It’s Day 2 of the Republican National Convention. Here is your recap of yesterday’s kick off of events.
Cleveland in Chaos: The fireworks started on the floor of the convention Monday afternoon. Delegates of the #DumpTrump movement let their frustration be heard on the floor as they tried to force a roll call on the convention rules.
After delegates made a voice vote near impossible, the Chair Steve Womack simply passed the vote and walked off stage. Convention goers were furious stating that those in charge had in fact shut off the microphones of the Utah delegates and ignored proper convention procedure for point of order.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) was baffled as he spoke with C SPAN. He did not understand how the Chair could leave his post and ignore his delegation.
Source: CSPAN
One delegate was seen throwing his credentials on the floor saying, “I’m done.” Others questioned why they even bothered showing up.
One delegate from Minnesota told Star Tribune reporter Ricardo Lopez “I have no reason to be here.”
One Minnesota delegate, who asked not be named, is disappointed in the lack of roll call vote: “I have no reason to be here.” #RNCinCLE
— Ricardo Lopez (@rljourno) July 18, 2016
Roll Call Votes: The call for a Roll Call vote wasn’t only pushed by the #DumpTrump movement, but also those seeking transparency in the process.
Rick Rice, RNC Chairman-elect for Minnesota and a Minnesota delegate told Alpha News, “The Minnesota delegation voted to call for roll call vote from the floor on major issues that come before the convention at their morning briefing.”
He stated that the roll call vote by Minnesota delegates was simply for “transparency and voting. But nothing substantial with regard to end results.”
Sen. Mike Lee shared the same sentiments on transparency. The roll call movement had the eleven states needed for the call, Robert Gehrke of the Salt Lake Tribune tweeted that RNC and Trump staff went around and asked several delegates into recanting their signatures, so their state would fall below the threshold needed to count.
RNC staff have circulated in Utah and Washington delegations, asking them to take names off petition demanding floor vote on rules. #utpol
— RobertGehrke (@RobertGehrke) July 18, 2016
Minnesota was one of several states to recall their signatures that ultimately forced the measure to die. Several states walked off the floor in protest.
The Colorado and Maine delegation has walked out of the #RNCinCLE This going to be good folks
— People For Bernie (@People4Bernie) July 18, 2016
Trump Protesters: Cleveland Police officers had their hands full before the convention with anti Trump supporters. One Minnesota convention goer had a hard time getting into the arena. NBC News reported that Cleveland PD arrested two anti-Trump protesters and formed a human barricade between anti-Trump protesters and counter-protesters.
Credit: Theo Menon
According to Huffington Post, 100 women also protesting Donald Trump stood outside naked to “reprimand Trump’s words against women.”
The Trump Effect: Last night Donald Trump broke protocol by showing up and speaking on the first night of the convention by introducing his wife, Melania.
While he only spoke for a minute, his entrance spoke for itself, with many on social media comparing it to a WWE type introduction. Trump came out of a ray of light to Queen’s “We are the Champions.”
One can only wonder how Trump will be introduced Thursday night as he gives his acceptance speech.
Melania Plagiarizes? Social media was buzzing this morning with news that part of Mrs. Trump’s speech was very similar if not an exact copy of a portion of Michelle Obama’s speech at the DNC convention in 2008.
Source: POLITICO
The Trump campaign refused any wrongdoing despite pundits and those on social media calling for the immediate removal of the speechwriter. #MelaniaTrump and #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes were trending nationwide for the better part of the morning.
Make America Safe Again: The theme of day one of the convention brought out a host of famous faces. Minnesota delegate Barb Sutter tweeted that “it a very emotional night.” The convention not only paid tribute to the late former First Lady Nancy Reagan, but also had the mother of Sean Smith, who died in Benghazi.
Pat Smith took the stage and brought tears to delegates as she said “I blame Hillary Clinton.”
Marcus Luttrell received arguably the largest applause of the night as he sought to bring people together. The crowd chanted “lone survivor” as he took the stage. Luttrell seemed to call for all Republicans to come together and defeat Clinton in the fall as he stated “the only way we survive this is together, not apart.”
Source: CNN
Sheriff David Clarke also took the stage and received a standing ovation as he declared “Blue Lives Matter.”
Check back with Alpha News every day as we give daily recaps of the RNC Convention.
Preya Samsundar
Preya Samsundar was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities this Spring with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Strategic Communications. Preya has previously worked on several State Campaign Races.