RNC 2024: Parties, Protests & Proclamations in Milwaukee

The Republican National Convention ended with speeches from former United States President Donald J. Trump and his choice for vice president, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, but it began with a lot of speeches, press conferences, parties, and protests. The Atlanta Voice was in Milwaukee for coverage of the quad-annual convention. At the end of the four days Trump is the Republican party’s unanimous choice to represent the GOP in the upcoming presidential election on November 5. The Democratic National Convention where United States President Joseph R. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to be nominated as their party’s choices to continue representing as POTUS and VP, scheduled to take place in Chicago from August 19-22. The Atlanta Voice will be there to cover that convention as well.

On Wednesday night the theme of the conference was “Make America Safe Again.” Along with Vance and his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance, who introduced her husband that night, there were several speakers with military service backgrounds that spoke of the border being less secured under the current administration and “making America safe again.”

“Choose a new path for our children and grandchildren,” said Vance, a father of three, during his first speech as the vice president nominee. “My message to you, my fellow Republicans, is that we love this country and we are united to win.”

He went on to talk about his background, first as a poor child and next as a young United States Marine. A graduate of Ohio State University and Yale Law School, Vance stuck with the script and talked up Trump and talked down Biden and Harris.

“Tonight we celebrate that he is our once and future President of the United States of America,” Vance said of Trump to much applause.

The final theme of the convention was “Make America Great Once Again.” Here’s to seeing what that looks like as both the Biden-Harris administration and Trump/Vance ticket ramp up their respective campaigns.

Protest and Proclamations

While former United States President Donald J. Trump was receiving an overwhelming nod from the Republican National Committee during the official roll call of the states and his vice president selection, Republican Senator J.D. Vance (Ohio) earned a unanimous nomination from the party hundreds of protesters filled Red Arrow Park in downtown Milwaukee on Monday, July 15.

Located just two miles from Fiserv Forum where the Republican National Convention began the first day of a four-day quadrennial celebration of Republican politics and ideals, the protest was hosted by the Coalition to March on the RNC. Over 100 organizations signed up to attend and speak during the rally, according to Coalition leaders.

Chants of “Free, free Palestine” and “From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go” rang out during the anti-Trump, anti-establishment rally. The organizations plan to gather again during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, according to a number of organization spokesmen.

The spokesperson for the Milwaukee Democratic Socialists of America, Dominick Williams, took a moment to address Trump’s comments about Milwaukee being an “awful city” by saying, “He called this a horrible city, but many of our ancestors called this the good land. We believe in the power of people.”

Alongside Williams and the Democratic Socialists of America were speakers from the New Orleans Students for Democratic Society, the Youth Democratic Socialists of America, the Homegrown Organizing Committee, the Denver Anti-War Action, American Party of Labor, which was one of several pro-union organizations in Milwaukee on Monday, the Milwaukee League of Anarchists, Detroit Anti-War Committee, a student-led organization at Wayne State University, the Freedom Socialists Party, and the Green Party of Greater Milwaukee.

There were also pro-Trump and anti-Black Lives Matter supporters at the park during the rally. One man that wasn’t a part of either group, but was pro-Trump was Albany, Georgia resident Billy Pollard, who was selling Trump bumper stickers for a dollar across the street from the park. Pollard, 62, drove to Milwaukee from Georgia to support the former president. He said he voted for Trump twice and was planning to do so again in November.

“Donald Trump brings me here because he’s a great man that keeps his word,” said Pollard who wore one of his Trump bumper stickers on the front of his navy blue t-shirt. when asked why he was in Milwaukee on Monday. “Promises made, promises kept. He gets things done and he gets them done fast.”

‘America is not a racist country’

After Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took the stage on night one of the Republican National Convention the next three speakers were all Black men. Current Lt. Governor of North Carolina Mark Robinson, Texas Congressman Wesley Hunt, and Congressman John James of Michigan’s 10th District all spoke about their personal stories, the importance of voting this November, and why former United States President Donald J. Trump is the best choice for president.

Robinson, the first Black Lt. governor in the history of North Carolina, led things off by telling a story about growing up poor as the ninth of 10 children in North Carolina. “There is hope and I’m living proof,” said Robinson, who is running for a gubernatorial campaign for his state’s seat this fall. Robinson went on to say the country’s economics were better during the first Trump administration and that Republican voters have to help put him back in office this November.

“Under President Trump the American dream was alive and well,” he said. “This November lets select the Braveheart of our time, Donald J. Trump.”

Robinson was followed by Texas Congressman Wesley Hunt , who was one of the politicians that attended the barbershop small business forum in Atlanta last month. Hunt, a veteran of the United States military, who said he was a great, great grandson of a slave, said 65% of Americans are living “paycheck to paycheck” and that was because of Biden and Harris.

“On November 5, we the people can fix the Democratic disaster,” Hunt said of the current economy under the Biden-Harris administration. “We can fix this disaster by electing Donald John Trump and sending him back to where he belongs in the White House.”

“We must win in November to take our country back,” Hunt said.

Congressman John James of Michigan, also a veteran, followed Hunt onto the stage and shared the story of how his father grew up in Starkville, Mississippi and couldn’t even dream of attending Mississippi State University because of Jim Crow. Despite that injustice and racism, James said he was raised by his parents that America was not a racist country.

United States Senator Tim Scott followed a bit later and upon taking the stage asked the crowd, “Are you ready for four more years of Donald Trump?”

Scott began by talking about the attempted assassination attempt of Trump on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. He told the crowd that if they didn’t believe in miracles before Saturday they better believe now.

“We are not setting the course for the next four years, we are setting the course for the next 40 years,” Scott said. “We are the Republican Party of Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and Donald Trump.”

Byron Donalds, Congressman out of Florida, took the stage to massive applause. He was there to close the Black portion of the evening’s speakers. Wearing a red tie and navy blue suit, Donalds stayed on brand and spoke mostly about the value of education.

“Donald Trump believes every parent deserves a choice and every child deserves a chance,” Donalds said. “If there was ever a time in our nation to come together, that time is now. With Trump our economy will boom again. Together we will make America great again.”

Scott said he always gets in trouble for saying this but he was going to say it again anyway: “America is not a racist country,” said Scott.

If you take the speaker lineup on night one of the Republican National Convention as proof, at least we can all agree that the Republican Party is doing a better job of proving that it is not.

The New Mavericks

Whether it is a plan or an ironic coincidence, the movement to put Black Republicans out front this week continued on Tuesday afternoon at a boutique hotel in the Walkers Point section of the city. “The New Mavericks’ ‘are how Black Republican leadership around the country are being described, at least this week during the party’s largest event of the year. The Black Republican Mayors Association and the Georgia Republican Party hosted the event which featured talking points from the organization’s Chairman Aurora, Illinois Mayor Richard Irvin, Republican National Convention (RNC) Georgia delegates Bruce LeVell, Rufus Montgomery, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and congressmen Byron Donalds (FL), Wesley Hunt (TX), John James, (MI) and Burgess Owens (UT). Each of whom took turns making sure to say that Trump is the right man to lead the country out of its current financial and spiritual malaise.

“To bring our country back from Marxism and socialism,” Burgess said. “We will be the communities that bring our country back from the abyss.”

Day two of the Republican National Convention, which takes place at Fiserv Forum, starts in the early evening, which gives delegates, surrogates and supporters of the Republican Party and its nominees for president and vice president, former United States President Trump and Ohio Senator JD Vance a chance to gather for events. The Black Republican Mayors Association event felt very much like a carryover from last night’s speeches at the RNC from Black politicians, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, Hunt, Donalds, James, and Scott, who said during his speech last night that “America is not a racist country.”

This was the first time the Black Republican Mayors Association and Georgia Republican Party worked together to put on an event like this, according to many of the men that took to the outdoor stage at the hotel.

“Our movement cannot be stopped,” said Scott. “The needs of the people will be met.”

“You represent a dream of mine,” Burgess said of seeing so many Black Republican leaders in one space on one accord.

Georgia Republican Party Chairman Joshua McKoons, one two white men that was on stage that afternoon, said it was too bad it took so long for the two organizations to come together like this. “The best time to start is now, right here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”

Irvin, the mayor of a town of just under 182,000, according to data provided by Data USA , said the politicians were there to talk about the future of our country. “I am a Republican mayor in a blue city in a blue state getting things done,” said Irvin.

Montgomery, who opened the conversation by welcoming everyone to the event, was more up front about why this event was planned and ultimately took place. He said Irvin wanted to “get some Black folks together at the RNC,” he joked.

The old saying goes, “Many a true word is said in jest” and even though Montgomery was joking there was truth in what he said.

Cynthia D. Blake, the assistant to Chairman for African American engagement for the Summit County Republican Party in Akron, Ohio believes more events like this need to take place in order to change how Black voters feel about the GOP.

“I’m here today to support what the mayors do across the country because I understand what they do is important,” Blake explained. “I want to get the Republican Party to understand that it has to do more to support the inner cities.”

Dressed in red and white, Milwaukee County Republican Party 2nd Vice Chair Cindy Weaver said she too was here to represent a different ideal of the Republican Party.

“I’m here to encourage and promote individuals that work to expand the Republican Party,” she said.

There was no sighting of GOP superstar surrogate Amber Rose on Tuesday afternoon.

Night 2: Senate or Bust

The United States Senate was on the mind of the Republican National Committee on night two of the Republican National Convention Tuesday night. Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate and current senatorial candidate Kari Lake joined a host of other Republican senatorial candidates in denouncing the job the Biden-Harris administration has done the past three and a half years. Lake and the others were looking to reinforce the need for Republican voters to help the GOP get a majority in the Senate , something that can go a long way to reaching goals like Project 2025, for example.

“Americans are much more united than you may believe,” said Lake during her speech, which also included pot shots at the “fake news” media. “You guys up there in the fake news have worn out your welcome,” she said.

The speeches that were supposed to unify Americans of both parties, at least on this night, included takedowns from senatorial candidates galore. Wisconsin’s Eric Horde, who is running against Senator Tammy Baldwin, who has held her seat for over a decade, said, “Where Biden and Baldwin have failed, President Trump and I will succeed.”

Bernie Moreno of Ohio followed Horde on stage and commenced to denounce illegal immigrants despite his parents getting him and his siblings to the United States from their native Colombia when they were children. “Many years ago my parents brought me and my siblings to this country legally,” Moreno said with an emphasis on the word “legally.”

He spent the bulk of his five minutes on stage blaming the Biden-Harris administration for illegal immigrants entering this country. Moreno is running against Senator Sherrod Brown, a very popular and longtime member of the Senate. “A vote for Trump/Moreno is a vote to put America first,” Moreno said before leaving the stage and making way for Mike Rogers and David McCormick.

Rogers, is a senatorial candidate in Michigan and McCormick, whose wife Dina Powell was the Deputy National Security Advisor during the Trump administration, is running against longtime Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey. The same talking points would be repeated by Republican senatorial candidates Jim Banks (Indiana), Sam Brown (Nevada), Tim Sheehy (Montana) and Hung Cao (Virginia).

After making a pronoun joke, Sheehy, who is running against Jon Tester, said, “Jon Tester is the deciding vote for Biden’s America last agenda.”

Cao, a retired U.S. Navy veteran of 25 years, moved to the U.S. with his parents as a child and referred to the United States of America as having “saved my life.” His military experience is something he wears on his sleeve and is often mentioned during his public speaking appearances. “We will vote for love of God, love of family, and love for the greatest country on Earth,” he said. “I’m not done fighting for us.”

Former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Florida Senator Rick Scott, and Lara Trump, the Republican National Committee, also spoke on Tuesday night.

Day 3: Project 2025 is at top of mind of Biden-Harris administration

The Biden-Harris campaign held a press conference at an office building in downtown Milwaukee on Wednesday morning. The presser focussed on a number of hot political topics, including Project 2025. Biden-Harris Principal Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Texas Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-16) spoke to the media about what took place on day two of the Republican National Convention a night before, immigration, reproductive rights, and Project 2025. “The Republicans yesterday and the day before have lied constantly to the American people,” Fulks said. “They’ve lied about positions on reproductive freedom, they have doubled down on harmful positions about everything. They’ve lied about crime statistics, they’ve lied about the economy, today we are going to hear them lie about foreign policy.”

Fulks said the campaign has plans to focus on all of those topics and others through November. United States Vice President Kamala Harris was in Kalamazoo, Michigan Tuesday afternoon. United States President Joseph R. Biden was in Las Vegas at the annual NAACP Convention.

“The Republicans are lying to the American people about virtually every single issue that impacts their lives,” Fulks said.

Fulks added that the campaign’s need to make sure voters understand what Project 2025 aims to change if put into place under a second Trump administration.  He said, “it is extremely important for us. Our whole thing has been that this election has a choice, and that there are two very different visions for this country.”

Alongside Fulks and the politicians on stage was Amanda Zurawski, a Texas woman that experienced a near-death abortion due to a complicated pregnancy. Zurawski shared her story of having to wait to have an abortion after her and her husband were alerted by their doctor that the baby girl, Zurawski’s name her Willow, had passed away in utero.

“I want to speak to the women of America, we are sounding the alarm,” Escobar said. “There is much at risk for all of us. There is only one body that can change our outdated immigration laws and that’s Congress.”

A similar press conference focussing on Project 2025 took place in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon. Longtime Georgia Representative Hank Johnson, Georgia State Senator Sonya Halpern, and Georgia State Representative Derrick Jackson were on hand to talk to the media.

Asked if this was a coordinated effort by the Biden-Harris campaign, Fulks said that Trump is going to use Project 2025 to gut checks and balances, get rid of the Department of Education, and implement a nationwide abortion ban. “So we are going to continue to talk about [it] every single day,” Fulks said.

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