The Making of the President 2016: Part 17-The Republicans (May to July)
This community is about history, not politics, and so it is with some reluctance that I will continue this series about the election of 2016 as a chronicle for future reference. In the last entry in this series, Donald Trump had just won sufficient delegates in the Republican Party primaries and caucus to secure the party's nomination for president.
Trump next turned his attention towards selecting a running mate after he became the presumptive nominee on May 4, 2016. A number of potential vice-presidential nominees were named in various news sources, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich of Georgia, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, as well as Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Joni Ernst of Iowa, and Indiana Governor Mike Pence. Trump also stated that he was considering two military generals for the position, including retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn.
In July 2016, an NBC News report said that Trump had narrowed his list of possible running mates down to three: Christie, Gingrich, and Pence. Later that month, on July 14, 2016, several members of the major news media reported that Trump had selected Pence as his running mate. Trump confirmed these reports in a message on Twitter on July 15, 2016, and formally made the announcement the following day in New York.
Mike Pence was born on June 7, 1959. He is an attorney, and was elected as the 50th Governor of Indiana in November of 2012. Previously he was a conservative radio and TV talk show host from 1994 to 1999. He successfully ran for Congress in 2000 and represented Indiana's 2nd congressional district and Indiana's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013, rising to the position of chairman of the House Republican Conference from 2009 to 2011.
The 2016 Republican National Convention was held from July 18th to the 21st, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the third time Cleveland has hosted this event, but the last time it did so was in 1936. There were 2,472 delegates voting at the convention, with a simple majority of 1,237 required to win the presidential nomination. Most of those delegates were bound for the first ballot of the convention based on the results of the primaries. As expected, the convention formally nominated Donald Trump as the party's nominee and Mike Pence as his running mate.
An online petition to allow the open carry of guns inside Quicken Loans Arena was signed by over 45,000 people, but the Secret Service, which is in charge of convention security, announced that it would not allow guns in or around the arena during the convention. The Cleveland Police Department has received $50 million in federal grants to support local police operations during the event. On July 16, the Cleveland Police Union asked Governor John Kasich to temporarily suspend Ohio's state open-carry gun law so as to block the carrying of guns within the event zone, but Kasich rejected the request. He stated: "Ohio governors do not have the power to arbitrarily suspend federal and state constitutional rights or state laws as suggested."
Of the living former Republican nominees for president, only 1996 nominee Bob Dole announced that he would attend the convention. Past candidates Mitt Romney, John McCain, along with Presidents George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush all announced that they would not attend the convention. A number of Republican Governors, including Governor Kasich, also chose not to attend the convention.
A group called Delegates Unbound attempted to convince delegates that they could vote for whomever they wanted. Republican delegate Kendal Unruh led an effort to change the convention rules "to include a 'conscience clause' that would allow delegates bound to Trump to vote against him, even on the first ballot. Both of these efforts were unsuccessful.
The convention's platform committee expressed its opposition to Obergefell v. Hodges, the controversial Supreme Court decision which made same-sex marriage lawful in every state. The platform also supported state bathroom bills to restrict the public restrooms that transgender persons can use and expressed support for allowing parents to seek conversion therapy for their gay minor children. The platform also called internet pornography "a public health crisis that is destroying the life of millions" and encouraged states to fight it. The platform also called for the teaching of the Bible in public schools. It also condemned all forms of abortion.
Jeff Sessions, U.S. Senator from Alabama, formally nominated Donald Trump for president, with Chris Collins, U.S. Representative from New York, and Henry McMaster, Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, seconding the nomination. Trump won the presidential nomination on the first ballot with 69.8% of the delegates. The vice presidential nomination was held immediately after the presidential nomination. Eric Holcomb, the Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, nominated Indiana Governor Mike Pence for vice president.Pence won the vice presidential nomination by acclamation.
Trump wished for those candidates who had not endorsed him to be prevented from addressing the convention, but both Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, were placed on the speakers' list. The schedule of speakers included Trump's wife Melania Trump, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, actor Scott Baio, Senator Tom Cotton, Senator Jeff Sessions, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, retired Lieutenant-General Michael T. Flynn, Senator Joni Ernst, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Senator Mitch McConnell, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Ben Carson, Florida Governor Rick Scott, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Ted Cruz, along with four of Trump's children: Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric and Tiffany.
Melania Trump's speech was criticized due to similarities between her speech and Michelle Obama's speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The Trump campaign denied allegations of plagiarism. On July 20, 2016, the Trump campaign issued a statement by Meredith McIver which stated: "In working with Melania on her recent first lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired her and messages she wanted to share with the American people. A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama. Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama’s speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech."
Governor Chris Christie gave a speech accusing Hillary Clinton of a variety of transgressions, prompting the crowd to chanted "lock her up".
Second place finisher Ted Cruz spoke on the third night of the convention. He did not endorse Trump during his speech. Instead he told his audience to "vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution." Pro-Trump delegates booed him off the stage and convention security personnel escorted Cruz's wife Heidi out of the hall, fearing for her safety.
Trump spoke on the final night of the convention. He was introduced by his daughter, Ivanka Trump. Trump spoke for 75 minutes, one of the longest acceptance speeches ever in major-party convention history. In his speech, Trump told his audience that America faces a "crisis" due to "attacks on our police" and "terrorism in our cities," and emphasized the theme of law and order. When Trump turned to the subject of illegal immigration, many in the audience began shouting "Build the wall, build the wall,” referring to a promise of Trump's campaign to build a wall on the Mexico–United States border.
Trump next turned his attention towards selecting a running mate after he became the presumptive nominee on May 4, 2016. A number of potential vice-presidential nominees were named in various news sources, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich of Georgia, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, as well as Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Joni Ernst of Iowa, and Indiana Governor Mike Pence. Trump also stated that he was considering two military generals for the position, including retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn.
In July 2016, an NBC News report said that Trump had narrowed his list of possible running mates down to three: Christie, Gingrich, and Pence. Later that month, on July 14, 2016, several members of the major news media reported that Trump had selected Pence as his running mate. Trump confirmed these reports in a message on Twitter on July 15, 2016, and formally made the announcement the following day in New York.
Mike Pence was born on June 7, 1959. He is an attorney, and was elected as the 50th Governor of Indiana in November of 2012. Previously he was a conservative radio and TV talk show host from 1994 to 1999. He successfully ran for Congress in 2000 and represented Indiana's 2nd congressional district and Indiana's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013, rising to the position of chairman of the House Republican Conference from 2009 to 2011.
The 2016 Republican National Convention was held from July 18th to the 21st, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the third time Cleveland has hosted this event, but the last time it did so was in 1936. There were 2,472 delegates voting at the convention, with a simple majority of 1,237 required to win the presidential nomination. Most of those delegates were bound for the first ballot of the convention based on the results of the primaries. As expected, the convention formally nominated Donald Trump as the party's nominee and Mike Pence as his running mate.
An online petition to allow the open carry of guns inside Quicken Loans Arena was signed by over 45,000 people, but the Secret Service, which is in charge of convention security, announced that it would not allow guns in or around the arena during the convention. The Cleveland Police Department has received $50 million in federal grants to support local police operations during the event. On July 16, the Cleveland Police Union asked Governor John Kasich to temporarily suspend Ohio's state open-carry gun law so as to block the carrying of guns within the event zone, but Kasich rejected the request. He stated: "Ohio governors do not have the power to arbitrarily suspend federal and state constitutional rights or state laws as suggested."
Of the living former Republican nominees for president, only 1996 nominee Bob Dole announced that he would attend the convention. Past candidates Mitt Romney, John McCain, along with Presidents George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush all announced that they would not attend the convention. A number of Republican Governors, including Governor Kasich, also chose not to attend the convention.
A group called Delegates Unbound attempted to convince delegates that they could vote for whomever they wanted. Republican delegate Kendal Unruh led an effort to change the convention rules "to include a 'conscience clause' that would allow delegates bound to Trump to vote against him, even on the first ballot. Both of these efforts were unsuccessful.
The convention's platform committee expressed its opposition to Obergefell v. Hodges, the controversial Supreme Court decision which made same-sex marriage lawful in every state. The platform also supported state bathroom bills to restrict the public restrooms that transgender persons can use and expressed support for allowing parents to seek conversion therapy for their gay minor children. The platform also called internet pornography "a public health crisis that is destroying the life of millions" and encouraged states to fight it. The platform also called for the teaching of the Bible in public schools. It also condemned all forms of abortion.
Jeff Sessions, U.S. Senator from Alabama, formally nominated Donald Trump for president, with Chris Collins, U.S. Representative from New York, and Henry McMaster, Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, seconding the nomination. Trump won the presidential nomination on the first ballot with 69.8% of the delegates. The vice presidential nomination was held immediately after the presidential nomination. Eric Holcomb, the Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, nominated Indiana Governor Mike Pence for vice president.Pence won the vice presidential nomination by acclamation.
Trump wished for those candidates who had not endorsed him to be prevented from addressing the convention, but both Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, were placed on the speakers' list. The schedule of speakers included Trump's wife Melania Trump, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, actor Scott Baio, Senator Tom Cotton, Senator Jeff Sessions, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, retired Lieutenant-General Michael T. Flynn, Senator Joni Ernst, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Senator Mitch McConnell, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Ben Carson, Florida Governor Rick Scott, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Ted Cruz, along with four of Trump's children: Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric and Tiffany.
Melania Trump's speech was criticized due to similarities between her speech and Michelle Obama's speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The Trump campaign denied allegations of plagiarism. On July 20, 2016, the Trump campaign issued a statement by Meredith McIver which stated: "In working with Melania on her recent first lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired her and messages she wanted to share with the American people. A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama. Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama’s speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech."
Governor Chris Christie gave a speech accusing Hillary Clinton of a variety of transgressions, prompting the crowd to chanted "lock her up".
Second place finisher Ted Cruz spoke on the third night of the convention. He did not endorse Trump during his speech. Instead he told his audience to "vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution." Pro-Trump delegates booed him off the stage and convention security personnel escorted Cruz's wife Heidi out of the hall, fearing for her safety.
Trump spoke on the final night of the convention. He was introduced by his daughter, Ivanka Trump. Trump spoke for 75 minutes, one of the longest acceptance speeches ever in major-party convention history. In his speech, Trump told his audience that America faces a "crisis" due to "attacks on our police" and "terrorism in our cities," and emphasized the theme of law and order. When Trump turned to the subject of illegal immigration, many in the audience began shouting "Build the wall, build the wall,” referring to a promise of Trump's campaign to build a wall on the Mexico–United States border.