Politics
RNC Live Blog, Day 3: Wednesday Night Speaker Schedule, Focus on J.D. Vance, Chicago Police In Town
WTTW News reporters are spread out across Milwaukee covering the 2024 Republican National Convention and the Illinois delegation. Check back throughout the day for continuous updates and be sure to tune in to “Chicago Tonight” live at 5:30 and 10 p.m. For a recap of the second day of the convention, check out our RNC Day 2 live blog.
Illinois Delegation on Vice Presidential Candidate J.D. Vance
11 p.m., Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee
Video: Joining “Chicago Tonight” is Illinois state Rep. Tony McCombie (R- Savanna). (Produced by Blair Paddock)
U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) on Wednesday night accepted former President Donald Trump’s invitation to be his running mate. Here’s what some members of Illinois’ delegation to the Republican National Convention think of the new vice presidential candidate:
- U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Illinois) said he met Vance briefly, though they don’t know one another well. LaHood said it’s “great having a Midwesterner” and he appreciates Vance’s youth and rise from humble beginnings to living “the American Dream.” It’s a story LaHood said will resonate with voters. “I love the fact that he speaks to working people. If we’re going to win this election, we’ve got to win Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan. He speaks to working people.”
- State. Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) said her 31-year-old son loves Vance, and other younger voters will also be excited by Vance. “That is a demographic that we really want to focus on, and I think they’re going to love J.D. Vance,” Bryant said. “I come from the part of Illinois that we know is God’s country, and in that part of the country, J.D. Vance’s story resonates loud and clear.”
- Delegate Donald Johnson of Rock Island County is excited about Vance because Trump is excited about him. Johnson said leaders should have the opportunity to pick their second in command. “Moses decided on Joshua, and he made a good choice,” Johnson said. “The No. 2 man is very important, and that’s because he may become the No. 1.”
- Corey Allen, who serves as vice chairman of Tazwell County, said he’ll be watching to see how Vance, 39, handles himself. Allen said his teenage daughter is more mature than some 40-somethings he knows, so Vance’s age isn’t an issue, per se, but Allen is interested in seeing how mature Vance is as his national profile expands. He’s not among those suspicious of the fact Vance was once a never-Trumper. “We need to see people who say, ‘You know what, I was wrong, maybe I didn’t have all the facts,’” Allen said.
- State Rep. Tony McCombie (R- Savanna), Illinois’ House minority leader, said she felt an “instant connection” with Vance. “We have a connection being from the Midwest, I thought that was great. Same roots as, like, a lot of us.” McCombie is looking to increase the minority party’s ranks in the state House — currently at 40 — to 45 GOP seats. Republicans used to perform well in Chicago’s suburbs, but in recent years suburban Cook and DuPage counties and other suburban districts have trended blue.
- Amanda Vinicky, WTTW News
‘Drill, Baby, Drill’: Illinois Delegation Watches J.D. Vance’s Speech
10:35 p.m., Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee
Illinois delegates and state GOP leaders react to Wednesday’s headlining address by U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate. (Nicole Cardos / WTTW News)
J.D. Vance Introduces Himself as Trump’s Running Mate, Makes Direct Appeal to His Native Rust Belt
10:30 p.m., Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee
Republican vice-presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (J. Scott Applewhite / AP Photo)
Introducing himself to the nation after being tapped as Donald Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance used his Wednesday night address to the Republican National Convention to share the story of his hardscrabble upbringing and make the case that his party best understands the challenges facing struggling Americans.
The 39-year-old Ohio senator is a relative political unknown. In his first primetime speech since becoming the nominee for vice president, Vance spoke of growing up poor in Kentucky and Ohio, his mother addicted to drugs and his father absent, and how he later joined the military and went on to the highest levels of U.S. politics.
“Never in my wildest imagination could I have believed that I’d be standing here tonight,” he told the crowd, as made a direct appeal to the Rust Belt voters who helped drive Trump’s 2016 victory, making clear he understood their anger and frustration. Read the Full Story.
- Associated Press
Gold Star Families Take the Stage
8:25 p.m., Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee
(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
Families of the 13 U.S. servicemembers killed in a 2021 terrorist attack exiting Afghanistan join the stage at the Republican National Convention on July 17, 2024.
Joe Walsh Tells Moderate Republicans in Milwaukee to Stand Up to ‘Jackass’ Trump
8:20 p.m., Pabst Brewery, Milwaukee
(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
While Republican delegates came to Milwaukee this week to certify former President Donald Trump as the party’s presidential nominee, not all GOP members in the city are on board.
A group of anti-Trump Republicans known as “Principals First” held an event at the historic Pabst Brewery Wednesday in the shadow of the Fiserv Forum where the Republican National Convention remains ongoing.
Among the “Never Trumpers” who spoke was former Illinois Republican congressman and longtime Trump critic Joe Walsh, who called on attendees to vote for any Democratic candidate who can keep the former president from a second term in office.
“You either believe, in this moment, that he is a threat to our democracy or you don’t,” Walsh, a former 2020 presidential candidate himself, said. “Stop there. There’s nothing else to speak about.”
Walsh, a member of the Tea Party movement who said he voted for Trump in 2016, called the former president a “jackass” and a “dictator” and said the traditional Republican Party is “gone.” Read the Full Story.
-Matt Masterson, WTTW News
New Illinois GOP Chair Stops Short of Calling for a Nationwide Abortion Ban
7:40 p.m., Comfort Suites Milwaukee Airport
Incoming Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi takes questions from reporters on Wednesday after addressing the Illinois delegation at a breakfast prior to Republican National Convention programming in Milwaukee. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois)
The newly elected leader of the Illinois Republican Party Wednesday said she supports the abortion plank of the official platform of the Republican Party, which does not call for a nationwide ban.
Newly elected Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi, who lost a 2022 bid for the U.S. Senate, deflected questions about abortion by urging reporters to question Democratic politicians about “atrocities” and their “radical” position on abortion.
“We will adhere to the Republican platform, we are a party of the people and freedom,” Salvi said, declining to say whether she personally supports a national abortion ban.
However, the GOP platform invokes the 14th Amendment as part of its promise to “protect unborn life” and celebrates the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
That would require courts to treat fetuses as people endowed with rights under the U.S constitution, which could open the door to a national abortion ban and an end to fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization.
Even though Republican nominee former President Donald Trump has said he wants to leave the question of abortion to the states, Project 2025, authored by the Heritage Foundation, calls for a national abortion ban and calls for the FDA to reverse its approval of abortion pills and criminalize their distribution. Read the Full Story.
-Heather Cherone, WTTW News
2 Illinois Lawmakers Call for Secret Service Director to Resign After Trump Assassination Attempt
7:15 p.m., Fiserv Forum, WTTW News
Video: U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Illinois) joins WTTW News’ Amanda Vinicky at the Republican National Convention.
Information learned in a U.S. House briefing Wednesday has two Illinois members of Congress calling for the director of the U.S. Secret Service to step down for failing to protect former President Donald Trump on Saturday, when a shooter attempted to assassinate him during a Pennsylvania rally.
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Illinois) told WTTW News he learned the Secret Service had information about the shooter’s whereabouts and didn’t act on it. LaHood supports calls for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign.
“What we learned is that clearly mistakes were made, things were not done the right way,” LaHood said. “To have this individual — the assassin — this close to the president should have never happened. So, protocols were not abided by.”
Cheatle has no intentions of resigning.
In a statement Wednesday evening, the Secret Service said, “Continuity of operations is paramount during a critical incident. She deeply respects members of Congress and is fiercely committed to transparency in leading the Secret Service through the internal investigation and strengthening the agency through lessons learned in these important internal and external reviews.”
U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Illinois), an unfailing ally of Trump and leader of Illinois’ delegation to the Republican National Convention, said in a statement she wants Cheatle gone.
“The American people deserve answers on how the leading candidate for President came within an inch of being assassinated, and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle should resign for failing to adequately protect President Trump,” Miller said.
The shooter’s bullet grazed Trump’s ear. He wore a white bandage over his ear Monday and Tuesday nights during the RNC.
Both Miller and LaHood — who said he talked with Speaker Mike Johnson about the matter — said they support the formation of a congressional commission to further investigate what happened.
Shortly after Saturday’s shooting, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi wrote on social media the shooter was killed by a member of the Secret Service. The next day, Guglielmi pushed back against what he called an “untrue assertion” that Secret Service denied a request from Trump’s team to provide additional resources.
“In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo,” Guglielmi wrote on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
- Amanda Vinicky, WTTW News
RNC Speakers Claim Rising Crime Rates, While Data and Research Tell Different Stories
7 p.m., Chicago
Public safety was the focus of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Tuesday, where the theme was “Make America Safe Once Again.”
Speakers maintained a “tough on crime” message throughout the day with violence in cities, drug abuse and immigration all focal points.
The characters in these narratives were progressive prosecutors and those seeking to defund the police.
WTTW News examined some of the claims made during the second day of the RNC, looked at criminal justice research and spoke to an expert about how research supports — or doesn’t — the campaign rhetoric.
When U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Illinois) spoke outside an Illinois delegate event, she was one of many RNC participants connecting the influx of migrants to the U.S. to increased crime, including drug trafficking.
The claim has been widely discredited. Research broadly finds immigrants are incarcerated at lower rates than people born in the U.S. despite coverage of specific incidents.
Trump and other speakers have often framed crime, particularly violent crime, as rising. An RNC video Tuesday said crime was “rising everywhere.”
Not every agency participates in federal crime data programs, so the picture can be incomplete, but escalating violent crime is not supported by publicly available data.
There has been a sharp drop in murder in 2023 and so far in 2024, not just in Chicago but across the country, according to figures compiled by researcher Jeff Asher. The city is a far cry in 2024 from its murder counts in the 1970s through 1990s, which were typically 25% higher than today. Chicago had 974 murders in 1974 compared to 618 last year. Read the Full Story.
- Jared Rutecki, WTTW News
President Joe Biden Tests Positive for COVID-19
5:30 p.m., Las Vegas
President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 while traveling Wednesday in Las Vegas and is experiencing “mild symptoms” including “general malaise” from the infection, the White House said.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden will fly to his home in Delaware, where he will “self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.” The news had first been shared by UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía, who told guests at the group’s convention in Las Vegas that president had sent his regrets and could not appear because he tested positive for the virus.
Biden, 81, was slated to speak at the UnidosUS event in Las Vegas Wednesday afternoon as part of an effort to rally Hispanic voters ahead of the November election. Instead, he departed for the airport to fly to Delaware, where he had already been planning to spend a long weekend at his home in Rehoboth Beach. Read the Full Story.
- Associated Press
J.D. Vance Won’t Commit to VP Debate Until Democrats Formally Choose Nominee
4:45 p.m., Milwaukee
Former President Donald Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance are joined by their family members and elected officials during the Republican National Convention on July 16, 2024. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
Newly minted Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s team says it’s too soon to discuss the vice presidential debate because Democrats don’t formally have their nominees and President Biden could still drop out of the race.
After Vice Harris accepted a third debate date offered by CBS News and encouraged Vance to accept, Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign said, “We don’t know who the Democrat nominee for Vice President is going to be, so we can’t lock in a date before their convention. To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate.”
President Biden is the presumptive Democrat nominee but is facing pressure from party leaders to step aside after his disastrous debate with Trump. Biden has insisted he’s not leaving the race.
-Associated Press
Former White House Official Peter Navarro Arrives Following Prison Release
4:30 p.m., Hyatt Hotel, Milwaukee
A black SUV dropped off Peter Navarro at a Hyatt Hotel just outside the security perimeter surrounding the Republican National Convention. He is set to speak tonight night.
Navarro, who served as a White House trade adviser under Trump, was freed from a Florida prison earlier today after serving four months for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of the Republican president’s supporters, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.
Navarro carried his own luggage into the hotel after his release from prison earlier in the day.
“I’m enjoying the freedom,” he told the AP.
-Associated Press
Chicago Police Leaders Trek to Milwaukee for Firsthand Look at Convention Security Ahead of Next Month’s DNC
3:25 p.m., Milwaukee
Police officers stand watch during a protest march through Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
Before the Republican National Convention draws to a close in Milwaukee, Chicago police officials are in town to learn more about the safety and security measures in place ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention.
The DNC is set to run from Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
Officers from Chicago have been in Milwaukee all week assisting with security around the RNC security footprint, but Duane DeVries, CPD’s chief of counterterrorism, and more department officials made the trek to Wisconsin on Wednesday to take a look at the convention’s safety plans firsthand.
“The perimeter is very tight, we got checked coming in ourselves,” DeVries told WTTW News in Milwaukee Wednesday afternoon. “It’s been nice seeing it all because obviously in a month it’s gonna be all in Chicago. It’s good to see it here as it’s kind of laid out because the fencing and a lot of the systems will be the same engineering in a different neighborhood.”
One major difference between the RNC and DNC is that Milwaukee’s convention is set at a single site, while Chicago’s will be hosted at two — the United Center and McCormick Place. Read the Full Story.
- Matt Masterson, WTTW News
Illinois GOP Leaders Vow to Flip 5 State House Seats, Get Rid of ‘Blue Funk’
2:45 p.m., Oak Creek, Wisc.
Republican House Minority Leader Tony McCombie vowed Wednesday to flip five seats in the Illinois House while newly elected GOP Chair Kathy Salvi pledged to unite her fractured party and reverse a decade-long series of statewide defeats.
McCombie said the Illinois GOP would focus on winning the 45th District, in the northwest suburbs, the 76th District, in north-central Illinois; and three downstate districts, while defending the 40 seats they now control.
“Let’s not waste any more time debating our differences,” McCombie said. “Let’s join together, let’s turn our great state around.”
Salvi, who will take over the party officially on Friday from outgoing Chair Don Tracy, made her first public appearance at the Wednesday morning breakfast for the Illinois delegation to the Republican National Convention.
Salvi said she often feels a “blue funk” when she comes back to Illinois after leaving the state.
“Well, I’ll tell you your blue funk is over,” Salvi said. “We’re going to make Illinois red again.”
The last Republican nominee for president to win Illinois’ 19 electoral college votes was former President George H.W. Bush, who edged out Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis by less than a percentage point. The last Republican to win statewide office was Bruce Rauner, who served a single term as governor between 2014 and 2018. Read the Full Story.
- Heather Cherone, WTTW News
Donald Trump as Poet Laureate? Poetry Book Sold at RNC Compiles Trump’s ‘Written Word’
2:30 p.m., Baird Center, Milwaukee
Gregory Woodman of Golden Goose Publishing Company speaks with guests about the poetry book he co-published, “Collected Poems of Donald J. Trump,” during the RNC on July, 17, 2024. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)
Unassuming stacks of hardcover green books lay on a table at the Baird Center during the Republican National Convention. Inscribed on the front in gold lettering: “Collected Poems of Donald J. Trump.”
“This is the greatest poetry book of all time written by the greatest poet of our generation,” Gregory Woodman called out to a group of RNC guests, as he motioned them toward the table. “As concrete poetry as E.E. Cummings.”
Woodman and Ian Pratt of Golden Goose Publishing Company are behind the book, which they sell for $45 in honor of the 45th U.S. president. The book features only “written word” by Trump rather than speeches, Woodman said, spanning from 2009 to 2019.
Many of Trump’s tweets make up the pages of the poetry collection, including, most notably, his viral “covfefe” tweet from 2017.
Since tabling at the RNC, Woodman said the poetry book is almost sold out. The business duo plans on releasing a second edition in the fall.
“Art is in the eye of the reader,” Woodman said. “I mean, look at his work, it’s stunning.”
- Eunice Alpasan, WTTW News
J.D. Vance’s First Republican Convention Will Be His National Introduction as Trump's Running Mate
2:15 p.m., Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee
Republican vice presidential candidate U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio is introduced during the Republican National Convention Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Paul Sancya / AP Photo)
Donald Trump‘s running mate J.D. Vance will introduce himself to a national audience Wednesday night as he addresses the Republican National Convention.
The Ohio senator’s headlining address will be his first speech as the Republican vice-presidential nominee. In fact, this year’s gathering also is the first RNC that Vance has attended, according to a Trump campaign source who was not authorized to speak publicly. A relative political unknown, Vance rapidly morphed in recent years from a severe critic of Trump to an aggressive defender.
Vance, 39, is the first millennial to join a major party ticket. It comes at a time when questions about the age of the men at the top — 78-year-old Trump and 81-year-old President Joe Biden — have been high on the list of voters’ concerns.
Vance is expected to lean into his biography as someone who grew up poor in Kentucky and Ohio, his mother addicted to drugs and his father absent, but went on to the highest levels of U.S. politics. It’s a story meant to connect with voters in middle America and shed light on how Vance’s upbringing shaped his positions on issues such as immigration, inflation and drugs, according to a person familiar with the speech who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.
Vance is an Ivy League graduate and a businessman, but his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy ” explores his blue-collar roots. It made him a national name when it was published in 2016. The book is now seen as a window into some of the cultural forces that propelled Trump to the White House that year.
Still, most Americans — and Republicans — don’t know much about Vance. According to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted before Trump selected the freshman senator as his vice presidential choice, six in 10 Americans don’t know enough about Vance to form an opinion. About two in 10 U.S. adults have a favorable view of him, and 22% view him negatively. Among Republicans, 61% don’t know enough to have an opinion of Vance. About one-quarter have a positive view of him, and roughly one in 10 have a negative view.
- Associated Press
Wednesday Night Speaker Schedule Released
1:30 p.m., Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump applauds with Republican vice presidential candidate U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, during the Republican National Convention Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Nam Y. Huh / AP Photo)
The lineup and order of Wednesday night’s speakers has been released. Among those taking the stage are vice presidential candidate U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has bused tens of thousands of migrants to Chicago since August 2022.
Here’s the full list:
6-6:30 p.m.: U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (Fla.); U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (S.C.); U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson (Texas); Ric Grenell, former acting director of National Intelligence; U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.); former Ambassador Callista Gingrich
6:30-7 p.m.: Former Speaker Newt Gingrich; Peter Navarro, former Director of U.S. Office of Trade & Manufacturing; U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz (Texas); Thomas Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); David Lara, everyday American; Jim Chilton, everyday American
7-7:30 p.m.: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott; Sarah Philips, everyday American; Mayor Trent Conaway; North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum; Kellyanne Conway, former counselor to the president
7:30-8 p.m.: U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (Fla.); Retired Staff Sgt. David Bellavia, everyday American; Scott Neil, everyday American; Kimberly Guilfoyle
8-8:30 p.m.: U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz (Fla.); Christy Shamblin, Cherly Juels and Herman & Alicia Lopez; Shabbos Kestenbaum, everyday American
8:30-9 p.m.: The Neutra Family, everyday Americans; Sgt. William Pekrul, everyday American 9-9:30 p.m.: Donald J. Trump Jr.; Usha Chilukuri Vance
9:30-10 p.m.: Vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance
- WTTW News staff
Illinois US Rep. Mary Miller Decries ‘Communist Environmental Movement’
12:30 p.m., Comfort Suites Milwaukee Airport, Milwaukee
U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Illinois) made fiery comments at Wednesday morning’s breakfast for Illinois delegates to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, saying climate change advocates like Al Gore have been getting rich running a scam and accusing them of having “demonized” carbon dioxide.
Miller said excessive regulations are hurting agriculture, blaming the so-called “communist environmental movement, the ‘Green Bad Deal’ that Donald Trump has called out as a sham issue. And I want to tell you as a farmer, we love CO2 – and trees and plants love it too. They have demonized the miracle molecule that causes things to grow.”
The Inflation Reduction Act earmarked some $20 billion “to advance climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices,” the USDA said in a news release. According to the Yale School of the Environment, that effort kicked off with a $3.1 billion investment promoting farming methods that “keep the American agricultural juggernaut steaming ahead while slashing the sector’s immense greenhouse gas footprint.”
Greenhouse gasses, including CO2, are widely considered by a broad consensus of scientists and environmental experts to be a leading cause of human-driven climate change, warming the planet to unsafe temperatures and making weather patterns more extreme.
Miller’s comments followed the day’s guest speaker, U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pennsylvania), who said that “rural America is essential America.”
Outgoing Illinois Republican Party chairman Don Tracy took a more measured stance.
“Republicans are environmentalists,” he said. “Richard Nixon, a Republican president – he gave birth to the EPA.” Read the Full Story.
- Nick Blumberg, WTTW News
Business Slower Than Usual for Some Milwaukee Establishments Outside RNC
11:30 a.m., Old World Third Street Entertainment District, Milwaukee
Ken McNulty says there’s more to cheese than people might think.
“There is such a huge variety, it’s not just sandwich cheese … there are truffle cheeses, aged cheddar cheeses for beer, or wine, or whiskey,” McNulty said.
That’s one of the misconceptions he hopes to clear up for the thousands of people attending the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week. McNulty is the president of Wisconsin Cheese Mart, 215 W. Highland Ave., a specialty cheese store located right across from the convention’s east entrance.
The store is one of a handful of businesses in the Old World Third Street Entertainment District open to the public during the convention.
As of Tuesday, McNulty says business has been slow — but that’s to be expected with a perishable product.
“They don’t buy a lot of cheese because they can’t really keep it with them … so they have to put it in a cooler with ice,” he said.
But McNulty says foot traffic and the number of sales are still a stark difference from the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which Milwaukee nominally hosted in August of that year. Read the Full Story.
- Nicole Cardos, WTTW News
Big Block of Cheese Carved Into Trump’s Likeness Greets Illinois Delegation
9:30 a.m., Comfort Suites Milwaukee Airport
(Heather Cherone / WTTW News)
Illinois delegates gathered Wednesday morning for breakfast in Milwaukee only to be greeted by a big block of cheese carved into the likeness of Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump.
The sculpture made its debut Tuesday night at a late night post-convention gathering for the Illinois delegates, where it was such a conversation piece, it made an encore appearance at breakfast.
None of the delegates attempted to break off a piece of the cheese, like those Americans who visited the White House in 1837, where former President Andrew Jackson invited the public to nibble on a 1,400-pound block of cheddar while discussing the issues of the day.
- Heather Cherone, WTTW News
Fatal Police Shooting of Man Near RNC Site Had ‘No Other Connections’ to Ongoing Convention: Milwaukee Mayor
7:30 a.m., Milwaukee
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson addresses the media on July 17, 2024, saying the fatal shooting by Ohio police less than a mile from the Republican National Convention was not connected to the ongoing event. (Matt Masterson / WTTW News)
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson believes the fatal shooting of a man Tuesday by Columbus, Ohio police officers less than a mile from the Republican National Convention site was not connected to the ongoing event.
Johnson said the officers likely saved the life of an unarmed man who had been in an altercation with a 43-year-old man — identified by family members as Samuel Sharpe Jr. — who police said was carrying a pair of knives near King Park on Milwaukee’s Near West Side.
“No one, absolutely no one, wanted this outcome and I anticipate a full as well as thorough investigation,” Johnson said early Wednesday morning. “The deceased individual had family and friends and my thoughts certainly are with them. My thoughts are also with the police officers from Columbus, Ohio. I’m sure they did not expect to be drawn into a tragic situation such as the one they were involved in yesterday.”
The shooting raised questions as to why out-of-state police officers who are in Milwaukee to assist with RNC security were stationed in a neighborhood outside the convention’s security footprint without supervision from Milwaukee police. Read the Full Story.
- Matt Masterson, WTTW News
Day 3 Will Focus on National Security, Introduce Vance
7:30 a.m., Milwaukee
The third day of the Republican National Convention kicks off Wednesday with Republicans — led by the newly nominated Donald Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio — shifting their focus to issues of national security and foreign policy.
Republicans are expected to focus on Democratic President Joe Biden’s handling of the ongoing crises in Europe and the Middle East. Former Trump administration officials are also expected to take the stage to outline what foreign policy would look like if he returns to the White House for a second term.
Vance will also introduce himself to a national audience Wednesday evening when he delivers his first speech as the Republican vice-presidential nominee.
- Associated Press
