Author: Staff

January 6 curtain call: Takeaways from the third day of programming at Trump’s RNC pageant of fealty

Republicans were welcoming JD Vance as Donald Trump’s running mate on the same night devoted to blasting President Joe Biden’s leadership on the world stage. The 39-year-old Ohio senator accepted the vice presidential nomination on July 17. He was offered his exaggerated life story as a son of Appalachia, reaffirming Trump’s connections to Americans who align with Christian Nationalism and feel alienated socially, economically, and politically. But even as Republicans talked of Vance as a potential heir to the “Make America Great Again” movement, Day 3 programming at the Republican National Convention made clear that Trump – a convicted...

Read More

Political Optics: A visual look at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

Thousands of Republican delegates officially made Donald Trump their party’s presidential nominee on July 15, just days after he survived a brush with gun violence. The shooting hung over the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where prominent GOP officials and everyday citizens from around the country spoke to the radical party faithful. They made their case for Trump – a criminally convicted ex-president and adjudicated rapist – to return to the White House, and savaged Democratic President Joe Biden with blistering attacks. Appearing in public for the first time since a bullet grazed his ear, Trump entered the...

Read More

Republicans lean into Trump’s immigration and border message on second day of National Convention

Immigration took center stage as the Republican National Convention resumed on July 16 in Milwaukee, with speakers spotlighting a key element of the convicted felon and former President’s political brand that helped endear Donald Trump to the radical GOP base when he began his first campaign in 2015. Among the speakers on July 16 were families who had been impacted by violent crime, part of the GOP’s political propaganda that seeks to falsely link crime to border policies. Immigration has long been one of Trump’s banner issues, as he has criticized the unprecedented number of migrants entering the country...

Read More

Fatal shooting by Ohio police officers beyond the RNC jurisdiction fuels anger with Milwaukee residents

Ohio police officers in Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention shot and killed a Milwaukee man on July 16, fueling anger from residents who questioned why out-of-state officers were in their neighborhood located about a mile from the convention site. The man was shot by five officers with the Columbus, Ohio, police department, according to a statement released by that city’s police division. Thousands of officers from multiple jurisdictions are in Milwaukee providing additional security for the convention that began July 15 and concludes on July 18. The Columbus Police Department, as well as the chief of staff for...

Read More

Protesters have a stage to speak from but no audience just one day after downtown march on the RNC

A city park designated for protesters at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee was almost empty on the second day of the event, July 16. Police officers on bicycles and event staff in orange shirts were present at Zeidler Union Square, but no speakers had shown up by early afternoon. The park is less than a mile from where the convention is being held and one of two set aside for protesters by the city. The quiet scene came a day after the March on the RNC coalition of protesters marched through downtown streets advocating for reproductive rights, solidarity...

Read More

GOP delegates cheer the nomination of a convicted felon for president with JD Vance as running mate

Cheering GOP delegates formally nominated Donald Trump for president, despite being a convicted felon, as the Republican National Convention kickoff on July 15, less than two days after his brush with gun violence at a political rally. Their vote made it official that Trump, who has long been the presumptive nominee, will lead the GOP in a third consecutive election. The winner in 2016, he lost to current President Joe Biden in 2020. In November, he will again face Biden. Hours after the vote, Trump chose Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate, picking a onetime critic...

Read More