting out in the hallway earphones watching on a little screen and you guys are doing a great job well that that means the world coming from you you've covered many a convention how does this one stack up so far well I tell you this one is Sleepy compared to on day one the first Republican convention I covered was 44 years ago 1980 Ronald Reagan had wrapped up the nomination he goes into Detroit there were still guessing about who his vice presidential pick was going to be everybody was pushing him to go with George Bush but he wasn't quite ready former president Jerry Ford gave a blockbuster speech on Monday night at the convention the idea started going around what about what about you know picking him that kind of a co-residency and so for 24 hours it was the talk of the convention of Detroit I mean uh uh Allan Greenspan um there were HBA Henry Kissinger got involved in these negotiations between four for and Reagan but 24 hours later cooler heads prevailed uh and both men roughly at the same time decided this is not a good idea uh Ford gave an interview I think to Walter kronite on Tuesday night it was still kind of alive but a few hours later it died and uh Ronald Reagan showed up on the convention floor Tuesday night uh with George Bush it turned out HW Bush yeah so but this convention nothing compared to that I mean compared even to a more recent convention I know you covered think back to the last one in which Mr Trump was nominated in 2016 Lisa was sort of weighing how even this one compared to that one feels very different do you see that too oh very different it was there was still so much tension in the air there were Republicans who were on board with Trump but there were a lot of Republicans who were still not sure I I remember I mean everybody was watching Ted Cruz they were watching every one of the Republicans who had run against him and what they said and the vibe they sent and it was just it was just you just felt you felt it in the air it was 10 this is very different I mean Trump has had this nomination locked up and of course he comes into the convention with a wave of sympathy over the terrible uh events of the weekend let's go to the convention floor because there he is the former president Donald Trump his ear visibly bandaged as we've been speaking we've saw members of his family uh Tiffany Trump Donald Trump Jr Eric Trump sit in the family box and that is where we believe the former president is headed rapturous Applause here on the convention floor the music here continues the crowd continues to cheer you see former president Trump there in a holding pattern backstage we expect him to be taking the stage shortly and of course this is his first big address since that assassination attempt on him uh in Butler County in Pennsylvania David he called for Unity immediately after that this is in many ways a test of the message we'll see at least in the immediate from it will be a test I'm going back to their early start of our broadcast with Senator Ron Johnson this year saying that it's a life-changing event to be shot at in Miz and will there really be message discipline for Donald Trump will there really be the quiet unifier well Saul of Tarsus took trip to Damascus which resulted in that kind of change but I'm not sure Donald Trump can really change quite that much but we we shall see Jonathan what is there any way I know we are unprecedented times we can't say that more often but is there any way to expect what we'll hear from him momentarily no there there's nothing I I I couldn't even begin to predict what he's going to say all I will say is Judy he must have been listening to you saying oh I'm going to show Judy boring first night watch this well Judy I know that you've been here you've been talking to Wisconsin voters as part of your Crossroads reporting what have they told you and how has how have their perspectives shifted uh since the last election well it's I mean as you know Wisconsin was very very close it was just a a few a handful of votes uh that uh as you know that that Joe Biden won this day it's a little hard to talk with the with what's going on behind us have a musical interlude I think before we go to the stage so please continue but just it was a it was a close election and and what I saw I came back here just a year ago talking to Wisconsin voters and I've talked to them since this is a very divided State I came back here as they were looking at picking uh a new state supreme court justice and it was the state was completely split over that we went to Green Bay we talked to voters in Milwaukee I think I mean the fact that Republicans are having their convention here is clearly going to help I think let's go to the convention floor and live in this moment for a little bit this is Lee Greenwood about to perform this song that uh really has been the the theme song of the Trump campaign we have believe for so long that God will make some changes in this country and he's about to make a change in the current Administration and send them home thank you everybody for being being here tonight tonight we make the decision on what's right for America more Prosperity less gas prices less food prices help for our veterans and God bless our military wherever they are in this United States and abroad there would be no war there wasn't any when President Trump welcome the next president of the United States Donald J Trump tomor things were gone I work for all my life and I had to start again just my children and my thank my lucky star to be living here today cuz the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away and I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free forget the men who died who gave that bre to me and I glad we stand up next to you and defend her still today cuz there ain't no doubt I love this land sing it God bless the us we are here tonight on one purpose and that is to elect Donald J Trump as the next president of the United States he is here tonight to show his courage his Defiance against somebody who tried to kill him you will not take this man down he has the Courage the strength and he will be the next president of the United States from the lake of Minnesota to the hills of Tennessee across the plains of Texas from SE to S ladies and gentlemen the 45th president of the United States and soon to be the 47th president of the United States please welcome Donald J Trump ohoud to be an American know I'm free and I W for the that right to me and I gladly stand next to you and defend her still today cuz there ain't no doubt I love this God Bless the USA am I glad stand up next to you and today love God bless the US Mr President please welcome Mark laws from Cedar Springs Michigan and that is former president Donald Trump who has now entered the F serve Forum standing for the first time next to his vice presidential pick JD Vance and you hear the crowd greeting him absolutely uor isly chanting first fight fight fight repeating the words that he said to the crowd immediately after the assassination attempt on Saturday the crowd has not quieted Mr Trump has joined his family seated in the family box for the rest of the proceedings I believe AR Lisa de jardan is still on the floor speaking with folks watching this moment as it unfolded Lisa take us into how that went down for people there on the floor that's right AMA this is the kind of wave of emotion that you only see usually at the end of a convention minutes before the former president arrived there was a sense that something was going to happen they were closing off the various passageways around the floor people were looking at each other getting their phones out there was a sense that perhaps the former president was about to arrive and then as his picture came on the screen Republicans did something interesting they showed the former president just standing still watching as the band began to play God Bless the USA and of course his bandage over his ear was something that I saw people catch their breath to see then he made his way into the auditorium here and the crowd was on its feet instantly on chairs I saw tears in the eyes of some Republicans people shouting and cheering and singing all at the same time a very powerful moment the former president I think knows the power of the moment that he had on Saturday and they're galvanizing this here right now uh this is by far the most electric moment of this convention so far Lisa D ran Lisa thanks as always David Brooks what should we take away from the fact uh that Tucker Carlson Barron Donalds were seated are seated uh to the president's right and then you have speaker Johnson and his vice presidential pick to his left but the choice of Tucker Carlson that was intentional what does that suggest well it's part of the broader right-wing media industrial complex and Tucker is now transcended journalism and is now whatever Tucker is these days but that's part of Trump's movement I'm really struck by something Judy said about how for a trump convention this been relatively normal so far but this is economy night this is the night when it's easiest for them to be normal we're going to go into we're going to get into cultural issues we'll get into foreign policy and so trying to keep Trump in the vein of unify normal I'm not scaring any body away I'm relatively on message so far they've been able to do that whether they'll be able to keep it up for the next three nights um we'll see you know the what's interesting if you look at we've we've had a a lot of conversations about the polls and the lead that Donald Trump has built but really what it has been is more of Don uh Joe Biden dropping in terms of his share of the vote rather than Trump gaining shares of vote in other words when we say the margins have expanded it's because fewer people say they're voting for Biden right now than did previously but Trump's number has stayed in a lot of these swing States basically the same and so that's long been the question it goes sort of to David's point which is can he break through that ceiling can he get more votes than he did in 2020 can he bring in people who didn't vote for him in 2020 um and you know one way he's trying to do this is by yes getting keeping his base engaged the same people those same people bringing in voters of color especially Latino voters who didn't support him in 2020 maybe they didn't vote in 2020 the other thing we know about the kinds of Voters that Trump does very well with are the people who are the least um they're the voters that vote the the least consistently so they may show up in the they won't show up in a midterm election year they'll show up in a presidential year maybe they voted in 2020 maybe they didn't in fact the group of Voters he does really well with right now are people who said they didn't vote in 2020 either they weren't able to vote in 2020 or they just didn't show up and I'm glad you brought that up because I was I was going to bring it up on my own in the New York Times a few days ago Nate C had a piece a big piece about the polls and there's this one paragraph that jumped out at me and it says um uh the Mr Trump's lead is built on strength among relatively disengaged lower turnout voters even after the debate Mr Biden leads among voters who turned out in the midterm election according to the time Sienna data Mr Trump counters with a nearly 20o lead among those who did not vote in the midterms and so as everyone as everyone meaning Democrats have their hair on fire about President Biden standing in the polls Visa Vis Donald Trump we have to remember that that lead is built on a lot of disengaged voters can I make one more oh sorry let me just make one more thing to counter that which is but countering that challenge for Trump is the fact that Biden's face is so deeply unenthusiastic about this election so Trump can win simply because a lot of those Biden voters who voted in 2020 are still staying home although I mean it's one thing to be it's one thing to be enthusiastic every be unenthusiastic and they're still going to show up I'm sorry we're going to let you guys continue this in a moment please no just two thing I mean two thoughts number one what when when it is the first night of the Democratic National Convention next month comparing whatever happens on the floor if Biden shows up to what happened tonight that's going to be an interesting contrast the other thing is as I'm listening to Lon Chen who you talked to earlier I would love to see an overlay of Romney's voters and Donald Trump's voters I mean how many Republicans or people who who thought of themselves as Republicans in 2012 are still in that category we know a number of them have split off they're rejecting Donald Trump other people have come into the party it's fascinating to watch how that's changed to that point I mean this moment that we all just witnessed typically in conventions there is a buildup to the top of the ticket right when you think about the way the party has evolved in the last nine years since Mr Trump first announced he was going to run for president for him to appear like this in this way what does that say to you about the party and what's motivating Republican voters right now what's motivating Republican voters is Donald Trump this is and you all have talked about this tonight uh this is a party that has been made over in the image of Donald Trump you used you look at the platform I mean this used to this was a party that for years talked about how worried they were about the deficit we've got a cut spending is a party that cared a lot about doing something about abortion nationally now they are perfectly fine with leaving it up to the state and issue after issue it's a platform that reflects Donald Trump this convention reflects Donald Trump how I mean he is the most I mean I I I compare him to Ronald Reagan who was hugely influential in his time but this is not the party of Ronald Reagan this is the party of Donald Trump I mean to your point about these voters that the Trump campaign can can make inroads with these inconsistent voters those are the that's the hardest cohort of voter to reach and the rap on the Trump campaign has always been that yes they're well funded but they're disorganized and they're not really sophisticated I mean in 2020 the campaign ran out of money so what's what's to make us think that this time around that they'll have a better go of yeah well I think we've been seeing it actually throughout the course of the Republican primary process Donald Trump brought on actual campaign professionals who do know Chris lasv who have been very smart in the way they have strategically been running this campaign there money is not going to be a problem we're going to see the FEC reports are coming out now of all not just the two campaigns but all the super packs that are going to be putting that money there so I don't think the challenge is for for the Trump campaign a money issue or an organization issue I think it is a question of the very people that he's trying to reach do they hear that and are the people right now who are disappointed with Biden but voted for him in 2020 are they going to vote unenthusiastically or are they going to stay home can I ask Amia wony question which is so we heard about these low engagement voters but when I look at the polls in the swing States it always says in the newspaper likely voters right so are low engagement voters included in those likely voters numbers that's a great question um yes what about that Amy okay we not to get too in the weeds here but usually in a poll they'll ask a question how how serious do you already taking this election How likely is it for you to vote and so you know you can go down on the scale very likely not likely not definitely not and so you take most of those voters um who say they're some they're going to probably vote but how you find the disengaged people you find out did they vote in the last election have they been registered to vote so you can ask those sorts of questions to understand a disengaged voter and that's not really fair to call them disengaged just because they didn't show up and vote in a midterm election doesn't mean they aren't civically engaged or not engaged in life they're just not the kinds of what we would call in in uh politic parl super voters right they're just they vote in some elections but mostly they vote when they think it matters to them they feel connected to it versus super voters are the kinds of people they're going to show up for every election whether they feel like they have an investment in it or not just because they feel like this is the right thing to do this is my civic duty that's that's the big difference yeah my sense is the pollsters and you know this so much better than I do but that they're trying to figure out who is most likely to turn out that's right and you go back okay how many times have you shown the past that's right that's exactly right that's exactly right did that answer your question I knew Amy could come through with a that was pass scary oh my gosh let's let's go to the floor because uh speaking right now is Amber Rose she's a model and influencer who was given a prime speaking slot tonight and president former president Trump is obviously listening to her so let's uh do the same people have to do their research I watched all the rallies and I started meeting so many of you his red hat wearing supporters I realized Donald Trump and his supporters don't care if you're black white gay or straight it's all love and that's when it hit me these are my people this is where I belong so I like all of my fear of Judgment of being misunderstood of getting attacked by the left and I put the red hat on too thank you love you too I never felt more free and more love for my country than I do now I want to thank my father who's in the audience tonight for opening my eyes he served over 20 years in the US military thank you for your service dad I love you dad I love you I love you so much thank you when I met the president and Melania for the first time he was kind and generous and funny as hell very funny the first lady was gracious and smart with a smile that will brighten up any room if you're watching this tonight you know our country is in trouble just like me when you go to the store and buy food for your family you're shocked when you fill up your gas tank you're pissed I know I am and when you turn on the news you are just exhausted inflation is out of control and you know in your heart it was not like this under Donald Trump my message to you tonight comes from a humble place the left told me to hate Trump and even worse to hate the other side the people who support him when you cut through the lies you realize the truth American families were better when Donald Trump was President we were safer wealthier and stronger a vote for Donald Trump is a vote to put money back in our pockets and good food on our kids' plates yes or As Trump would say it's a vote to make America great again thank you so much thank you model and influencer Amber Rose addressing the delegate crowd here at the Republican National Convention Jonathan Kart when she that look you just gave me no you just got to give me a heads up I K part your thoughts it strikes me when she says the left told me to hate Trump but when you cut through the lies you realize that life was better under him that's a resonant argument for a lot of people now of course you have to Discount the fact that there was a hundred-year pandemic and everything that resulted from that but if you clip that and put it on Instagram among you know the people that follow her that could pick up a lot of that resonates with folks sure and you know I would love to ask her what lies guess one thing you can say when I cut through the lies what lies are those and then please tell me how do you counter those lies you're talking about with the actual data that's there we can talk about the emotions because economics are emotional and if people don't if people don't feel it I Get It In fairness the left has vilified Donald Trump the ru I'm sorry define vilified you can you can argue the merits but In fairness the left has vilified Donald Trump threat to democracy that he's a is that a vilification or fascist is that a vilification and I'm not I don't mean to argue with you Jeff but I I I disagree with this notion that the left has vilified Donald Trump the left has pointed out multiple things he has done as president has said as president as a candidate for the presidency again that deserve to be pointed out deserve to be criticized that's not vilification that's that's acknowledging what is there for everyone to see now if someone had called him called him you know all sorts of names in addition to that then the name calling I would say is is vilification but the substance of what people are talking about you can't you you you can't call that vilification when you're hammering the guy on on his on on what he proposes for the country and to do to the country I want to go back to some points we talked about earlier and Jonathan that you raised Amy and Judy to get your take on this because it it strikes me as we're coming to the end of this evening we're in the final speakers here as well the choice of speakers on this night when the economy is meant to be the focus which we know is going to be the number one issue for voters there are more speakers of color more younger speakers folks from surprising say backgrounds you might not expect to be supporting Donald Trump or a republican ticket Amy when we know this is going to be a close election that will absolutely be decided on the margins are the people they're trying to reach here persuadable are the people that that the Trump campaign is trying to reach going to be persuaded by these I mean we know that most of the people who are watching these debate uh these debates these conventions are people who are already probably committed to the Republicans or the Democrats so they're interested in hearing from their own team but I do think what the conventions provide is a blueprint for what the campaign hopes to be doing in its last you know three months of the race in terms of its messaging exactly and the kind of and the kind of a message they're going to take to those same voters so what you heard from Amber Rose about the I felt like I couldn't speak out if I said something like I supported Donald Trump my friends would um disown me my family would say bad things about me I think you're going to hear those messages going out to younger voters especially younger voters of color on social media platforms on Tik Tok those are the sorts of those are the sorts of messages that can break through there are they going to break through on a sort of tradition this traditional platform probably not with that age group but um that's why I do think think by the end of I am very curious by the end of this whole process what the tone ultimately is going to be what we think the messaging is looking like in terms of those those voters who are on the fence and what it's going to tell us about the tenor of the campaign for the next how many weeks we have left Judy what's your assessment of all of this as a just as a piece of political theater the the the the walkin from the former president what we heard from Amber Rose all of it well having covered as many conventions as I have In fairness every convention certainly every Republican convention I've covered is an effort to look like they want the country to think they are they want to look more moderate if they I mean to the extent the Republicans have have felt they we are we are moving so conservatively that the middle of the country doesn't recognize us they want to put forward a moderate image so we've seen that I've seen that convention after convention we're seeing that so that that's happened I think and and and the other the other point I would make is that every convention has two missions at least it's get the base fired up which they're clearly doing here and if you're lucky can you change some minds of people who are tuning in we don't know how many people are tuning in tonight who are unsure I mean we just we won't know that I mean we think they're going to get a big audience because of the first chance we've had to see Donald Trump since he was shot let's head back to the floor because the featured speaker of the night is Shawn O'Brien president of the International Brotherhood of the teamers members here in Milwaukee who play Vital roles in the building and operations of this convention I also want to thank president Donald Trump for opening the rnc's doors to the Teamsters Union and inviting me to speak before you tonight I travel all across this country and meet with my members every week you know what I see an American worker being taken for granted workers being sold out to Big Banks big Tech corporat and the elite and I'm not the only one who sees this every day families see it the American people aren't stupid they know the system is broken we all know how Washington has run working people have no chance of winning this fight that's why I'm here today because I refuse to keep doing the same things my predecessors did today today the teaches are here to say we are not beholden to anyone or any party we will create an agenda and work with a bipartisan Coalition ready to accomplish something real for the American worker and I don't care about getting criticized it's an honor to be the first Teamster in our 121 year history to address the Republican National Convention several months ago I asked the RNC and the DNC for the opportunity to speak to be frank when President Trump invited me to speak at this convention there was political unrest on the left and on the right how to believe anti-union groups demanded the president resend his invitation the left called me a traitor and this is precisely why it's so important for me to be here today think about this think about this the ts are doing something correct if the Extremes in both parties think I shouldn't be on this stage president Trump had the backbone to open the doors to this Republican convention and that's unprecedented no other nominee in the race would have invited the teamsters into this Arena now you can have whatever opinion you want but one thing is clear president Trump is a candidate who is not afraid of hearing from new loud and often critical voices and I think we all can agree whether people like them or they don't like him in light of what happened to him on Saturday he has proven to be one tough o now when I won the presidency of the team since in a national election two and a half years ago we started Reaching Across the aisle in the past the team since have endorsed go candidates including Nixon Reagan and George H W bush but over the last 40 years the Republican party has really pursued strong relationships with organized labor there are some of the party who stand in active opposition to labor unions this too must change and I want to be clear at the end of the day the teamsters are not interested if you have a d r or an i next to your name we want to know one thing what are you doing to help American workers as a negotiator I know that no window or door should ever be perally shut in my Administration the teamsters reach out to eight Republican Senators who stood up for railroad Teamsters over our fight for paid sick leave Josh Holley was one of them we started talking Senator Holly changed his position on National right to work then we started walking Senator Holly walked a Teamsters picking line in St Louis and a UAW picking line in Wentzville Missouri more than that I want to recognize Senator Holly for his direct Relentless and pointed questioning of corporate Talking Heads lawyers CEOs and apologists he has shown he is not willing to accept their pillaging of working people's pocket books I know from a career in negotiating that you get nowhere by slamming a fist on the table the first step is to listen the teamsters and the go may not agree on many issues but a growing group has shown the courage to sit down and consider points of view that aren't funded by Big Money think tanks Senators like JD Vance Roger Marshall and representatives Nicole Maly tacis Mike Lawler and Brian Fitzpatrick are among elected officials who truly care about working people and this group is expanding and is putting fear into those who have monopolized our very broken system in America today there are far too many people on both sides of the aisle still caught up in knee-jerk reactions to unions who subscribe to the same tired clap trap that unions destroy American companies take a moment to consider United pel service which is the largest private sector logistics company and it's been unionized for more than 100 years more than 350,000 Teamsters make it run we work for good middle class wages Quality Health Care and secure pensions there are work rules that ensure fairness and due process for both sides UPS is the most efficient package delivery company in the world but let's not forget that UPS doesn't provide these great wages and benefits out of the kindness of its heart UPS does it because the teams has fight for it all 350,000 of us you know corporatists hate when working people join together to form unions but for a century major employers have waged a war against labor by forming corporate unions of their own we need to call the Chamber of Commerce and the business roundtables what they are they are unions for big business and here's another fact against gigantic multinational corporation an individual worker has zero power it's only when Americans band together in Democratic unions that we win real improvements on wages benefits and working conditions companies like Amazon are bigger than most national economies Amazon is valued over $2 trillion that makes it the 14th largest economy in the world what is sickening is that Amazon has has abandoned any national Allegiance Amazon's sole focus is on lining its own Pockets remember Elites have no party Elites have no Nation their loyalty is to the balance sheet and the stock price at the expense of the American worker in my office in Washington DC I can see the United States capital from my window I see well-intentioned people arrive in Washington and get eaten up by an unforgiving system the responsibility to average Americans takes a backseat the objective now becomes survival fundraiser after fundraiser corporate Consultants hedge every initiative the hill crawls with lifers bouncing from government jobs to corporate jobs and back again I think we can all agree DC is a pretty treacherous area most legislation is never meant to going anywhere and it's all talk and in America talk isn't cheap it's very expensive and it comes at the cost of our own country working people know our system is broken the elites are not laboring on behalf of workers there is a political cast system that prevents citizens from accessing their representatives to hold them accountable for a moment in time working people in America were seen as essential sadly it took a global pandemic for political and corporate Elites to notice this fact but ask yourself this question since the end of the pandemic when was the last time you heard major news outlets regularly refer to workers as essential you haven't the men and women who provide goods and services deliver packages stock grocery shell care for patients pick up your trash and keep our community safe are taken for granted all the while the stock market booms housing prices hit record eyes and corporate salaries Skyrocket but the income of everyday Americans are shrinking in the face of inflation at the gas pumps at the grocery store with the electrical bill and with the car insurance this has got to change never forget American workers own this nation we are not renters we are not tenants but the corporate Elite treat us like squatters and that is a crime we've got to fix it now this will shock you this will shock you to paraphrase Senator March Wayne Mullen it's time for both sides of Congress to stand their butts up we need trade policies that put American workers first it needs to be easier for companies to remain in America we need legal protections that make it safer for workers to get a contract we must stop corporations from abandoning local communities to inflate their bottom line we need meaningful bankruptcy reform today corporate vultures buy up companies like Yellow Freight with the intent of driving them into Bakery and feasting on their Remains the courts leave workers begging for crumbs as third tear creditors labor law must be reformed Americans vote for a union but can never get a Union contract companies firew workers who trying to join unions and hide behind toothless laws that are meant to protect working people but are manipulated to benefit corporations this is economic terrorism at its best an individual cannot withstand such an assault a fired worker cannot afford corporate delays and these greedy employers know it they there are no consequences for the company only the worker we need corporate welfare reform under our current system massive companies like Amazon Uber lft and Walmart take zero responsibilities for the workers they employ these companies offer no real health insurance no retirement benefits no pay leave relying on UND defunded public assistance and who foots the bill the individual taxpayer the biggest recipients of welfare in this country are corporations and this is real corruption we must put workers first what could be more important to the security of our nation than a long-term investment in the American worker in 20121 TS is Nationwide elected me to fight for them and that's prec precisely what I'm doing something is wrong in this country and we need to say it out loud I will always speak for America and the American worker both Union and non-union I challenge each and every one of you and especially my friends on the Democratic side to embrace cooperation to truly collaborate to achieve meaningful and productive change to ensure we make this great nation the in this world the bigger faster and strongest nation in the entire world I love this country the chiefers love this country our 1.3 million members move America on the roads in the ports on the rail and in the air and at the end of the day if the powers to be stop me from raising my voice on behalf of American workers I will not have one single regret I still carry my commercial driver's license I still have my place on the union seniority list you'll find me back in Boston driving a tractor trailer delivering equipment for Shauna CA Hearn because I have the protection of a Union contract that gives me the freedom to speak my mind and to fight like hell God bless the greatest nation thank you very much that was Sean oen he's the president of the International Brotherhood of teamsters largest unions in America delivering the final sort of featured speech for the first night of this Republican National Convention some official proceedings here to close the evening but let's go now to Lisa de jardan Who's down on the floor with the delegate getting some reaction to that speech Lisa yes hi I'm I'm in the West Virginia delegation a state that knows unions well I'm with Will Davis who's a small business owner owns a business repairing pinball machines also works in his church um and I wanted to ask you will what was that moment like when former president Trump arrived here in the arena for you it was exciting uh no doubt it was exciting um it was a relief it was the first time any of us had seen him since that horrible incident that happened on Saturday um so it was it was exciting the energy and the whole building was changing as uh he was getting here and then he popped out it was just the best thing I just I saw some people with tears in their eyes it was a very big swell of emotional it was emotional it was definitely emotional what was it like when you heard about the assassination attempt and what do you think it means now for the election well well my wife and I were driving actually aheading here so we were in the car we heard it on the radio we didn't get to see it and we had no idea what was going on there were four or five minutes where nobody could tell us what had happened to our our president and uh it was terrifying but um I hope that knowing that this type of thing is unacceptable um it's going to bring this nation together you told me that you are a mellow person you like mellow you live outside of Beckley West Virginia in the small town of beaver you called it a mellow place Donald Trump is not mellow and you support him can you tell me why I think that Donald Trump has in his heart and in his mind what's best for the United States I believe that President Trump um cares about Americans both unborn and born president Trump is uh going to be doing everything that he can to unite the nation they're doing a prayer now so we're gonna send it back to you n Alisa dardan thank you so much uh Sean O'Brien the first teamers president to address an RNC the Republican Party known for pushing anti-union legislation he I'm told has also requested a speaking slot at the DNC next month you know if the Republican party is trying to make it more difficult for Joe Biden to keep that blue wall intact giving a prime speaking slot to the Teamsters president that's one way to do it well and delivering a message that you would have thought would be a message at the Democratic Convention that did not sound like something You' heard a republican vention but you know what I'm going to do I am uh I'm going to channel our good friend Mark Shields who would often say there are two kinds of people in politics right those who try to get converts and those who seek to push people out as Heretics and at least the message here tonight what we'll see whether or not that extends we've talked a lot about that a lot is exactly that which is we want to bring the folks who were maybe against us folks whether Teamsters labor union whether it's JD Vance the guy who used to say really bad things about me personally and about the Maga movement uh Amber Rose the influencer who said I used to hate these guys and I was mocked uh for for changing my mind uh that seems to be the other theme of this this very first night Judy that permission structure that seems to be erected here tonight I mean you've been out as part of your cross Road reporting talking to Republicans of all Stripes is this the kind of stuff that resonates with them well with some of them for sure but I have to say there there is a very deliberate set of messages coming out tonight that don't necessarily reflect the divisions that I've seen across the country over everything from let's say abortion guns uh immigration we're not hearing some of those hot button things now I'm sure we're going to hear something later this week but there are issues that are div iding Americans right now I will be fascinated picking up on what Amy said to hear how much of of these messages and especially the Sha O'Brien Pro Union message is resonating with this crowd of conservative Republicans who many of whom you know the word Union was a dirty word David a union speech to close out the first night ofc uh yeah no I mean it's he attacked corporatists by name from the stage of the DNC he named specific companies he went after corporate G it's like the whole thing Lon is a wonderfully wonderful man very smart he was a center of gravity in the Mitt Romney of where the policy was there's a guy named Orin Cass at a think tank called American Compass he's now where the center of government of gravity with at least part of the Judy's right it's not the whole party but Josh Holly and JD Vance have really shifted on right to work all sorts of issues one after the joining picket lines that this is not made up and so you look at the the working class votes in the United States and in France and in Italy and all these countries it's shifting and we're seeing the tectonic plates it's not all the way shifted over this is I'm sure there are donors somewhere up here whose hair is on fire right now but but but it it is Shifting and that speech was like a an important moment to me yeah yeah and just looking at the the themes for the rest of the week it's make America wealthy again that's tonight focus on the economy make America safe again make America strong again and then on Thursday when the president speaks make make America great again I mean that's hardcore populism through and through yeah this party has has cohered like I said at the very beginning it was a divided country a divided party it was a party in transition in 2016 it didn't really have much substance to it but things have happened at the Grassroots levels things have happened at the Congressional level things have happened at the policy tank level and the the party is now now not 100% shifted but it's 75% shifted so to become a workingclass partner Jonathan as we've all talked about here conventions are about messaging right no one's watching to think maybe I'll change my mind and and back this side instead but this is an indication of what we expect to see in terms of the messaging and the priorities for the next four months how are you viewing that in terms of how the Biden and Harris campaign will counter some of these things particularly with the Outreach that that it looks like we may see ahead so Sean O'Brien's speech was the best speech of the night that was the unity speech if if if speeches can follow that model throughout this week maybe more of them because there were things he was saying that I I'm like David I was like wait what am I at a republican convention he went he said to the he said to them he told Republicans they needed to change their oppositions to you opposition to unions and then argued on behalf of workers not Democratic workers not Republican workers but workers and talk to talk to the people watching at home in specific Fields this is my message this my message to the Republicans and I want to take it to the Democrats and I hope the Democrats give him a platform and so if if that kind if that kind of unity is spread throughout this convention you know what they will have put on a successful convention but that is not what's going to happen it's absolutely not what's going to happen and I can I say and and I say as we go along and we move away from make America wealthy again to the more cultural hot button issues the veneer is going to come off I just to make one quick Point somewhere up in heaven Mark Shields is sitting there and he heard a Boston accent he the guy exactly well that guy that's exactly what I was thinking when you mark that Boston Judy give us your lasting impression of this evening wow um well coming Donald Trump showing up I mean that's the that's the the memory I'm going to take away I mean it it it was an attempt to present the face of a diverse Republican party a number of black speakers uh you know Amber Rose influencer Sean O'Brien as everybody's been saying I I am I'm out of body experience it sounded sounded like felt like I was at a democratic convention next month and by the way this is a blow to President Biden they they wanted the teamsters uh they wanted more love from the teamsters than they got tonight they he said they're not going to go They're not going to endorse either he said but the fact that he's even here and make and the main speaker tonight at the Republican convention the blow well especially since the President Biden was so actively engaged in negotiating that the strike on the strike and he also the pick the very first president to ever do something like that I I just want to note I never thought I would hear Judy Woodruff comment on Amber Rose coverage and that's also a in our coverage well I'm waiting for David Rooks to talk about Amber I'm still with yay I I haven't up on Kanye West well we should say the former president is exiting the building here as the house band plays one of the greatest songs in the American song book Don't Stop Believing by Journey Amy Walter final thought for the I know now you I want to sing along can I do that no no no no you don't you don't want that but you you are exactly right look I think this is not only um to me the takeaway from watching the President is really how subdued he is that's my was not a guy who came in fist pumping let's go get him there is this um sense too of like there's this sort of calm calmness and veneer around him that again let's wait and see what the speech looks like on Thursday they said he's ripped it up and he's going in a totally different direction um but this I thought what we were going to see was a Donald Trump that walked out going full boore in on you know not only am I here but I'm fighting for the PE for this nomination Amy Walter Judy Woodruff David Brooks Jonathan capart our deep thanks to all of you and that concludes our broadcast coverage of the first night of the Republican National Convention if you're watching on YouTube don't go anywhere because our coverage continues with Lisa day jardan unpacking the evening's events and we'll have a full analysis of the convention so far and the the latest news on tomorrow's NewsHour broadcast with that I am Jeff Bennett and I'm am the nas for all of us here at PBS news thank you so much for joining us good night this program was made possible by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you thank you w you're watching PBS