Blogger Candidate Forum: RNC Convention Night Two

 

Scenes from Night Two of the RNC Convention
tvline.com

Hello Everyone:

The Blogger Candidate Forum is back today with a wrap up of Night Two of the Republican National Convention.  Night Two mercifully dialed down the volume in an effort to present a more positive message of what a platform-less second Trump administration would like, after yesterday's vision of pending doom and gloom under a Biden-Harris administration.  The evening featured Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, First Lady Melania Trump, and two more Trump progeny Eric and Tiffany Trump.  Thus far, convention programming demonstrated the president's flaunting of generally accepted political norms, blurring the lines between government and politics--staging some of the main components of the convention at the White House.  The evening's speakers tapped into the culture war issues from the first Trump campaign to rally his base. Before we go any further, a quick question, Are you a registered voter?

If you are a registered voter, good for you.  You might want to consider signing up for ballot tracking if you plan to vote by mail.  If you are not a registered voter, stop reading, go usa.gov, register to vote, then come back.  Do plan you plan to mail in ballot?  Make absolutely sure your ballot is postmarked by midnight, October 15th.  If you can safely vote in person, pack your provisions, get in line, and stay in line.  Whatever you do, make sure you have a plan.  Text VOTE to 30330.  Thank you.  Carrying on

First Lady Melania Trump
White House
vox.com

In her key note address, FLOTUS struck an empathetic tone for a nation still grappling with the ravages of COVID-19.  Her speech stood from the other remarks which, for the most part, avoided a central issue that will weigh heavily on voters' mind. She spoke from the White House Rose Garden, addressing the twin overarching issues--pandemic and protest--telling the viewers,

I want to acknowledge the fact that since March, our lives have changed drastically.  The invisible enemy, COVID-19, swept across our beautiful country and impacted all of us... (npr.org; Aug. 26, 2020)

Without explicitly acknowledgment of the massive scale of the virus' toll--more than 178,000 American have died so far--FLOTUS demonstrated more empathy than her husband has since March.  She said,

My deepest sympathy goes out to everyone who has lost a loved one...I know many people are anxious and some feel helpless.  I want you to know are not alone (npr.org; Aug. 26, 2020)

Touching on the racial unrest, FLOTUS continued,

It is a harsh reality that we are not proud of parts of our history...I also ask people to stop the violence and looting being done in the name of of justice, and never make assumptions based on the color of a person's skin (Ibid)

Banal but it is something.  In an attempt to humanize her husband, FLOTUS delivered one of the least self-aware remarks that made Nikki Haley's remarks about the president not being a racist and Herschel Walker's description of the president as devoted family plausible by comparison.  FLOTUS reminded the viewers that her husband is a champion for people who felt alienated from government and would do it again.  She went on to describe her husband a what you see is what you get person:

Total honesty is what we as citizen deserve from our president...Whether you like it or not, you always know what he is thinking (Ibid)

Does Melania Trump even know her husband?

Lawrence "Larry" Kudlow
youtube.com

Top Trump economic adviser, Lawrence "Larry" Kudlow, offered a more rosy view of the economic impact of COVID-19--despite "more than 20 million still unemployed and many retail and hospitality industries on the verge of collapse" (Ibid).  Mr. Kudlow enthused,

We've hit a turning point.  And now the recovery has begun (Ibid)

This myopic assessment contradicts the fact that the Trump administration has acknowledged that individuals and businesses still need more federal assistance. Mr. Kudlow gushed,

All signs point to a self-sustaining recovery (Ibid).

Mr. Kudlow, how can you say the nation is in recovery mode, when 20 million people are still without jobs, businesses have collapsed, and there is still no concrete plan for economic recovery?

Naturalization ceremony at the White House
nbcnews.com

Ever the showman, Mr. Donald Trump would not let the COVID-19 pandemic deny him a spectacle.  What better place better to put on a big show politics than the White House?

Typically, political event, like a convention, are held off campus to avoid questions about violations of the Hatch Act-which prohibits federal employees from working on political campaigns--were waived.  The White House legal counsel underscored the point by reiterating that the Hatch Act does not apply to the president and vice president, however past presidents from both parties have refrained from overtly political activities on White House grounds.  Nevertheless, political norms and the Trump administration operate in parallel universes.

In two separately taped video segments that were surprise additions to the convention, the president witnessed a naturalization ceremony, in the East Room, administered by acting Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf.  The president used the moment to announce a presidential pardon.  Both episodes fogged the lines between typical White House business and political theater.  The spectacle reaches its grand finale on Thursday, when the president gives his acceptance speech from the White House South Lawn.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from Jerusalem, Israel
nydailynews.com

Following his president's lead, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also broke with precedent, to become the first American diplomat to participate in a convention in modern history.  Secretary Pompeo delivered his speech from Jerusalem, "where he was on a taxpayer-funded trip as part of his duties as secretary of state" (npr.org; Aug. 26, 2020).  In his remarks, he noted that the president took evangelical-approved action by moving the American embassy to Jerusalem.

Eric and Tiffany Trump
cbsnews.com

 America in 2020 is a nation divided with a small margin of voter still undecided in the weeks of the election cycle.  The president needs his loyal base to turn out in big numbers this November.  To bolster those numbers, Tuesday evening's program featured two people that rowed against the media for ignoring them and the issues they care about.

One of the featured speakers was the president's middle son Eric.  Mr. Trump rowed at the media who he said,

...mocked these patriots--and 'the flyover states' in which they lived.  They ignored the Trump flags  (Ibid)

Trump. Flags?  Would someone please explain

Nicholas Sandmann, the Catholic senior whose encounter with Indigenous activist Nathan Phillips last winter at a protest near the Lincoln Memorial launched widespread media coverage.  The circumstances of the interaction were widely misrepresented. He spoke about being "canceled."

The president's youngest daughter Tiffany Trump, said the media and technology platforms often misrepresent the true character of the nation.  She said,

If you tune in the media, you one biased opinion or another,... And if what you share does not fit into the narrative they seek to promote, then it is either ignored or deemed a 'lie,' regardless of the truth.  This manipulation of what information we receives impedes our freedom (npr.org; Aug. 26, 2020)

Is Tiffany Trump aware that the conservative media and technology platforms are guilty of doing the exact same thing she accuses the liberal platforms of?

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron
nytimes.com

In an attempt to boost the president's support among African American voters and the Republicans' image with minorities, Tuesday's lineup featured an array of young and minority speakers.  This was a concerted effort to counter the Democrats' narrative that president's policies have had mostly negative on African American and LatinX communities.

One the speakers, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, took issue with one of VPOTUS Joe Biden's early comments which he assumed the African American voters were a monolith.  Mr. Cameron told the viewers,

Mr. Vice President, look at me.  I am Black,... We are not all the same, sir.  I am not in chains.  My mind is my own, and you can't tell how to vote because of the color of my skin (npr.org; Aug. 26, 2020)

Forceful comments but they may have been undermined by criticism of his office's failure to properly investigate the death of Breonna Taylor.

What is on deck this evening?  Vice President Mike Pence is set to give his acceptance speech from Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland and Thursday is the grand finale.  As always, The Candidate Forum is for you.  Next week, Blogger will be back.