Haley says Trump ‘has my strong endorsement, period’
Nikki Haley and Donald Trump were rivals during the Republican primaries. But after dropping out of the race, Haley would go on to say she would vote for him, though didn’t quite say she endorsed him.
“I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period,” Haley said.
Haley was greeted by boos as well as cheers as she took to the stage in Milwaukee.
Key events
Closing summary
Thanks for reading our coverage of the second evening of the Republican national convention.
Delegates will return to Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum at 5.45pm CT tomorrow for the third session of the convention. The four-day event concludes on Thursday.
Here’s a look back at what happened this evening:
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Nikki Haley gave Donald Trump her “strong endorsement”, and tried to sway wary Republicans to his cause.
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Ron DeSantis launched a volley of attacks on Joe Biden, in a stark contrast with Haley that underscored the ultimately unsuccessful strategies both deployed as candidates to try to win the GOP’s presidential nomination instead of Trump.
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Trump and his running mate JD Vance both returned to the convention to watch the primetime speakers, though neither gave remarks.
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Biden said in an interview with BET that only a “medical condition” would convince him to abandon his run for re-election, despite ongoing concern over his fitness to continue serving.
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Kari Lake, the GOP nominee for Senate in Arizona, kicked the evening off with an acerbic attack on journalists in the convention hall.
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Elise Stefanik, the House Republican conference chair, boasted of her role in getting the presidents of two top universities to resign.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson described the country as locked in “a struggle between two completely different visions of who we are”.
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Lara Trump closed the evening with a speech all about “the Donald Trump that I know.”
Second night of Republican national convention concludes
With a bang of his oversized gavel, Michael Whatley, the chair of the Republican national convention, has concluded its second night.
Stay tuned as we present a look back at what happened this evening.
The Republican national convention is about finished for the night.
Some delegates and guests have already left, though Donald Trump, JD Vance and other VIPs remain in their seats.
Concerns ‘for the generations to come’ motivate Trump’s run, daughter-in-law says
If there’s a theme to Lara Trump’s speech, it would be “the Donald Trump that I know”.
The former president’s daughter-in-law is describing how he is a family man, which is indeed a side that is not often seen by the public.
“Donald Trump didn’t need to run for president for fame or money. Trust me, we all know he already had plenty of that. I’ll tell you why he did it and why he continues on, even in the face of the unthinkable – because he loves this country,” Lara Trump said.
“He did it for his grandchildren, for your children and grandchildren and for the generations to come.”
She described how: “I’ll never forget watching my two children run up to him with their drawings and hugs for grandpa, just moments before he took the elevator down in Trump Tower to address the media the day after his wrongful conviction.”
Referring to the assassination attempt, Lara Trump said: “In that split second on Saturday, Donald Trump reminded us all of that very history and who we are at our core as a nation. That is the Donald Trump that I know.”
Senator Tim Scott compared Donald Trump to a lion last night, and Lara Trump said the same thing tonight:
“Proverbs 28 reads: ‘The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.’ And that truly epitomizes Donald Trump. He is a lion, he is bold, he is strong, he is fearless, and he is exactly what this country needs right now,” she said.
In one of the last speeches of the night, Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, is discussing the emotional toll the assassination attempt took on their family.
“Nothing prepares you for a moment like that,” said Trump, who co-chairs the Republican National Committee.
“Our family has faced our fair share of death threats, mysterious powders sent to our homes, tasteless and violent comments directed towards us on social media, but none of that prepares you, as a daughter-in-law, to watch in real time someone try to kill a person you love. None of that prepares you, as a mother, to quickly reach for the remote and turn your young children away from the screen, so that they’re not witness to something that scars the memory of their grandpa for the rest of their lives.”
As he closed his speech, Rubio directly referenced how Donald Trump had stood up and pumped his fist in the air after being injured in the assassination attempt on Saturday.
“Our country has been injured, injured by the bad decisions of weak leaders. But now, though bloodied by our wounds, we stand up and we must fight,” Rubio said.
He continued:
Fight not with violence or destruction, but with our voices and our votes. Fight not against each other, but for the hopes and dreams we share in common and make us one, and fight for an America where we are safe from those who seek to harm us on our streets and from abroad, and we will not be alone in this fight. For leading us in this fight will be a man who, although wounded and facing danger, he stood up and raised his fist and reminded us that our people and our country are always worth fighting for.
Florida’s Marco Rubio was on the shortlist to be Donald Trump’s running mate, but was passed over in favor of his Senate colleague JD Vance.
Rubio is now addressing the convention, but hasn’t mentioned the snub, instead sticking to territory well-trod by previous speakers.
“There is absolutely nothing dangerous or anything divisive about putting Americans first,” Rubio said.
“Anyone who is offended about putting America first has forgotten what America is and what America means. America isn’t the color of our skin or our ethnicity. Americans are people as diverse as humanity itself. But out of many, we are one, because, as the life story of our next vice-president, JD Vance, reminds us, we are all descendants of ordinary people who achieved extraordinary things.”
Ben Carson cites scripture as he reflects on Trump assassination attempt
Ben Carson, the former secretary of housing and urban development who is speaking now, struck a similarly biblical tone when discussing the assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
“Like many of you, last week, I watched with horror as the events unfolded in that Pennsylvania field. I saw President Trump, a dear friend, escape death by mere inches, and my thoughts immediately turned to the book of Isaiah that says: ‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper,’” said Carson.
“Well, let me tell you the weapons that they use. First, they try to ruin his reputation, and he’s more popular now than ever. And then they tried to bankrupt him, and he’s got more money now than he had before. And then they tried to put him in prison, and he’s freer and has made other people free with him. And then, and then, last weekend, they tried to kill him. And there he is, over there, alive and well,” Carson said, to a round of hearty applause.
Donald Trump has been found civilly liable for sexual abuse, and convicted on felony charges related to trying to cover up an affair.
But to Sarah Huckabee Sanders, “The left doesn’t care about empowering women. Biden and Harris can’t even tell you what a woman is. They only care about empowering themselves.”
“God spared President Trump from that assassin, because God is not finished with him yet, and he most certainly is not finished with America yet, either. With God as our guide and President Trump back in the White House, we will show the world that America is the place where freedom reigns and liberty will never die, Sanders said.