Trump announced Indiana governor Mike Pence as his running mate two days before the RNC The media and establishment Republicans and Democrats alike criticized Trump’s plans They called them contradictory unconstitutional and racist Trump supporters disagreed Businesswoman Essie Dube summed up the feelings of many Trump supporters when she said Donald Trump may be a little rough around the edges but he says it like it is He says things that other Americans are afraid to say but they feel in their heart 8 ESSENTIAL LIVES
Nominating Trump Trump’s rallying cries became the major themes at the RNC The four-day event took place between July 18 and 21 2016 On the first night the theme was national security and foreign policy Soldiers politicians actors and everyday citizens spoke They shared their experiences of job loss terrorism and war The most noteworthy speech of the night was given by Trump’s wife Melania She praised her husband’s commitment to the United States and his desire to improve the country The next morning the big news story was not about the theme of the RNC’s opening night Instead it centered on the content of Melania’s speech A paragraph had been plagiarized from a speech First Lady Michelle Obama gave in 2008 The story dominated the news for two days Trump took to Twitter to address the controversy Good news is Melania’s speech got more publicity than any in the history of politics especially if you believe that all press is good press 4 The second day of the convention had its share of controversy too On that day delegates planned to vote in the roll call The vote would formally name Trump as the 2016 presidential nominee It did not go smoothly DonalD Trump 9
Melania’s speech at the RNC brought attention to Trump’s campaign though not for reasons they expected A group of Republicans threatened to get enough delegates to vote to change the party’s nominating rules Doing so would have allowed delegates who had voted for Trump in the primaries to vote for another candidate in the roll call This is called a contested convention and is rare in modern politics These efforts failed however Delegates from each state announced their vote totals to the packed arena Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr was a delegate for the 10 ESSENTIAL LIVES
family’s home state of New York He announced New York’s votes which put Trump over the top and made him the official Republican nominee for president The third night of the convention also made waves when Ted Cruz took the stage Cruz had been the runner-up to Trump in the primaries Over the course of his speech it became clear Cruz would not endorse Trump Instead Cruz asked people who were unhappy with Trump as the nominee to vote your conscience in November 5 In effect he was asking citizens not to vote for Trump The crowd which had rallied behind Trump nearly booed Cruz off the stage WHO CAN BE A DELEGATE Nearly 2,500 people served as delegates to the Republican National Convention in 2016 6 They represented all 50 states Washington DC and US territories such as Guam and Puerto Rico Each state can choose how its delegates are selected Some are officials in their state’s Republican Party Other delegates are elected during their state’s primary or caucuses In some states state party committee members select delegates In other states delegates are selected at statewide party meetings No matter how they are selected delegates all meet at the national convention There they nominate the Republican Party’s presidential candidate The convention chair leads the vote for the nomination called a roll call Each state and territory has the chance to take the floor and announce its votes Often delegates also share interesting facts about their home states and territories during this time
