On the third night of the Republican National Convention, themed “Make America Strong Once Again,” Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) gave his first address since becoming former President Donald Trump‘s running mate. He spoke of unity and of the working class and gave a message of hope after Saturday’s assassination attempt against Trump.
“As we meet tonight, we cannot forget that this evening could have been much different. Instead of a day of celebration, this could have been a day of heartache and mourning,” the Ohio senator said. “For the last eight years, President Trump has given everything he has to fight for the people of our country. He didn’t need politics, but the country needed him.”
Though some have been skeptical of Trump’s choice in Vance, given that he doesn’t reach out to a significantly different part of the Republican base than Trump himself, RNC delegates told the Washington Examiner they like him.
“I’m getting to know him better,” said Clint Pate, a Florida delegate from Jackson County. Pate called Vance “a real conservative, and a lot of people like him.”
Before Vance took the state, Donald Trump Jr. and his daughter Kai, who made her political debut last night, took the stage and portrayed a personal image of Trump.
“The media makes my grandpa look like such a different person, but I know who he is. He’s very caring and loving,” Kai said.
In one of the most emotional moments of the night, Gold Star families recalled when an ISIS-K suicide bomber attacked Hamid Karzai International Airport’s Abbey Gate during the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
“[Biden] let my son down. He let the 13 down. He let the 45 wounded down. He let those 174 civilians down. He let our country down,” Kelly Barnett, the mother of Marine Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, 31, said.
“While Joe Biden has refused to recognize their sacrifice, Donald Trump spent six hours in Bedminster with us,” said Christy Shamblin, who was the mother-in-law of the late Sgt. Nicole Ghee.
Peter Navarro also made his post-prison debut last night. He was released from a Miami correctional facility earlier in the morning, and by the evening, he was telling the crowd, “I went to prison so you won’t have to.”
Click here to read more RNC coverage from Mabinty Quarshie, David Sivak, Cami Mondeaux, Haisten Willis, and Naomi Lim.
President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that he is experiencing “mild symptoms.” He canceled a speech he was scheduled to give and headed to Delaware, where he will self-isolate. Within hours of announcing the diagnosis, the president used it to fundraise in a post on X.
The diagnosis comes after Biden said one of the only reasons he would drop out of the 2024 race is if doctors diagnosed him with a new condition.
“If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if doctors came to me and said, you got this problem and that problem,” the president said during an interview with BET’s Ed Gordon when asked if there is anything that could make him change his decision to run.
Biden is reportedly considering invoking changes to the Supreme Court, which include term limits for justices and a binding code of ethics. Many of these changes have been floated by Democrats since the 6-3 Republican-appointed majority on the court took shape. With Biden’s popularity taking hits, this could be more of a Hail Mary move to gain favor with his left flank than a serious policy position, reports Kaelan Deese.
“We all realize the kind of electoral nightmare Joe Biden is living right now,” said Carrie Severino, president of judicial advocacy group JCN and a former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas. “But this is not going to solve it, and he seems to be throwing a bone to some of the top ticket items of left-wing dark money groups, maybe trying to help, hoping to reassure or reinvigorate some of his donors, who I’m sure are concerned at this point. But there’s no way this is going to happen.”
It’s not clear what kind of term limits Biden would propose, though there’s already legislation in the House from Democrats for an 18-year limit on justices. An ethics code has also been suggested by some congressional Democrats, such as Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), particularly after a ProPublica investigation last year accused Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito of violations despite there being no clear indications their decisions were connected to third parties.
If Biden chooses to go the route of passing this legislation through Congress, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) has already said these policy proposals have “no chance.” They would need to pass through the Republican-controlled House and receive 60 votes in the Senate. If he decides to issue them in an executive order, it would likely be challenged on its constitutionality.
Click here to read more on the challenges this proposal would face.
Trump’s team has been wielding the Supreme Court’s July 1 opinion that evidence of presidential acts cannot be used to prosecute presidents in his cases in Washington, D.C., and Florida and to toss out his conviction in Manhattan, Ashley Oliver reports. Conservative legal analyst Andy McCarthy told Ashley that the broad opinion “gives Trump a real opportunity.”
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche will argue that most of the evidence being brought in the Washington case about Jan. 6 and the Florida case about classified documents is inadmissible now, diminishing what the prosecution can use to prove its case.
“If the grand jury process was so tainted and was so infected with inadmissible evidence, then certainly, you can make a motion to say the whole thing has to get kicked,” Blanche said in a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt.
Judge Juan Merchan, who is set to sentence Trump on Sept. 18 in the hush money case, is reviewing the Supreme Court’s ruling and has said it is possible sentencing might not be necessary if he decides improper evidence was used.
Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington is expected to begin striking evidence from prosecutor Jack Smith’s indictment in August.
Judge Aileen Cannon already dismissed the Florida classified documents case as a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The Georgia election interference case is on pause for a few months while an appeals court determines whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified.
Click here to read more about Trump’s legal strategy
Retired Army Capt. Sam Brown, the Republican candidate for Nevada’s Senate seat, which has been firmly held by a Democrat since 2019, is reminding voters he is not a career politician in hopes to flip the seat red. He only got into politics after his military career was cut short due to an ambush that left 30% of his body burned, Cami Mondeaux reports.
“I didn’t come up through the political system. I’m an outsider, a veteran who got wounded and came back,” Brown told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “I really thought the military was going to be my professional life. So [I’m] sort of discovering who I was supposed to be outside of the military when I couldn’t serve anymore.”
Despite losing in the primary in 2022, Brown said the National Republican Senatorial Committee encouraged him to run again this year because of his conservative record. Republicans see a real opportunity to flip the seat, especially with Trump consistently polling above Biden in the state.
However, Democrats remain hopeful with the dominance of incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) in the polls. They also criticized his stance on abortion, saying he has a “far-right agenda” to ban abortion even in the case of rape or incest. Brown has said his stance is in line with Trump’s, which maintains it’s an issue best left to the states.
Click here to read more about Sam Brown and the Nevada senate race.
Trump pivots on zoning, now calls it ‘a killer’ in push for more housing supply by Zach Halaschak
Biden sees Democratic groundswell turn against him as allies look to run out clock by Rachel Schilke and Ramsey Touchberry
‘Death march’: DNC delegates blast party plan to nominate Biden through virtual roll call by Samantha-Jo Roth
Left-wing billionaires behind astroturfed ‘grassroots’ operation attacking House GOP by Gabe Kaminsky
‘I’m sick’: Biden uses COVID-19 diagnosis as fundraising ploy against Trump donors by Emily Hallas
Authorities give updates on two injured Trump rally victims by Ashley Oliver
Jack Smith appeals dismissal of Trump classified documents case by Kaelan Deese
Democrats hear sirens about running Biden-Harris officials by Brady Knox
Biden’s schedule has been cleared since he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and is self-isolating in Delaware. The House and the Senate are also out. Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Fayetteville, North Carolina, for a campaign event.
Trump will take the stage to close out the RNC’s final night, themed “Make America Great Once Again.” He’s told Salena Zito he completely rewrote his speech following the attempted assassination on Saturday.