Watch live: Republican National Convention — Night 3

FAN Editor

The Republican National Convention continues for its third night on Wednesday, with Vice President Mike Pence formally accepting the party’s nomination for reelection. The theme for Wednesday night was “Land of Heroes,” with some of the GOP’s rising stars such as Congressman Dan Crenshaw of Texas, Senator Joni Ernst, who’s facing a closely watched reelection fight, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem speaking. 

Speakers on the third night of the convention shared their personal experiences with Mr. Trump and continued to draw distinctions between the Trump administration and a potential Biden administration if Joe Biden were to win the White House in November.

Wednesday’s program comes amid unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot by a police officer Sunday. Two people were killed on Tuesday night, and a 17-year-old White teenager was arrested and charged with murder on Wednesday.

None of the speakers in the first hour and a half of remarks mentioned the situation in Kenosha directly, but several alluded to law enforcement’s support for Mr. Trump and condemned other protests that have continued in cities nationwide following the shooting of Black men and women by police.

Among the speakers was Michael McHale, a 27-year veteran of the Sarasota Police Department and president of the National Association of Police Organizations.

“The violence we are seeing in these and other cities isn’t happening by chance,” McHale said. “It’s the direct result of elected leaders refusing to allow law enforcement to protect our communities.”


How to watch the Republican National Convention tonight

  • What: Republican National Convention Night 3
  • Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2020
  • Convention coverage on CBSN: 5 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. ET
  • Convention speakers live on CBSN: 8:30-11 p.m. ET
  • Convention coverage on CBS stations: 10-11 p.m. ET
  • Post-convention coverage on CBSN: 11 p.m. ET
  • Online stream: Live on CBSN — in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device.

Clarence Henderson, a civil rights activist who participated in lunch counter sit-ins during the 1960s, praised Mr. Trump for doing “more for Black Americans in four years than Joe Biden has done in 50.”

“Freedom of thought is a powerful thing,” Henderson said. “There are African American voters all over the country who the media is trying to continue to confirm to the same old Democratic talking points. You know what that’ll get you? The same old results.”

Highlights from night 3 of the RNC

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem: America’s “founding principles are under attack”

South Dakota governor at RNC 05:21

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem opened her speech by saying the nation’s “founding principles are under attack.”

“This year, the choice for Americans is between a man who values these ideals and all that can be built because of them, and a man who isn’t guided by these ideals and coincidentally, has built nothing,” she said. 

Noem said that the government’s power comes only from the people, and the founders were careful to not give too much power to the federal government, keeping much of it with states. She then touched on a frequent theme for Republicans this year — violence in cities.  

“It took 244 years to build this great nation — flaws and all — but we stand to lose it in a tiny fraction of that time if we continue down the path taken by the Democrats and their radical supporters,” Noem said. “From Seattle and Portland to Washington and New York, Democrat-run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs. The violence is rampant. There’s looting, chaos, destruction, and murder. People that can afford to flee have fled. But the people that can’t – good, hard-working Americans – are left to fend for themselves.”

The governor ended her speech by saying President Trump is “fighting for you.” 

Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn: “Heroes can’t be canceled”

Blackburn focused her remarks on praising law enforcement and members of the armed services, saying they are the heroes “Democrats don’t recognize, because they don’t fit into their narrative.”

“Leftists try to turn them into villains,” the Tennessee senator said. “They want to ‘cancel’ them. But I’m here to tell you that these heroes can’t be canceled.”

Blackburn accused Biden and Kamala Harris, his running mate, of trying to “destroy these heroes because if there are no heroes to inspire us, government can control us.”

“If the Democrats had their way, they would keep you locked in your house until you become dependent on the government for everything,” she claimed. “That sounds a lot like Communist China to me — maybe that’s why Joe Biden is so soft on them. Why Nancy Pelosi says that ‘China would prefer Joe Biden.'”

Blackburn closed by lauding Mr. Trump for his defense of law enforcement and the military and said he has “made good on his promise to put America first.”

Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw: “We must become the heroes that we so admire”

Dan Crenshaw at RNC 03:42

Crenshaw, too, heralded the heroism of service members, but also extolled the work of health care workers tending to COVID-19 patients, parents assisting their children with school work and police officers.

“We need to remind ourselves what heroism really is,” Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, said. “Heroism is self-sacrifice, it’s not moralizing and lecturing over others when they disagree. Heroism is grace, not perpetual outrage. Heroism is rebuilding our communities, not destroying them. Heroism is renewing faith in the symbols that unite us, not tearing them down.”

The Texas congressman said voters can “decide right now that American greatness will not be rejected nor squandered.”

“As the American founding was grounded in individual liberty, so will be our future,” he said. “But if we are to rediscover our strength, then it must be an endeavor undertaken by each and every one of us. We must become the heroes that we so admire.”

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg: “The choice is clear”

Kellogg, national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, said that in working at the White House, he has witnessed foreign policy and national security decisions made by Mr. Trump.

“I saw only one agenda and one guiding question when tough calls had to be made: is this decision right for America?” Kellogg said.

The retired lieutenant general praised Mr. Trump for the killing of Qassem Soleimani, leader of Iran’s elite Quds military force, his policies on China and the recent peace deal brokered between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

“Make no mistake, President Trump is no hawk,” Kellogg saiad. “He wisely wields the sword when required, but believes in seeking peace instead of perpetual conflict.”

Kellogg urged voters to ask whether the president has fulfilled his promises to the American people, including to keep the U.S. out of “needless conflicts” and end so-called endless wars.

“I am asking you to stand up and be counted, so we never have to look back and recall what it was once like in America when men and women were free, our families were secure, and we had a president who served the people,” he said.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany shares story of double mastectomy

White House press secretary shared a very intimate story, one she’s shared before, about her decision to get a double mastectomy, after her doctor showed she was at a very high risk for breast cancer.

Many women in her family had experienced breast cancer, some of them as young as in their 20s. McEnany said she received calls from Ivanka Trump and the president after undergoing the procedure. 

“I was scared. The night before I fought back tears, as I prepared to lose a piece of myself,” McEnany said. “But the next day, with my mom, dad, husband, and Jesus Christ by my side, I underwent a mastectomy, almost eliminating my chance of breast cancer— a decision I now celebrate. During one of my most difficult times, I expected to have the support of my family, but I had more support than I knew. As I came out of anesthesia, one of the first calls I received was from Ivanka Trump. Days later, as I recovered, my phone rang. It was President Trump, calling to check on me. I was blown away.”

“Though I didn’t personally know the President at the time, I know him well now and I can tell you that this president loves the American people, stands by Americans with preexisting conditions, and supports working moms,” she added. The Trump administration has sought in court to overturn the Affordable Care Act, which protects those with preexisting conditions.  

McEnany also spoke to the president’s support for her as a working mother. McEnany was the mom of a newborn when she first joined the White House, and her daughter is now nine months old. 

“I want my daughter to grow up in Donald J. Trump’s America,” she said. “Choosing to have a preventative mastectomy was the hardest decision I have made. But supporting President Trump, who will protect my daughter & our children’s future, was the easiest.”

Second lady Karen Pence: “Let’s honor our heroes”

Karen Pence at RNC 06:06

The mother of a U.S. Marine, Pence spoke to the role of military spouses, both in their efforts supporting their families and as business owners forging their own paths.

Pence highlighted Lisa Bradley and Cameron Cruse, who started the handbag company R. Riveter, which is manufactured by military spouses, and Jilan Hall-Johnson, a culinary artist who opened the Sassy Biscuit.

“President Trump and Vice President Pence have been supporting our United States Armed Forces, including our military families, on a significant scale,” she said. “While traveling throughout our nation to educate military spouses about policy solutions that President Trump has promoted, involving real, tangible progress in military spouse employment, I have been inspired to meet heroes” like Bradley and Cruse.

She also highlighted her work raising awareness for art therapy for veterans with post traumatic stress disorder.

Pence opened and closed her remarks by commemorating the 100th anniversary of ratification of the 19th Amendment, which secured women the right to vote, and urged women to exercise that right in November.
“One hundred years ago, women secured the right to vote,” she said. “So let’s vote, America. Let’s honor our heroes. Let’s reelect President Trump and Vice President Pence for four more years.”

Kellyanne Conway portrays Trump as champion of working women 

Kellyanne Conway at RNC 05:11

Outgoing White House counselor Kellyanne Conway continued to try to make the case that the president is a champion of women. The president is losing to Biden among women in polls by roughly 2-1.

Conway announced earlier this week that she’s leaving the White House at the end of the month to focus on her family.

“For decades, he has elevated women to senior positions in business and in government,” she said of the president. “He confides in and consults us, respects our opinions, and insists that we are on equal footing with the men.” 

Conway, who was raised in a home of all women, tried to make the case that the president is working hard for families. 

She also touched on the drug crisis in America, having focused much of her time in the White House on fighting the opioid epidemic. 

“Rather than look the other way, President Trump stared directly at this drug ‘crisis next door’ and, through landmark, bipartisan legislation has helped secure historic investments in surveillance, interdiction, education, prevention, treatment and recovery,” Conway said. “We have a long way to go, but the political inertia that costs lives and the silence and stigma that prevents people in need from coming forward is melting away. This is the man I know and the president we need.”

Lou Holtz urges Americans to “show up in November”

Legendary football coach Lou Holtz chastised politicians, professors, protesters and Mr. Trump’s “naysayers in the media,” saying they “like to blame others for problems,” while he grew up abiding by the principles instilled in him by his parents: not to blame anyone, to get an education, and to work.

Those detractors, he said, “don’t have pride in our country. And because they no longer ask ‘what can I do for my country, only what the country should be doing for them,’ they don’t have pride in themselves. That’s wrong.”

Holtz said that he has made decisions in his life based on trust, commitment and love, and when it comes to politicians, he asks himself whether he can trust them, whether they are committed to doing their best and whether they care about others.

“Trust. Commitment. Love,” he said. “In President Trump we have a president we can trust, who works hard at making America greater, and who genuinely cares about people.”

But Holtz said that Biden fails that test and urged Americans to “show up in November” to cast their votes for Mr. Trump.

“I used to ask our athletes at Notre Dame, ‘If you did not show up who would miss you and why?'” he said. “Can you imagine what would happen to us if President Trump had not shown up in 2016 to run for President? I am so glad he showed up.”

25-year-old congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn: “Be a radical for freedom”

Madison Cawthorn, the GOP candidate for White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ old seat in North Carolina, shared his journey to where he is today. Cawthorn is in a wheelchair now, after a car accident as a teenager. 

At 25, he would be the youngest member of Congress in two centuries. 

“At 20, I made a choice. In 2020, our country has a choice. We can give up on the American idea, or we can work together to make our imperfect union more perfect,” he said. “I choose to fight for the future, to seize the high ground and retake the Shining City on a Hill.”

Cawthorn made the bold choice of comparing his age to past national leaders, but incorrectly said that James Madison was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence.

“If you don’t think young people can change the world, then you don’t know American history,” he said. “George Washington was 21 when he received his first military commission. Abe Lincoln was 22 when he first ran for office. James Madison was 25 when he signed the Declaration of Independence.

At the end of his speech, Cawthorn stood from his wheelchair. 

“The American idea my ancestors fought for during the Revolutionary War is as exciting and revolutionary today as it was 250 years ago. I say to Americans who love our country — young and old — be a radical for freedom. Be a radical for liberty. Be a radical for our republic. For which I stand,” he said. 

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst warns a Biden administration would devastate farmers

Ernst recalled the devastating flooding that swept through Iowa in 2008, followed by the derecho that hit the state this month, and praised Mr. Trump for swiftly signing an emergency declaration that unlocked federal aid to the state.

The senator also heralded the Trump administration’s trade deals, including the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, as a boon to farmers and said she believes the Biden-Harris ticket would be devastating to them.

“The Democratic Party of Joe Biden is pushing this so-called Green New Deal,” she said. “If given power, they would essentially ban animal agriculture and eliminate gas-powered cars. It would destroy the agriculture industry, not just here in Iowa, but throughout the country.”

Ernst characterized the November election as a “choice between two very different paths.”

“Freedom, prosperity, and economic growth, under a Trump-Pence administration,” she said. “Or, the Biden-Harris path, paved by liberal coastal elites and radical environmentalists. An America where farmers are punished, jobs are destroyed, and taxes crush the middle class. That is our choice. And it’s a clear one.”

Lara Trump says president will ensure equal opportunity for women

Lara Trump, the president’ daughter-in-law, gave voters a behind-the-scenes look at the Trump family, saying her in-laws are “warm and caring,” “hard workers” and “down to earth.”

“They reminded me of my own family, they made me feel like I was home,” she said.

The wife of Eric Trump, Lara Trump said that when she walked the halls of the Trump Organization, there were many women executives among the ranks.

“Gender didn’t matter, what mattered was someone’s ability to get the job done,” she said.

Lara Trump said she experienced that same principle in 2016, when then-candidate Trump sought her help winning North Carolina, her home state.

“Though I had no political experience, he believed in me and supported me. He knew I was capable even if I didn’t,” she said.

Seeking to demonstrate to voters the impact the Trump presidency has had on women, Lara Trump said she was unsurprised by her father-in-law’s appointments of women to senior positions, including secretary of the United Nations, secretary of the Air Force, CIA director and director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as the economic gains for women.

“He didn’t do these things to gain a vote or to check a box,” she said. “He did them because they are the right things to do.”

Lara Trump said the November election “is not just a choice between Republican and Democrat or left and right. This is an election that will decide if we keep America America, or if we head down an uncharted, frightening path towards socialism.”

Invoking the recent unrest in U.S. cities, Lara Trump criticized Biden, saying he will “not do what it takes to maintain order, to keep our children safe in our neighborhoods and in their schools, to restore our American way of life.”

She praised Mr. Trump, saying he is a “good man” who loves his family and “didn’t need this job.”

“He is a person of convictions. He is a fighter and will never stop fighting for America. He will uphold our values,” she said. “He will preserve our families. And he will build on the great American edict that our union will never be perfect until opportunity is equal for all, including, and especially, for women.”

Lara Trump closed with a message directly to Mr. Trump, thanking him for believing in her and “bravely leading this country.” She also offered prayers to those in the path of Hurricane Laura, a category 4 storm bearing down on Texas and Louisiana.

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