RNC 2024 Day 2: Focus shifts to immigration after Trump makes entrance

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Immigration took middle stage because the Republican Nationwide Conference resumed Tuesday, with audio system spotlighting a key aspect of former President Donald Trump ’s political model that helped endear him to the GOP base when he started his first marketing campaign in 2015.

Amongst audio system slated for Tuesday evening had been households who’ve been impacted by violent crime — a part of a GOP technique to hyperlink crime to frame insurance policies. They embody the household of Rachel Morin, a Maryland girl whom prosecutors say was killed and raped by a fugitive from El Salvador and whose story has been often highlighted by Trump on the marketing campaign path.

Immigration has lengthy been one among Trump’s banner points, as he has criticized the unprecedented variety of migrants getting into the nation illegally by way of the U.S. border with Mexico. The numbers of unauthorized crossings have fallen abruptly after President Joe Biden issued a rule suspending many asylum claims on the border.

At rallies and different marketing campaign occasions, Trump has pointed to examples of migrants who dedicated heinous crimes and has blamed migration for the trafficking of medication like fentanyl, though federal knowledge suggests many individuals smuggling fentanyl throughout the border are U.S. residents. He has vowed to hold out the biggest deportation operation in U.S. historical past.

Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric has additionally strayed into speaking factors not backed by proof, together with unfounded claims that migrants are getting into the nation to vote within the 2024 election.

Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the Home majority chief, made that assertion in his remarks, declaring, “Biden and Harris need illegals to vote now that they’ve opened up the border.”

Senate candidates who had been addressing the conference Tuesday not solely blamed Biden for the variety of migrants crossing the border, however simply as usually faulted Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Republicans have more and more centered on amid hypothesis that she may exchange Biden because the Democratic nominee after the president’s poor debate efficiency.

The GOP candidates, aware of their very own races, sought guilty their Democratic opponents as properly. Pennsylvania candidate David McCormick, for instance, tied in his challenger, Sen. Bob Casey, with the time period “Biden-Harris-Casey broad open borders.”

Kari Lake, the celebration’s Senate candidate in Arizona, caught to a message that appealed largely to the GOP base and her status as a former tv information anchor turned conservative firebrand. She blasted the “pretend information” for spending “the final eight years mendacity about President Donald Trump and his superb patriotic supporters.” She additionally blamed Biden and Democrats for the scenario on the U.S.-Mexico border, saying they’re “stuffed with dangerous concepts.”

Within the newest show of the celebration’s solidarity because it seems to be to tackle Biden in November, a number of of Trump’s fiercest GOP major rivals can even converse Tuesday. They embody former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

One rival turned staunch supporter was Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who ran in opposition to Trump in a bitter major in 2016 and later was booed when he appeared onstage at that yr’s conference, urging delegates “vote your conscience” as a substitute of endorsing the nominee.

On Tuesday, Cruz’s look mirrored his evolution when he opened his speech with, “God Bless Donald J. Trump.”

There have been safety incidents exterior the conference

Trump’s survival of an tried assassination Saturday at a rally in Pennsylvania was on the minds of many contained in the corridor. One of many delegates within the crowd might be seen with a folded white piece of paper over his ear — an obvious tribute to the bandage Trump wore when he entered the corridor Monday to a roaring crowd.

He was carrying it once more when he arrived Tuesday evening, showing even sooner than he did the evening earlier than. Trump entered a couple of minutes after his newly chosen operating mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

Scalise, who was injured in a politically motivated capturing in 2017 whereas he was practising for a charity baseball sport, spoke of his personal expertise when he touched on Trump’s assault.

“Whereas I used to be preventing for my life, Donald Trump was one of many first to come back to console my household on the hospital. That’s the form of chief he’s. Brave below fireplace, compassionate in the direction of others,” Scalise stated.

Within the wake of Saturday’s try on Trump’s life, there was a heightened concentrate on safety on the conference, which drew hundreds of individuals to downtown Milwaukee, together with numerous high-profile elected officers.

A person armed with an AK-47 pistol and carrying a ski masks was taken into custody Monday, the conference’s first day, close to the Fiserv Discussion board the place the conference is being held, a federal regulation enforcement official stated Tuesday.

The 21-year-old was arrested after being encountered by U.S. Capitol Police and Homeland Safety Investigations brokers who stated he was performing suspicious, in line with the official, who was not licensed to publicly focus on particulars of the continued investigation and spoke to The Related Press on situation of anonymity.

Police discovered the weapon in his backpack, the official stated.

On Tuesday, 5 Ohio cops who had been in Wisconsin for the conference shot a person who was in a knife struggle close to the conference, killing him, Milwaukee’s police chief stated.

The person who police shot had a knife in every hand and refused police instructions, Milwaukee Chief Jeffrey Norman stated at a information convention. Two knives had been recovered from the scene, the chief stated.

There’s rising anticipation for Trump’s speech

Trump and Vance had been anticipated to look within the corridor every evening of the conference. Vance is slated to talk Wednesday and Trump will converse Thursday.

Pennsylvania Republican Get together Chairman Lawrence Tabas stated he hoped the assassination try on Trump would reset the tone nationally, starting with Trump’s scheduled remarks Thursday.

“After a brush with demise, I do consider — going by way of that — that his message might be higher, and I believe will attraction to our higher feelings,” Tabas stated in an interview after the Pennsylvania GOP’s delegation breakfast in suburban Milwaukee.

Trump, who has lengthy decried rivals with harsh language and talked about prosecuting opponents if he wins a second time period, appeared poised to ship a extra toned-down speech. His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., stated in an Axios interview exterior the RNC that he spent three or 4 hours going by way of his father’s conference speech with him, “attempting to de-escalate a few of that rhetoric.”

“I believe it lasts,” the youthful Trump stated of the change in his father’s rhetoric. “There are occasions that change you for a pair minutes, and there are occasions that change you completely.”

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Swenson reported from Minneapolis. Fernando reported from Chicago. Related Press writers Steve Peoples, Jill Colvin, Meg Kinnard and Thomas Beaumont in Milwaukee and Michael Balsamo in Chicago contributed to this report.

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Observe the AP’s protection of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.