The Republican National Convention concludes Thursday and the fall campaign season officially kicks off when President Donald Trump formally accepts the GOP nomination for a second term as president in a speech that he will deliver from the White House South Lawn.
A fireworks display is expected to light up the sky above the Washington Monument at the conclusion of his remarks.
ABC News Live will kick off primetime coverage each day at 7 p.m. ET on the network’s streaming news channel and primetime coverage will air from 10-11 p.m. ET each night of the convention on the ABC Television Network.
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8:34 p.m. Jonathan Karl on the convention event at the White House
On ABC News Live, Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl said the set up for a convention event left him, “practically speechless, here. I have been covering the White House on and off for two decades. … Here we have the entire South Lawn of the White House transformed into the hall, the venue, for a national political convention.”
8:23 p.m. DNC to air ad slamming Trump’s leadership during Republican National Convention
The Democratic National Committee plans to counter Trump’s acceptance speech with an ad casting Trump as a failed leader by using his own words during the 2016 convention. It will be overlaid with footage from events during his first term in office, including video from the white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017.
“Donald Trump’s chaotic leadership and divisive rhetoric has been a disaster for Americans. His failures have led to over 180,000 deaths, left millions unemployed and decimated our economy,” said DNC War Room senior spokesperson Lily Adams. “During his 2016 convention, Trump himself spoke against the same sort of chaos he has caused in our country. It’s clear to Americans that we can’t afford four more years of Trump.”
The minute-long ad will air on television in Washington and is part of a six-figure ad buy over the week.
It starts with the president at the 2016 convention saying, “The most basic duty of government is to defend the lives of its own citizens, any government that fails to do so is unworthy to lead.”
Democrats have tried to counter-program the Republicans’ convention in some way every night.
— ABC News’ Quinn Scanlan
8:18 p.m. COVID-19 protocol for the Trump’s White House remarks: Document
ABC News obtained a document from a RNC source that was sent to some guests invited to the evening’s celebration at the White House. It included details on the coronavirus protocols in place — or lack thereof.
The document made no mention of COVID-19 tests. Instead, it asks guests to stay home if they aren’t feeling well, experiencing symptoms, have recently tested positive for the virus or have recently been in close contact with someone who has.
It says masks are only required at arrival and in security screening areas and encouraged in “high-traffic areas including restrooms and hospitality spaces.” It also says to “practice social distancing whenever possible.”
Upwards of 1,500 people are expected to attend Trump’s speech, sources tell ABC News, and photos show chairs placed on the South Lawn without six-feet of distance recommended by the CDC.
Separately, the Trump campaign sent a statement to the print pool reporter in response to a request for details about COVID-19 protocols, screening, testing and masks.
The statement — from an executive at the company the RNC is working with, Patronus Medical — says that “strict protocols are in full compliance with multiple guidelines set forth by the United States Centers for Disease Control, the District of Columbia Department of Public Health, and other leading authorities on health safety.”
No other details were provided.
— ABC News’ Rachel Scott and Ben Gittleson
8:12 p.m. Harris slams Trump on coronavirus, calls Blake shooting ‘sickening,’ in counter programming event
In her first solo event as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Sen. Kamala Harris delivered a preemptive strike on Republicans Thursday in wide-ranging remarks ahead of the convention — slamming Trump’s response to Americans suffering amid systematic racism and the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Republican convention is designed for one purpose: to soothe Donald Trump’s ego. To make him feel good. Well here’s the thing — he’s the president of the United States. And it’s not supposed to be about him. It’s supposed to be about the health and the safety and the wellbeing of the American people,” Harris said from George Washington University’s campus.
Harris directly addressed the shooting of Jacob Black, something the president has not yet done publicly.
“As Vice President Biden put it, the shots fired at Mr. Blake pierced the soul of our nation. It’s sickening to watch. It’s all too familiar. And it must end,” she said.
On the pandemic front, Harris said Trump got it “wrong from the beginning” and “was fixated on the stock market over fixing the problem.”
“Here’s what you have to understand about the nature of a pandemic. It’s relentless. You can’t stop it with a tweet,” she said.
It was the biggest counter programming event for Democrats this week.
— ABC News’ Averi Harper
8:04 p.m. McConnell targets ‘middle America,’ calls Republican Senate a ‘firewall’ against Democrats
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell used his home state of Kentucky to appeal to “middle America,” calling himself the only leader in Washington not from New York or California.
Trump is from New York and all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are represented in Congress.
“Today’s Democrat party doesn’t want to improve life for middle America. They prefer that all of us in flyover country keep quiet and let them decide how we should live our lives,” McConnell said, going on to list Democratic priorities he said would tell Americans what to do, including when to resume activities like work and school during the coronavirus pandemic.
McConnell specifically called out Democratic support for making the District of Columbia a state, saying, “With two more liberal senators, we cannot undo the damage they’ve done.”
“I am immensely proud of the work the Republican Senate has done. We are the firewall against Nancy Pelosi’s agenda,” he said.
— ABC News’ Kendall Karson
7:45 p.m. Trump to address Kenosha ‘unrest’ in RNC acceptance speech, unclear if he’ll mention Jacob Blake by name
After days of public silence on the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, it remains unclear whether Trump will directly address the shooting in his nomination acceptance speech.
During an interview Thursday morning, Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh strongly suggested the president would directly address the latest incident involving police treatment of an unarmed black man — before later appearing to walk back his comments.
“I think he will,” Tim Murtaugh said, when asked on CNN if the president would speak directly about the Blake shooting in his address. “He’ll talk about what happened in Wisconsin and I think he’ll broaden it and talk with what we’ve seen in cities and states all around the country in the last couple of months.”
Later, when asked whether Trump would specifically mention Blake, Murtaugh declined to elaborate.
“I’m not going to get into very much in the way of specifics about what the president will talk about as far as specific topics, but the president will address the unrest in this country. He will make reference to Kenosha, and he will speak about the issue,” he told ABC News.
— ABC News’ Jordyn Phelps and Will Steakin
7:34 p.m. DHS employees receive Hatch Act warning after acting secretary’s RNC appearance, ahead of White House speech
An internal message sent out to all Department of Homeland Security employees Thursday, which was reviewed by ABC News, reminded them to not engage in “partisan political activity” after acting Secretary Chad Wolf participated in a naturalization ceremony earlier this week that was made part of the RNC’s prime time programming — a potential violation of the Hatch Act.
“We, as a department, are under heightened scrutiny during the presidential election cycle,” the email said. “It is important that we, DHS employees, are familiar with the policies surrounding partisan political activity to make sure we comply with them.”
The message comes as House Democrats have launched an investigation into Secretary of Mike Pompeo’s participation in the RNC while overseas on an official state trip.
— ABC News’ Luke Barr
7:24 p.m. ABC News’ 2020 interactive election map
Who will win in November? See how the Electoral College could play out with ABC News’ 2020 interactive election map:
7:17 p.m. RNC chair said she hopes Blake’s name will be mentioned in final night’s program
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told ABC News’ “Powerhouse Politics” podcast Thursday that she hoped Blake’s name comes up in convention speeches Thursday night, but she didn’t single out Trump’s speech.
“Of course, we can make mention of Jacob Blake’s name and the president has reached out to the family,” McDaniel told ABC News Political Director Rick Klein and Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl.
She said the virtual nature of the speeches, prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, meant some speeches were taped before Blake was in the news.
“I hope that they do tonight. I think a lot of it has been pre-taped … because of the virtual nature of many of the speeches, that wasn’t in the news at the time that some of those speeches were taped. I’m saying right now as party chair we want to see this investigated; we want to see this seen through,” she said on Blake’s shooting.
— ABC News’ Terrance Smith
7 p.m. Thursday night’s extended speaker lineup
The Trump campaign released a list of speakers for the final night of the convention.
- President Donald Trump
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson
- Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell
- Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton
- House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy
- New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew
- Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser
- Ja’Ron Smith, deputy assistant to the president
- Dan Scavino, White House deputy chief of staff for communications and director of social media
- Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and Trump’s personal attorney
- Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse
- Carl and Marsha Mueller, parents of American hostage Kayla Mueller, who was killed by ISIS
- Alice Johnson, criminal justice reform advocate and former federal inmate
- Ann Dorn, widow of slain retired police Capt. David Dorn
- Pat Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York
- Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Wade Mayfield, small business owner who received a personal protection program loan
- Debbie Flood, president of a Wisconsin manufacturing and steel company
- President Donald Trump
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
- Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton
- House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy
- New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew
- Ivanka Trump, Trump’s daughter and senior adviser
- Ja’Ron Smith, deputy assistant to the president
- Ann Dorn, widow of slain retired police Capt. David Dorn
- Debbie Flood, president of a Wisconsin manufacturing and steel company
- Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and Trump’s personal attorney
- Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse
- Alice Johnson, criminal justice reform advocate and former federal inmate
- Carl and Marsha Mueller, parents of American hostage Kayla Mueller, who was killed by ISIS
- Wade Mayfield
- Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship
7 p.m. Speaker overview
Senior adviser Ivanka Trump will introduce her father on the final night of what’s become a norms-busting political convention, which has showcased the pageantry of the presidency in unprecedented ways and transformed the White House into a backdrop for Trump’s campaign — despite some of the proceedings appearing to violate ethics laws.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and the president’s personal attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani are also expected to speak Thursday.
In addition, convention watchers will hear from the parents of humanitarian aid worker Kayla Mueller, who was killed by the Islamic State while a hostage, and Alice Johnson, a woman who was serving a life sentence in federal prison until Trump commuted her sentence — an effort in part pushed by Kim Kardashian West.
Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will face Democratic nominees Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the general election on Nov. 3, though some Americans are expecting to receive their ballots as early as next week.
Thursday’s scheduled speakers include:
ABC News’ Kendall Karson and Alisa Wiersema contributed to this report.
