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GOP’s Scott Recounts Family Rise From Poverty: Convention Update

Donald Trump, Jr. casts November election as fight between free speech and censorship.

GOP’s Scott Recounts Family Rise From Poverty: Convention Update
Donald Trump Jr., executive vice president of development and acquisitions for Trump Organization Inc., speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., U.S. (Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Bloomberg)

Donald Trump, Jr. casts November election as fight between free speech and censorship. Nikki Haley steps back onto national stage. And President Donald Trump appears at convention with freed hostages.

There are 71 days until the election.

Other Developments:

GOP’s Tim Scott Recounts Family Rise From Poverty

Tim Scott of South Carolina, the Senate’s only Black Republican, said his family’s success gives him hope for the U.S.

Speaking at the GOP convention on Monday night, Scott recounted how his grandfather “had to cross the street if a white person was coming. He suffered the indignity of being forced out of school as a third grader to pick cotton, and he never learned to read or write.”

Scott said his own success shows how much the country has changed. His grandfather lived long enough, he said, to see Scott get elected to the U.S. House and later to the Senate.

“Our family went from cotton to Congress in one lifetime,” Scott said. -- Emma Kinery

Trump Jr. Casts November As Vote On Freedom of Speech (11:05 p.m.)

Donald Trump Jr. cast the November election as a fight between freedom of speech vs. a “radical left” that would censor conservatives.

Speaking at the Republican convention Monday night, the president’s oldest son continued on a theme he has repeatedly invoked. He argued that under Democrat Joe Biden, the “silent majority” would become the “silenced majority.”

“People of faith are under attack,” he said. “You’re not allowed to go to church, but mass chaos in the streets gets a pass. It’s almost like this election is shaping up to be church, work, and school vs. rioting, looting and vandalism -- or, in the words of Biden and the Democrats, ‘peaceful protesting.’”

Trump Jr. has been in high demand as a speaker on his president’s behalf over the last year, and frequently attacks his father’s opponents on Twitter.

GOP’s Scott Recounts Family Rise From Poverty: Convention Update

Nikki Haley Steps Back Onto National Stage (10:52 p.m.)

Nikki Haley, frequently mentioned as a possible 2024 presidential candidate, recounted removing the Confederate flag from the state capitol in South Carolina when she served as governor -- even though Trump has defended the rights of people to use the symbol that many see as racist.

“We made the hard choices needed to heal and removed a divisive symbol peacefully and respectfully,” Haley said of the move after nine Black people were massacred at a church in the city of Charleston in 2015.

In Haley’s remarks at the convention, Trump’s former United Nations ambassador re-introduced herself on a national stage -- briefly sketching her family biography, describing her background as the daughter of Indian immigrations and recounting how her mother built a business and her father taught at a historically black college.

GOP’s Scott Recounts Family Rise From Poverty: Convention Update

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is the first Black and Indian-American woman on a major presidential party ticket. -- Justin Blum

Trump appears with former detainees (10:38 p.m.)

President Donald Trump appeared a second time at the Republican convention from the White House with six former detainees freed during his presidency, each of whom praised his leadership in getting them out of foreign prisons.

“You took unprecedented steps actually to secure my release, and your administration really fought for me,” said Pastor Andrew Brunson, who was held in Turkey for two years on charges of espionage. “I think if you hadn’t done that I may still be in Turkey.”

Trump said his administration has brought back 50 detainees from 22 countries. “We worked very hard on it,” he said. “And I will tell you we are very proud of the job we did.”

Other detainees appearing with Trump included Michael White, arrested in Iran in 2018 and released after 683 days; Sam Goodwin, detained in Syria in 2019; Bryan Nerran, arrested in India in 2019; and Joshua and Tamara Holt, in Venezuela in 2016.

“There are a few more people we want to get back and we will get them back very soon,” Trump said. -- Gregory Korte

Republicans Seek to Counter Biden’s Message on Empathy (10:28 p.m.)

Several moments in the Republican convention’s first night sought to counter Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s message of empathy.

Ohio Representative Jim Jordan told a story of Trump speaking to his family on the phone after Jordan’s nephew was killed in a car accident.

“For the next five minutes, family and friends sat in complete silence, as the president of the United States took time to talk to a dad who was hurting,” he recalled. “That’s the president I know.”

Former pro-football player Herschel Walker said that he watched Trump treat “janitors, security guards and waiters the same way he would treat a VIP.”

Trump also held a discussion with frontline workers on the coronavirus pandemic, including a nurse, postal worker, police officer and truck driver.

Kimberly Guilfoyle Offers Passionate Defense of Trump (10:22 p.m.)

Kimberly Guilfoyle rallied viewers watching the first night of the Republican convention with an emphatic speech arguing that Democrats would undermine the country.

GOP’s Scott Recounts Family Rise From Poverty: Convention Update

Building to a dramatic shout that echoed around her in the empty hall, the former Fox News host said Democrats would “destroy your families, your lives, and your future.”

“If you want to see the socialist Biden/Harris future for our country, just take a look at California,” she said, arguing that Democrats “turned it into a land of discarded heroin needles in parks, riots in streets and blackouts in homes.”

Guilfoyle used to live in California and was married to now-Governor Gavin Newsom when he was mayor of San Francisco.

Guilfoyle, who is now dating Donald Trump Jr., is overseeing fundraising at the Trump Victory Finance Committee, the Trump campaign’s main fundraising committee.

Couple Who Waved Guns at Protesters Warn Against Democrats (10:08 p.m.)

The St. Louis couple who pointed guns at Black Lives Matters protesters in their community earlier this summer argued that Democratic policies would protect criminals instead of homeowners.

Speaking in a taped message, Mark and Patricia McCloskey said that they were singled out for defending themselves.

GOP’s Scott Recounts Family Rise From Poverty: Convention Update

“Not a single person in the out-of-control mob you saw at our house was charged with a crime,” Mark McCloskey said. “But you know who was? We were. They’ve actually charged us with felonies for daring to defend our home.”

St. Louis prosecutors charged the McCloskeys with unlawful use of a gun, arguing that they waved their weapons in a threatening manner at nonviolent protesters.

Democratic Lawmaker Praises Trump’s Record (9:50 p.m.)

Vernon Jones, a Democrat in the Georgia House of Representatives, argued Monday night that Trump has done more for Black Americans than many in his own party.

Jones said during the Republican National Convention that Trump has delivered gains for minorities in criminal justice, safety, school choice and support for historically Black colleges. Jones said his party has taken Black voters for granted and ostracized him for endorsing Trump.

“The Democratic Party does not want black people to leave their mental plantation,” Jones said. “We’ve been forced to be there for decades and generations.” -- Naomi Nix

Football Great Herschel Walker Vouches for Trump (9:42 p.m.)

Trump got a character reference from Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker, who told the Republican National Convention that he’s seen Trump’s concern for social justice up close since he played for Trump’s football team in 1983.

“It hurts my soul to hear the terrible names that people call Donald,” Walker said. “The worst one is ‘racist.’ I take it as a personal insult that people would think I would have a 37-year friendship with a racist. People who think that don’t know what they are talking about. Growing up in the Deep South, I’ve seen racism up close. I know what it is. And it isn’t Donald Trump.”

Walker won the Heisman as a running back for the University of Georgia and broke into the pros with the Trump-owned New Jersey Generals of the USFL, where he was the league’s most valuable player in 1985. After the league went bankrupt, he played for four NFL teams.

“Some people don’t like his style, the way he knocks down obstacles that get in the way of his goals,” Walker said. “People on opposing teams didn’t like it when I ran right over them either. But that’s how you get the job done.” -- Gregory Korte

Former Trump Fixer Breaks the Other Way in New Ad Campaign (9:28 p.m.)

President Donald Trump’s former fixer and personal attorney says his ex-client can’t be trusted in a new ad campaign set to launch during the Republican National Convention.

Michael Cohen, who went to prison in part for arranging hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the fall of 2016, is featured in digital, television and social media spots sponsored by AB PAC, the super-PAC arm of American Bridge 21st Century.

His account is the latest in a string of attacks on Trump’s character from people once close to him, including his niece Mary Trump who’s written a book sharply critical of his character.

“From family members to long-time confidants, those who know Donald Trump best are sounding the alarm about his character, honesty, and fitness for office,” said Bradley Beychok, the co-founder and president of American Bridge.

Cohen, who worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign, pleaded guilty in August 2018 to eight counts including tax evasion, bank fraud and a campaign finance violation. The latter count, the only one connected to Trump, involved a $130,000 payment made to Daniels arranged by Cohen to prevent her from making public allegations that she had had a sexual encounter with Trump.

Cohen, who once said he’d take a bullet to defend Trump, has written a book attacking him to be released in September. -- Bill Allison

Mark Meadows Campaigns, Maskless in Home State (8:47 p.m.)

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows campaigned for his boss without a mask Monday afternoon.

In video shared online by The Recount, a startup video news site, the former representative can be seen shaking hands, leaning in close to voters and even kissing cheeks at an outdoor Trump campaign event in North Carolina.

Meadows has argued against a national mandate on wearing masks, saying the decision should be left up to local and state officials.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued a statewide mask mandate in June which includes people in public spaces outdoors who cannot stay at least six feet away from strangers.

Kanye West Qualifies in Another State (7:53 p.m.)

Rapper Kanye West will appear on the Louisiana ballot in November, adding a sixth state to his quixotic bid for president.

He filed paperwork in Louisiana Friday that qualified him to be on the ballot, said Tyler Brey, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office. West has already qualified in at least Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah and Vermont, according to those states’ elections offices.

But he failed to meet a Monday deadline to submit the required signatures in Wyoming, Deputy Secretary of State Karen Wheeler said.

Last week, elections officials in Ohio, Illinois, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Montana decided that West wasn’t eligible, for various reasons, making it nearly impossible for him to win the Electoral College, even if he were polling above the meager numbers he’s seen so far.

Some Democrats charge that the bid by West, who had a highly public meeting with Trump in the Oval Office in 2018, is intended to siphon African-American votes from Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee. West did not deny the charge in an interview with Forbes magazine, saying he was “walking” and not running for president. -- Mark Niquette

Another Republican Official Turns Against Trump (6:36 p.m.)

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele rained on President Donald Trump’s parade Monday.

As the Republican National Convention got underway, the former top GOP official announced that he is joining Lincoln Project, a group of Republicans seeking to deny Trump a second term.

GOP’s Scott Recounts Family Rise From Poverty: Convention Update

Steele, who spoke at the 2008 and 2012 conventions, made the announcement on MSNBC Monday afternoon, saying that even as a former party chairman he’s “still an American” and could not support Trump.

The first African-American elected statewide in Maryland, Steele has not been shy about criticizing Trump, especially on his handling of race.

While Steele was joining, another prominent Trump critic, lawyer George Conway, was leaving. He tweeted Sunday that he would be leaving Lincoln Project to “devote more time to family matters.”

Republicans Hold Roll Call Live and in Person (1:19 p.m.)

The roll call at the Republican National Convention was held live from Charlotte, North Carolina, in a contrast to Democrats last week.

At midday Monday, delegates made short speeches about their states and territories before casting their votes for the president’s renomination.

The delegates spoke directly to the camera in front of a white backdrop with #RNC2020 on it.

It was a marked contrast from the montage Democratic delegates made from scenic places and landmarks around the country, some live, others pretaped, that grabbed attention for moments like Rhode Island’s, which featured a masked chef holding a platter of calamari.

That moment was so notable that even the Republican presentation Monday made a reference to it. “We put forth common-sense policies to help everyday Rhode Islanders, who love coffee milk and doughboys, dip their clam cakes in chowder, celebrate the nation’s oldest Fourth of July parade, cherish our memories of Rocky Point, light the water on fire, and yes, we eat a lot of calamari, Rhode Island-style,” said delegate Lee Ann Senick, a conservative talk show host.

Pompeo Plans Speech to Convention From Jerusalem (10:33 a.m.)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will use Jerusalem as the backdrop for a taped speech to the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, a highly unusual move for a sitting U.S. secretary of state.

Pompeo first announced plans to address the convention while abroad on his personal Twitter page over the weekend, saying that he is “Looking forward to sharing with you how my family is more SAFE and more SECURE because of President Trump.”

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program that no taxpayer dollars would be used “to pay for our convention” but didn’t comment directly when asked whether taxpayers would be reimbursed for portions of the cost of Pompeo’s trip.

The Trump administration is touting its close ties to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and its focus on isolating Iran as key foreign policy successes for President Donald Trump. Pompeo’s speech comes as the secretary is on a five-day trip to Israel, Sudan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. -- Kathleen Hunter

Trump Campaign Sets Ad Blitz for Convention (8:32 a.m.)

Trump’s re-election campaign made a seven-figure ad buy to flood digital channels during the four days of the Republican National Convention.

Starting Monday, the campaign said it would be running ads on the YouTube masthead, as well as on Facebook, Google and on streaming services like Hulu.

One of the main ads, titled “Fighting for the American Worker,” will focus on Trump’s record on the economy and his proposal to increase manufacturing jobs. The campaign said it also plans to release video clips of highlights from the convention throughout the week.

The campaign went all in with digital ads last week during the Democratic National Convention that were focused on attacking nominee Joe Biden. -- Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou

Former Lawmakers Join Republicans for Biden (8:11 a.m.)

Biden’s campaign announced Monday that 27 former Republican lawmakers, including former Senators Jeff Flake of Arizona and John Warner of Virginia, had joined Republicans for Biden, a national effort to enlist disenchanted GOP supporters behind the Democratic nominee.

GOP’s Scott Recounts Family Rise From Poverty: Convention Update

“In a strong rebuke to the current administration, these former members of Congress cited Trump’s corruption, destruction of democracy, blatant disregard for moral decency, and urgent need to get the country back on course as a reason why they support Biden,” the Biden campaign said in a statement. “These former members of Congress are supporting Joe Biden because they know what’s at stake in this election and that Trump’s failures as president have superseded partisanship.”

The list of 27 lawmakers joining Republicans for Biden also includes: former Senator Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire, along with former Representatives Steve Bartlett of Texas, Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, Bob Inglis of South Carolina, Ray LaHood of Illinois, Susan Molinari of New York, Connie Morella of Maryland, Peter Smith of Vermont and Jim Walsh of New York.

GOP’s Scott Recounts Family Rise From Poverty: Convention Update

The announcement came as the Republican National Convention is set to begin on Monday.

Flake frequently clashed with Trump while in the Senate before retiring in 2018. Last year, he wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post urging Republican senators to support President Donald Trump’s impeachment. -- Max Berley

2020 Republican Platform: Re-Elect Trump, Basically (6:44 a.m.)

The Republican National Committee will not adopt a new platform at the convention.

Citing concerns about debating a platform amid a smaller convention, the GOP has chosen to instead note in a resolution that it “enthusiastically supports President Trump” and his “America-first agenda.”

“The RNC, had the Platform Committee been able to convene in 2020, would have undoubtedly unanimously agreed to reassert the Party’s strong support for President Donald Trump and his Administration,” the resolution reads.

The Trump campaign, meanwhile, released a series of bullet points outlining its second-term agenda, including creating jobs, cutting taxes, developing a coronavirus vaccine, cutting prescription drug prices and hiring more police, among other things.

GOP Convention Will Be All in the Family

This week’s Republican convention won’t just be Trump’s, it’ll be the Trumps.

Each of the four nights of the convention will feature a member of the president’s immediate family.

Trump’s son Donald Jr. and his partner, Kimberly Guilfoyle, will speak Monday night.

First Lady Melania Trump and Trump’s son Eric and daughter Tiffany will speak Tuesday.

Eric Trump’s wife, Lara, will speak on Wednesday.

And Trump’s daughter Ivanka will introduce her father Thursday ahead of his acceptance speech as she did in 2016.

Last week’s Democratic National Convention also featured a speech from nominee Joe Biden’s wife, Jill; and appearances by daughter Ashley; son Hunter; and several grandchildren who appeared in videos and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Hatch Act Questions Raised Again by Convention Appearance

The White House lawyers who specialize in the Hatch Act have once again been called on.

Designed to stop executive branch employees from engaging in politics, the 1939 law has been cited by critics raising questions about White House adviser Ivanka Trump’s appearance at the Republican convention.

Although every White House faces questions about the law, the Trump administration has had a number of complaints about its tweets and media appearances.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, former White House official Dan Scavino, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Melania Trump spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham, and six other White House officials have all received warnings from the Office of the Special Counsel over tweets and retweets that were deemed political in nature.

Ethics groups also questioned Trump’s decision to accept the Republican nomination at the White House, but administration lawyers noted that the law does not apply to the president.

Coming Up:

The Republican national convention kicks off tonight with speeches from Donald Trump Jr., South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Ohio Representative Jim Jordan.

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