President Donald Trump was officially nominated as the Republican presidential candidate as the Republican National Convention began Monday night in Washington, DC.
The RNC continues Thursday. Here are five key takeaways from the first night:
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1. Speakers Warned of Joe Biden's and Kamala Harris's Far-Left Agenda
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley spoke during the first night of the RNC, saying Biden and Harris were “socialists.”
"A Biden-Harris administration would be much, much worse. Last time, Joe's boss was Obama," Haley said. "This time, it would be Pelosi, Sanders, and the Squad. Their vision for America is socialism. And we know that socialism has failed everywhere."
Another speaker, Cuban immigrant Maximo Alvare, said of Biden-Harris: “I’ve seen people like this before. I’ve seen movements like this before. I’ve seen ideas like this before and I’m here to tell you, we cannot let them take over our country.”
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2. Condemnation of China Continued
Haley also talked about how China “gave” the Coronavirus to the country, echoing what Trump has previously said about the virus. Trump has repeatedly called Coronavirus, the “China virus” or “Chinese flu.”
"Before communist China gave us the coronavirus, we were breaking economic records left and right," Nikki Haley said. "The pandemic has set us back, but not for long. President Trump brought our economy back before, and he will bring it back again."
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3. Many speakers described Trump as a successful president
Haley called Trump a “godsend” who has shown strength in his first term as president.
"He's a godsend to everyone who wants America to apologize, abstain and abandon our values," said Haley, the former governor of South Carolina. "Donald Trump takes a different approach. He's tough on China, and he took on ISIS and won, and he tells the world what it needs to hear."
Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, told the crowd at the beginning of the night that if Trump lost, the country would face hardship.
"The American way of life is being dismantled by a group of bitter, deceitful, vengeful activists," he said.
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4. Black supporters of Trump said he is not a 'racist'
While the Black Lives Matters movement continues across the country, Black supporters of Trump spoke in favor of a second term for Trump.
“It hurts my soul to hear the terrible names that people call Donald. The worst one is ‘racist.’ I take it as a personal insult that people would think I would have a 37-year friendship with a racist,” Herschel Walker said on Monday. “People who think that don’t know what they are talking about. Growing up in the Deep South, I have seen racism up close. I know what it is. And it isn’t Donald Trump.”
Kim Klacik, a Republican candidate for Congress, also pointed at previous statements made by Biden about Black people.
“Joe Biden believes we can’t think for ourselves: that the color of someone’s skin dictates their political views,” Klacik said. “We’re not buying the lies anymore. You and your party have ignored us for too long.”
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5. The RNC does not adopt a policy platform
The RNC adopted a resolution Monday that said it would not adopt a new policy platform for the election, but instead agreed on “strong support for President Donald Trump and his Administration” and an “opposition to policy positions of the Obama-Biden Administration.
“The Republican Party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President’s America-first agenda,” the resolution said.
According to Business Insider, the GOP will campaign on the same platform as in 2016.
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