Who’s speaking at the RNC on Wednesday? Mike Pence leads Night 3
The third night of the Republican National Convention — “Land of Heros” — will feature appearances from veterans, Republican rising stars and a few controversial figures. Vice President Mike Pence will headline the evening with a speech from Baltimore’s Ft. McHenry, the inspiration for the “Star Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key.
Some of the remarks will highlight the youngest generation of GOP lawmakers. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York won praise from the president for her questioning during his impeachment trial and has been active in recruiting Republican women to run for Congress. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL elected to a House seat in 2018, will be the most prominent Texas lawmaker with a speaking slot. Both are 36 years old.
Also speaking is Madison Cawthorn, who won the Republican nomination for the North Carolina congressional seat Mark Meadows vacated to become the president’ chief of staff. In the primary, Cawthorn defeated a candidate backed by the president. Cawthorn, who turned 25 this month, would be the youngest member of Congress if he wins the GOP-leaning seat. He told Fox Business on Wednesday that he plans to talk about the future of the party, and he’ll focus on healthcare and the environment.
As with past nights, some speakers are controversial figures. Jack Brewer, a former NFL player and Black Voices for Trump surrogate, was charged with insider trading by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this month. Burgess Owens, a political commentator and former football player running for Congress in Utah, has been criticized by both a former Utah Republican lawmaker and Rep. Ben McAdams, his Democratic opponent, for appearing on a QAnon YouTube show in May, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
Richard Grenell, the former U.S. ambassador to Germany who served as the acting director of national intelligence, will also speak. In his brief time as the acting director he was accused of politicizing the role by declassifying documents that fed into President Trump’s “Obamagate” theory.
Republican convention speakers repeatedly focus on crime and urban unrest, blaming Democrats. The tactic may peel some voters away from Joe Biden.
Trump’s support of the law enforcement will also be on display. Michael McHale, the head of a national coalition of police unions, will appear, as will Sam Vigil, a New Mexico man whose wife was shot and killed on her way to the gym last year. Vigil appeared at a July White House event for Operation Legend, the administration’s initiative to send federal agents to address crime in cities. The move came after the administration faced a backlash for sending federal agents to Portland, Ore.
The third night of the convention will run from 5:30 to 8 p.m. (Pacific). It will stream on Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, YouTube and Amazon Prime Video and air on CNN, C-SPAN, MSNBC and PBS. ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC will air the convention from 7 to 8 p.m.
Here’s the list of speakers the Republican Party has announced so far for Wednesday:
- Vice President Mike Pence
- Second Lady Karen Pence
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee
- Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who is in a tight race for reelection this November
- South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem
- Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas
- Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York
- Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York
- Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell
- Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to the president who announced she will step down at the end of the month
- Kayleigh McEnany, White House press secretary
- Ret. Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Mike Pence’s national security advisor
- Lara Trump, a Trump campaign advisor and wife to the president’s second son, Eric
- Michael McHale, president of the National Assn. of Police Organizations.
- Burgess Owens, a former NFL player and the Republican nominee in Utah’s fourth congressional district
- Jack Brewer, a former NFL player and Black Voices for Trump member
- Sister Dede Byrne, a surgeon, retired Army colonel and member of the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
- Madison Cawthorn, the Republican nominee in North Carolina’s 11th congressional district
- Scott Dane, executive director of the Associated Contract Loggers and Truckers of Minnesota
- Clarence Henderson, a civil rights activist who participated in the Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins
- Lou Holtz, a former University of Notre Dame head coach who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008
- Tera Myers, a school choice advocate
- Chen Guangcheng, a Chinese civil rights activist
- Sam Vigil, a New Mexico widower
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