5 takeaways from RNC Day 2: God protected Trump from sniper, a host of speakers say
Day Two of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee featured speeches by a lineup of losers, federal officials who failed to be selected as the GOP presidential nominee.
Some seized on the task at hand, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who ripped Democratic President Joe Biden repeatedly in his speech. "America cannot afford four more years of a Weekend at Bernie's presidency," the Republican governor said, eliciting a chuckle from former President Donald Trump.
Where was this guy during the GOP presidential primary?
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley did her duty at the convention by encouraging her supporters to vote for Trump in the fall. Haley proved the last Republican standing to take on Trump in the Republican primary.
"I haven't always agreed with President Trump," said Haley, a former governor of North Carolina. "But we agree far more often than we disagree."
For U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, his speech looked more like drudgery. His best line came before he even began reading the Teleprompter, when many in the crowd began chanting his first name. "Don't say Polo," Rubio proclaimed.
But there was much more that happened on this day at and around the Fiserv Forum. Here are four other takeaways from the second day of the RNC.
Trump's assassination attempt seen through a religious lens
With each day at the convention, more and more speakers are suggesting that God had a hand in protecting Trump from a failed assassination attempt over the weekend.
The sniper — 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania — fired six to eight rounds using an AR-style weapon, grazing Trump's ear and killing a rally attendee before being shot by members of the Secret Service.
Lara Trump, the co-chair of the RNC, likened her father-in-law to a lion from the book of Proverbs. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson quoted Isaiah from the Hebrew Bible when talking about the assassination attempt and called for delegates to pray daily for Trump's "continued protection."
But it was Trump's former press secretary, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who made the most extensive religious appeal.
"Not even an assassin's bullet could stop him," she said of Trump. "God almighty intervened because America is one nation under God, and He is certainly not finished with President Trump!"
The line brought thunderous applause from the Republican crowd and at least one, "Thank you, Jesus."
Milwaukee shooting gets scarce attention at convention
On Tuesday, five officers from Columbus, Ohio, shot and killed a man identified by a cousin as Samuel Sharpe Jr., who lived in one of Milwaukee's tent encampments and was known in the near west side neighborhood around King Park.
According to the Journal Sentinel, 13 Columbus officers were holding a briefing when they saw an altercation between two people, one of whom had a knife in each hand, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said late Tuesday. He did not drop the knives when ordered to by police and instead suddenly lunged at the other person, which is when police opened fire, Norman said.
The story received national attention and was of intense interest with Journal Sentinel readers.
Not so within the convention hall. No speaker on Tuesday brought it up or prayed for anyone involved.
Asked about the incident, two GOP delegates said they were unfamiliar with it. A third said he would prefer to talk about Trump's assassination attempt.
Rudy Giuliani still fighting the not-so-good fight
Perhaps it's time for former New York Mayor and Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani to get over the 2020 election.
Speaking on the convention floor, A.J. Bayatpour, a reporter at WDJT-TV (Channel 58), asked Giuliani what he tells Milwaukeeans after he tried unsuccessfully to throw out all the absentee ballots in Dane and Milwaukee counties after the 2020 election.
"I did that because I was trying to help you deal with a crooked election," responded Giuliani, who was recently disbarred in his home state of New York. Giuliani is also facing criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona over his role in the effort to overturn the 2020 election.
He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
My Journal Sentinel colleague Mary Spicuzza responded to Giuliani's comments on X: "The 2020 election results in Milwaukee were confirmed by a recount, and investigations found no widespread voter fraud in Wisconsin's largest city. (Or elsewhere in Wisconsin.)"
Case closed.
Rudy Giuliani news: Former New York City mayor, Trump lawyer takes a fall at the 2024 RNC inside Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum
Derrick Van Orden is back in the news
Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden just can't seem to avoid controversy.
On Tuesday, the Prairie du Chien Republican accused an anti-war protester of assault during an incident in downtown Milwaukee during the convention. Milwaukee police say they are investigating the incident.
For now, it is a he-said, she-said story.
Van Orden stated on X that he was “assaulted” by a member of Code Pink in what “appears to be an incident of political violence." He then described the group, which opposes the war in Gaza, as a "pro-Hamas" organization.
Van Orden, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, told Wisconsin delegates that he "has been hit harder from air coming out of a blow dryer."
Code Pink identified the woman as the group’s Palestinian campaign organizer, Nour Jaghama. The group said Jaghama, whom they described as "visibly Palestinian," was "intentionally bumped into” by Van Orden "while he tried to shove past her."
Last year, Van Orden gained national attention for cursing out a group of teen Senate pages for lying on the Capitol Rotunda floor to photograph the dome. He has not denied yelling at the teens, adding that he was upset because the Rotunda was used as a field hospital in the Civil War.
Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or [email protected]. Follow him on X at @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 5 takeaways RNC Day 2: Speakers say God saved Trump from sniper
