Everything you need to know about nights 1 and 2 at the RNC

An assassination attempt against Donald J. Trump, an Iranian revenge plot to kill the former president, a major court victory in the case about classified documents stored (oh so discreetly) in the president’s bathroom, a veep pick, and a Republican National Convention. Man, the scriptwriters really outdid themselves this week!

Ordinarily, a party convention might dominate the news. Indeed, I recall being glued to my screen for the entirety of the 2020 Republican National Convention. Pardon my nerdiness, but I still remember that Herschel Walker story about Donald Trump on “It’s a Small World,” the now-disgraced Madison Cawthorn’s dramatic rise from his wheelchair for the Pledge of Allegiance, and civil rights leader Clarence Henderson’s inspiring pitch for peaceful protests (ahem, BLM). But anyway.

After recent events, this year’s convention lacks that same gripping aura of noteworthiness. It’s the frustratingly didactic finale to an otherwise nail-biting thriller—four nights of bloviating juxtaposed with kitsch performances from Backstreet Boys/Oak Ridge Boys wannabes. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t important!

For those who haven’t had the time to keep up with the developing story about Trump’s would-be assassination, the gross security negligence at the fateful campaign event, and 52 gazillion hours of RNC speech-making, we’ve got you covered.

From Trump tapping Senator J.D. Vance, a popular made-in-MAGA conservative, to serve as his running mate to a spinoff of the popular MAGA slogan, “Make America Wealthy Again,” the event has struck a perceptible tone of anti-elitism. The basic message, as exposited by many of the week’s biggest speakers, is that the ruling class in Washington has turned its back on the little man and that middle America is suffering because of it.

If we had to summarize the entire conference thus far in just one line, it would have to be from Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown: “Life must be affordable for millions, not just millionaires,” he said on Tuesday.

Notably, this line—and the branding behind it—are not inherently partisan. (Let’s be honest, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could have uttered that line). The point, of course, is that gas prices, mortgage rates, and inflation rates have skyrocketed under President Joe Biden. You do not have to be a right-wing political idealogue to see that.

The RNC is staking its 2024 White House bid on this bet—that ever-present distress about rising prices will trump any issues related to Trump himself, mobilizing his base and more ambivalent supporters to turn out on election day.

In order to sell this message effectively, though, the party must paint inflation and other financial woes as more than just an accident but an inevitability when Washington abandons the American people. Hence, the intense backlash against the elites.

“I’m not one of the political elite,” declared North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson on Monday. “I’d love to tell you that I graduated from high school, found success, [and] never worried about money again, but I can’t. . . . Politicians in D.C. made bad decisions. People like me suffered.”

Businessman, former presidential candidate, and Convention of States endorser Vivek Ramaswamy echoed a similar sentiment.

“The people who we elect to run the government ought to be the ones who actually run the government, not unelected bureaucrats in the Deep State,” the silver-tongued speaker urged. “These are not black ideas or white ideas. They are not even Democrat ideas or Republican ideas. They are American ideas that we fought a revolution to secure.”

Another outspoken Convention of States supporter, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, agreed, calling for term limits on members of Congress. “We reject [the] entrenched political class,” he said. “We stand for fiscal sanity, for low taxes, and for reduced debt. We seek to reclaim the constitutional government. . . envisioned by our Founding Fathers by bringing the administrative state to heel once and for all.”

The pulse of the American people, as represented by the various speakers and quotes highlighted above, is impossible to ignore. A pervasive sense of betrayal by Washington grips the masses, and despite a somewhat sluggish start to this week’s convention, that message reverberates unmistakably. The elite ruling class, whether in Washington or the mainstream media, would be wise to listen. Rather than dismiss us as radicals, racists, and Nazis, they should take note: “We the People” are rising up; we’re plotting our comeback. We will not succumb to what President Ronald Reagan once dubbed the “little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital.” We mean to govern ourselves. We aim to cast off the tyranny of an administrative state and our federal puppet masters.

Ultimately, this message does not stem from the RNC. It springs from everyday Americans, patriots, like you and I. No doubt, after everything that has happened to our country over the past few unforgettable days, the clarion call for freedom from elites has reached a fever pitch.

America is just beginning to wake up.

Stay tuned to the Convention of States blog for our coverage of the DNC in August!