RNC Preview – Day 4, Thursday July 18

J.D. Vance Delivers His Vice Presidency Nomination Acceptance Speech. Photo by Jeramey Jannene

Three down, one to go.

The Republican National Convention is headed into its final day. The convention will end with a primetime speech by Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Wednesday’s program featured the vice presidential nomination acceptance speech of JD Vance. It also included speeches by Vance’s friend, Donald Trump, Jr. and Trump Jr’s daughter Kai Trump.

As he did the night before, Trump walked in at approximately 8 p.m. The campaign appears to be borrowing from professional sports broadcasts, capturing Trump walking through the bowels of the arena before appearing in front of the crowd to roarous applause. But unlike LeBron James, Trump entered to “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown.

Seated near Trump at various points were Speaker Mike Johnson, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, Senator Marco Rubio and several others.

The early speakers offered quite the contrast between one another. Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz took the stage to great applause and said he would be Trump’s top ally and would work on term limits, ending Congressional stock trading and banning elected officials from becoming lobbyists. He was followed by former U.S. Ambassador Callista Gingrich and her husband, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, whose speeches fell largely flat with the audience. Then the crowd went wild.

Trump advisor Peter Navarro, released earlier in the day from a multi-month federal prison stay for refusing to comply with a January 6 subpoena, took the stage and attacked Nancy Pelosi and Democrats. He said migrants were a mix of murderers, rapists and Chinese spies.

In a seven-minute speech that largely avoided politics and commanded more attention than most, 98-year-old Sgt. William Pekrul told the crowd that “America is still worth fighting for.”A World War II veteran who fought on D-Day in Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, Pekrul’s remarks were frequently punctuated by crowd chants of “USA, USA” and heavy applause. A Milwaukee native, Pekrul told the crowd that “America is the greatest nation in the history of the world.” You can watch his speech in its entirety on YouTube or learn far more from a 2019 interview with War Memorial Center CEO Dan Buttery. Pekrul assailed Biden’s border policies and the country’s exit from Afghanistan. “With President Trump back as command in chief, I would go back and reenlist today,” he told the crowd.

Many of the early speeches on border security. The theme for the evening was “Make America Strong Again.”

While the speeches have steered clear of it, and virtually any mention of Milwaukee, the local conversation about the convention is increasingly turning toward the economic impact: where is it?  Convention hosts want to see more locals come Downtown, but they also need delegates to travel beyond parties and shuttle buses. Employees of Major Goolsby’s took to humorously pitching Republicans to walk out of the security fencing after the convention, but few appeared to take them up on the offer.

Regardless of where they eat and drink, Wisconsin’s delegates are having a good time and think everyone else is enjoying Milwaukee. Well, except for Congressman Derrick Van Orden.

In other news, “The Daily Show” had a lame excuse for canceling, a Wisconsin violinist is entertaining guests at the convention, Trump took a tour of the convention floor and Sen. Ron Johnson thinks the free market will fix schools.

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Public Facing Events

• 5:45 p.m. – 10 p.m. – Official Session #5 – Fiserv Forum – Streamed live on Milwaukee City Channel and many television networks – Speakers are expected to be announced Thursday morning
• Free Day – Milwaukee Art Museum – The museum is offering free admission to the public during the convention

Private Delegate Events

• 7:30 a.m. – Prayer Breakfast – Faith and Freedom Coalition – Pfister Hotel – Closed Press
• 8 a.m. – Multi-State Breakfast & Speaking Program – New Hampshire GOP – Grand Geneva – Closed Press
• 9 a.m. – Louisiana Delegation Breakfast – Crowne Plaza Milwaukee South – Closed Press
• 9 a.m. – Reagan screening – Hilton Milwaukee City Center – Closed Press
• 11 a.m. – Delegation Lunch and Activity Day – Utah Republican Party – Whirly Ball Brookfield – Closed Pres
• 12 p.m. – Hispanic Leadership Coalition Reception – Iron Horse Hotel – Open Press
• 12 p.m. – Harley-Davidson Museum Lunch and Tour – Washington State Delegation – Open Press
• 12 p.m. – Reagan screening – Hilton Milwaukee City Center – Closed Press
• 2 p.m. – Early Primary State Reception – South Carolina, New Hampshire and Nevada GOP members – Red, White & Blue Bar – Closed Press
• 2 p.m. – Peter Navarro Book Signing – Winning Team Publishing – Convention Fest – Open Press
• 2 p.m. – Donald Trump, Jr. – Winning Team Publishing – Convention Fest – Open Press
• 3 p.m. – Reagan screening – Hilton Milwaukee City Center – Closed Press
• 4 p.m. – Salute to Pro-Israel Elected Officials – Republican Jewish Coalition – Location Undisclosed – Open Press
• 8 p.m. – The Blockchain Sessions: The Send-Off Session! – Location Undisclosed – Open Press