Haley, DeSantis rally GOP for Trump
Menendez faces calls to resign after guilty verdicts
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for July 17, 2024:
Republicans very quiet about Menendez.
GOP tries to boost Senate hopefuls.
Vance speech highlights RNC Day Three.
From Milwaukee, Wisconsin -
GOP UNITY. Republicans focused on party unity on the second night of their national convention, as delegates heard some of Donald Trump's sharpest primary critics from 2016 and 2024 loudly endorse his third bid for the White House. The former President was on hand for all of it, as he watched and listened to every word of praise from his seat in the convention hall.
BIRDBRAIN. Earlier this year, Nikki Haley called Trump ‘unstable’ and ‘unhinged,’ as she won substantial chunks of the GOP vote in a number of states - even after dropping out of the Republican primary race. Last night, Haley appealed to her supporters to vote for Trump in November.
HALEY. "You don't have to agree with Trump 100 percent of the time to vote for him,” Haley told delegates and moderate voters who backed her in the primaries. “Take it from me. I haven't always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more than we disagree.”
DESANCTIMONIOUS. Once seen as the possible favorite over Trump in the 2024 GOP race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flopped in the GOP primaries. Last night, he used his speech to go on the attack for Trump, ripping President Biden over his policies, age, and mental acuity.
BIDEN. “Our enemies do not confine their designs to between 10 am and 4 pm," DeSantis said to cheers. "America cannot afford four more years of a 'Weekend at Bernie's' presidency," as he mocked Biden as a 'figurehead' President.
LYIN’ TED. It wasn’t all about 2024. Eight years ago, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was basically booed off the stage at the 2016 GOP convention, when he called on delegates to stage a late revolt against a Donald Trump nomination. Last night, Cruz expressed his full and unwavering support. “God Bless Donald J. Trump,” Cruz began.
LITTLE MARCO. Doing the same was Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who attacked Trump in 2016 as a ‘con artist.’ “The only way to make America wealthy and safe and strong again is to make Donald J. Trump our President again,” Rubio said to loud cheers from delegates.
TRUMP. For a second straight night, Trump made an unscheduled appearance at the convention hall, as he arrived to another thunderous reception from GOP delegates. He was once again wearing a square bandage over his ear, where he was injured during Saturday’s assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
DAY THREE. The headline event tonight for Republicans will be the acceptance speech for Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), as he takes the reins as Donald Trump's running mate. Trump gets his turn in the spotlight on Thursday night, when he wraps up the GOP convention.
BUCKEYE. I think Vance could become an extraordinarily popular figure inside the GOP over the next few months. The Ohio Republican is a very effective communicator, and he could be a very effective attack dog for Trump - we probably will see some of that red meat get served tonight.
POST-CONVENTION. The Trump campaign announced yesterday that the new GOP ticket - Trump and Vance - will make their first joint appearance after the convention on Saturday at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
SENATE. 10 Republicans running for U.S. Senate seats held by Democrats got some prime time in the GOP convention spotlight last night, led by Kari Lake of Arizona. Lake spent a big chunk of her time taunting the news media - but never mentioned that she was a local TV news anchor for over 20 years.
POLLING. There was one pretty notable thing about Lake and most of those other GOP Senate candidates who were up on stage. In all ten of their states, Donald Trump is leading Joe Biden in the polls. But in 7 of those 10 states, the Republican is solidly behind in the race for Senate.
STATE OF THE RACE. Think about that for a minute. How can Trump be winning, but in the exact same poll, the Democrat is easily ahead for Senate? What would cause that result in states as varied as Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia?
MENENDEZ GUILTY. There was major Congressional news on Tuesday outside the GOP convention. After two days of deliberation, a federal jury convicted Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) of all counts against him in a sprawling bribery and corruption trial. Menendez had been accused of receiving nearly $500,000 in cash, over a dozen gold bars, and even a Mercedes convertible - all in exchange for giving help to Egypt and Qatar.
DEMS. The conviction on all 16 counts sparked a wave of calls from fellow Democrats for Menendez to quit the Senate. "He must resign immediately," said Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ). "It's past time that he resign," added Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM). Senator Menendez should resign or face expulsion," added Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA).
EXPULSION. As in the House, expulsion would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate - a very high bar. That option for Menendez was also publicly endorsed by New Jersey's Governor. "If he refuses to vacate his office, I call on the U.S. Senate to vote to expel him," said Gov. Phil Murphy (D).
SENATE. With the Senate out of session until next Tuesday, Menendez doesn’t have to immediately take action. But if he hasn’t resigned by next week, one would expect there will be additional public pressure from Democrats.
CRICKETS. While you might expect the news of a Democratic Senator getting convicted to be celebrated at the GOP convention in Milwaukee - think again. It was almost like the Menendez guilty verdicts didn't happen, as the reaction of Republicans in Congress was mainly public silence.
NO MENTION. On stage last night speaking to the convention were 10 Republican candidates for Senate, several sitting GOP Senators, and one GOP Congressman from New Jersey - and none of them even hinted at the Menendez guilty verdict.
QUIET. Why is that? A Democratic Senator being convicted doesn't really fit with the Republican argument that President Biden and the Justice Department are out to get Donald Trump. Just saying.
CONVENTION FLOOR. There were two really weird moments on the GOP convention floor on Monday that I wasn't able to get to in yesterday's newsletter - but they deserve some review. One had to do with Ukraine. The other dealt with the GOP and unions. Both were head scratchers.
UKRAINE. A speech given by businessman David Sacks - where he basically spouted Kremlin talking points about the war in Ukraine - was one of the craziest things I've ever seen. I was on the floor when Sacks accused President Biden of provoking the Russian invasion - and no one applauded. It was bizarre.
SACKED. In fact, there were several times when Sacks seemed to be waiting for applause - and there was none. "I called out the warmongers for their provoked war," Sacks tweeted. "Cope and seethe, grifters."
UNIONS. The other odd moment came when the head of the Teamsters, Sean O'Brien, was given a prime-time speaking slot - with Trump himself in attendance. In his speech, O'Brien tried to make the argument that both parties aren't doing enough to help unions and workers. "The Teamsters are not beholden to any one or any party," O'Brien said.
NUMBERS. That's a pretty weird point to make, given that Democrats in Congress are big supporters of union causes - while Republicans definitely are not. I'm sure that most members of the Teamsters identify more with Trump. But the policies of the GOP certainly aren't pro-union.
PROJECT 2025. Just look at some of the details in Project 2025:
Remove all unions in the Department of Homeland Security.
Place limits on government employee unions.
Government 'should not be intimidated by union power.'
Various restrictions on overtime pay for workers.
OVERTIME. Let me flesh out some of the OT plans. Project 2025 would let companies calculate overtime over a 2-week or 4-week period. In other words, you could work 70 hours in one week all for regular pay, and then have your hours cut the next week to offset that extra work. Your pay would stay the same.
CNN. A day after his speech, the Teamsters boss was on CNN yesterday, making clear that Biden was as pro-union as they come. "He is definitely the most pro-labor President we've ever had and we've ever seen." But O'Brien said his rank and file members see the election much differently.
PROBE. Amid GOP demands for answers about the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson is being urged to set up a special panel to probe the attack which took place at Trump's campaign rally in Pennsylvania last week.
SELECT. "I believe a Select Committee to investigate the attempted assassination of President Trump is a necessary next step," said Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN). Others want something more formal. "I’m drafting the legislative text to enact an Independent Commission," said Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC).
HEADS ROLL. Republicans in Congress are also wasting no time calling for punishment inside the Secret Service. "Why has no one been fired?" said Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), as the Secret Service chief is set to testify on Monday.
TRANSPARENCY. Meanwhile, one top Democrat urged the feds to get as much information out as quickly as possible. "At moments like this, in the absence of factual information, it is easy for conspiracy theories to take hold," said Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT).
BIDEN. Addressing the NAACP convention in Las Vegas, President Biden called for a ban on assault weapons. "An AR-15 was used in the shooting of Donald Trump," Biden said in his speech. "It's time to outlaw them. I did it once and I will do it again," Biden said, referring to a 1994 ban on certain assault rifles.
EARLY VOTE. Meanwhile, there is more wrangling among Democrats. Supporters of President Biden are pressing to hold an early virtual vote to nominate him for President, a move which would end efforts inside the party to get him to quit the 2024 race. That idea drew a sharp rebuke from some Democratic lawmakers in Congress.
DON'T DO IT. "There is no legal justification for this extraordinary and unprecedented action," a group of Democrats wrote in a letter. Originally, the early vote was envisioned because of ballot access questions in Ohio, but that state's legislature passed a law to fix that.
DNC CHAIRS. Meanwhile, three big name Democrats called for the DNC to act now. "A virtual roll call is the wisest choice," wrote former DNC chairs Howard Dean, Donna Brazile, and Terry McAuliffe. (I bet that's where things are heading. Stay tuned.)
BEHIND THE SCENES. One of the great things about the major party conventions is that we get to see many old friends and colleagues. On Tuesday, I ran into ABC Radio's Steven Portnoy, who is working a fairly routine 7 am to 11 pm schedule. "I don't know what day it is," Portnoy chuckled. (As a former radio reporter, I’ve been there.)
AMERICA'S VOICE. I saw Portnoy over at Media Row - which was alive with big names and VIP's. Rudy Giuliani was there. I saw MyPillow exec and election denier Mike Lindell being interviewed at America's Voice. Not there was Steve Bannon, who would certainly draw a crowd. Instead, he's in federal prison for refusing to cooperate with the Jan. 6 committee.
PUNCH OUT AT MALIBU. From what I was told, passions ran a little strong in the Media Row area at one point on Tuesday, as some content creators and talk show personalities got into a spat which resulted in security getting involved and some people losing their credentials. Maybe that could be the undercard for the Matt Gaetz vs. Kevin McCarthy Loser Leave Town Cage Match. (They’re going to actually fight sometime, aren’t they?)
RAP SHEET. An Arkansas man has been arrested and charged with various crimes for his actions on Jan. 6. David Camden is seen on video joining Trump supporters who were trying to knock down police barricades outside the Capitol that day, at one point pushing bike racks into police. Camden also later sprayed a fire extinguisher at officers.
MUSE OF HISTORY. July 17, 1911. On this date, the Senate began debate on a House-passed bill which sought to force the disclosure of campaign contributions for members of Congress. The final plan approved by Congress in 1911 also limited how much money could be spent on campaigns by candidates for the House and Senate - but that was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The Republican National Convention convenes at 6:45 pm EDT.
The House is back for votes on July 22.
The Senate is back for votes on July 23.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.
Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
If you want to say ‘thanks’ - you can buy me a cup of coffee.
Fine work at the convention, Mr. Dupree. Having all of the high/low lights here neatly assembled each AM means I can skip watching it. Thank you for that.
Outside of nazi germany, have you ever seen such cowardly filth cheering a convict that is just as happy to execute those who disagree with him?
These losers… deathsantis, cruz, haley… should be forever known as weak links in the chain towards fascism. To debase themselves so completely should be a warning to every republican that unless they take a knee and obey their fuhrer, they’ll be put to death.
Does blind obedience equal unity to these unamerican cretins? Or does chanting, “fight fight fight” define unity?
And by the way, when these violent cultists scream FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT… who exactly are they fighting? All the white gun loving trump loving republicans that tried to kill him?
Or the democrats that are trying to save democracy?
Ha. Just kidding. We all know who they mean.