Opening night of the RNC

ByMike Huckabee

July17, 2024

Last night was opening night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, and I thought it came off quite impressively, and in some ways, surprisingly. While the night's theme was "Make America Wealthy Again," it could've easily been "Myth Busters" or "This Is Not Your Granddad's GOP." It showed that the GOP is now Trump's party that represents patriotic working Americans of all races and backgrounds. It's a party of actual diversity, not just one that makes "diversity" a slogan while practicing racism and sexism.

Anyone who's been swallowing the toxic brew dispensed by outlets like MSDNC about the Republicans must've suffered head-spinning cognitive dissonance as speaker after speaker came up to shatter their negative narratives. These weren't the wealthy, white, country club stereotypes that the Democrats push. All the people they falsely claim Republicans hate (blacks, immigrants, lower class workers, labor unions) were represented, and they blasted Democrat policies and lies and endorsed Trump.

The black speakers included Sen. Tim Scott, Rep. Byron Donalds, and the biggest "This is not your granddad's GOP" speaker of all, rapper/model/reality star Amber Rose. The former liberal electrified the crowd by telling how she believed the lies the media told about Trump and his supporters, but she believes in doing research. So she met Trump and discovered "he was funny as hell." He was also nice and welcoming to her, and so were his supporters, who just want to make America great for all Americans. She declared, "I never felt more free, and more love for my country, than I do now…These are my people, this is where I belong."

Other speakers included a retired grandfather and a small business owner who talked about how much harder their lives have been under Biden than under Trump. Another was Vanessa Faura, a legal immigrant from Peru, mother and activist. She spoke about how Hispanic values are conservative values, and of the harm that Biden's economic policies have brought to families in her community. Later came Nicaraguan immigrant Linda Fournos, who spoke of how difficult it was to try to rebuild her life after her family lost everything in a house fire when they were dealing with Bidenflation. She admitted voting for Biden in 2020, but won't make that mistake again. Someone in the crowd yelled, "We forgive you." Funny, I'd been assured MAGA people were violent terrorists who would attack anyone who didn't vote the way they do. I must be thinking of someone else.

Most stunning of all was the final speech, a red-hot barnburner by Teamsters Union leader Sean O'Brien. He said he was the first Teamster to speak to a GOP convention in 100 years, and the left called him a traitor for accepting the invitation. Forgive some of the language here (O'Brien does talk like a Teamster), but he said, "President Trump had the backbone to open the doors to this Republican convention and that's unprecedented," and he has the courage to listen to people who are critical of him, adding about Trump surviving a bullet, "He has proven to be one tough SOB."

(I wonder how many leaders of pro-life groups we're going to hear speak at the Democratic Convention?)

O'Brien extolled the hard work of union members and fairness for workers, but also blasted Biden, who claims to be the most "pro-union" President in history, but lets his policies be made by out-of-touch DC elites who take workers for granted and don't care how much they harm working Americans. He accused the Chamber of Commerce of waging war against American workers (I'd object, but I said pretty much the same things when I ran for President in 2008.)

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/07/15/teamsters-president-delivers-historic-rnc-speech-praises-tough-s-o-b-trump/

It was definitely not the sort of speech you'd expect at a GOP convention, but as Spencer Brown at Townhall.com noted, it showed that 2024 is a "realignment election," where Trump has officially made the GOP the party of American workers, and people who never voted Republican in their lives are finally making the switch.

Or more accurately, they're finally experiencing what Ronald Reagan did when he said he used to be a Democrat, but he didn't leave the Party, the Party left him. In 2024, the Democrats have let the faaaaar-left academics, socialists and green fanatics take over the steering wheel and people are leaping off the bus in droves before they veer so far left they take it over a cliff.

If you missed the convention, you can watch the whole first night here without any commentators interrupting it…

https://www.youtube.com/live/5xxUoGyFlpc?si=p4pinu12jYkcD5kd

Or scroll though Townhall.com's live blog for some great real-time commentary.

https://townhall.com/liveblog/2024/07/15/live-blog-rnc-night-one-make-america-wealthy-again-n6

And here's Fox News' continually-updated page on Convention news:

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/rnc-2024-republican-national-convention-donald-trump

Related: There was also a very stirring moment at the Convention when Trump entered to the strains of "God Bless the USA," his right ear bandaged after being shot by a would-be assassin who came within millimeters of killing him. The crowd greeted him with a thunderous hero's welcome.

https://redstate.com/jerrywilson/2024/07/15/donald-trump-makes-powerful-appearance-at-first-night-of-republican-national-convention-n2176928

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