Delegates react as some delegates call for a roll call vote on the adoption of the rules during the opening day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Monday, July 18, 2016. “That could be. I don’t want to speculate but I want to see that information”.
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Kasich’s advisers say he doesn’t plan to speak out aggressively against Trump during the convention week because he doesn’t want to be “rude”.
True to form, Trump himself provided the first curveball of the week, announcing he will make an unexpected swing to the convention hall Monday night to introduce his wife, Melania, on the first night of speeches.
The roll call vote on the nomination was expected Tuesday, with Trump scheduled to close the convention with an acceptance speech late Thursday.
Joel Ameigh, of Hershey, Pennsylvania, who had a Smith & Wesson handgun strapped to his belt, said he is not necessarily a Trump backer but wanted to hear from the speakers at the “America First” rally sponsored by Citizens for Trump. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. Ernst is one of the Republican Party’s rising stars, but the speaking schedule had her appearing late in the night before a almost empty hall.
The power play – a Hail Mary at best – could have opened a door to a contested convention and the outside possibility of a candidate other than Trump emerging with the nomination.
Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort said that while Melania doesn’t love the campaign trail, she was eager to deliver this speech. They include Ernst of Iowa and Jeff Sessions of Alabama, actor Scott Baio and Willie Robertson, star of Duck Dynasty, as well as immigration advocates and a Marine who fought in the Benghazi attack that occurred during Clinton’s tenure at the State Department.
An effort by conservatives to force a roll call vote on the GOP convention rules was quashed by party leaders Monday.
On Monday morning, Pennsylvania’s delegates to the convention’s Rules Committee were pronouncing the end of the effort, which still faces long odds of success.
He added that Trump is interested in making rules changes – “after the elections”.
“Overwhelmingly the floor was flooded with people who are upset with the way the rules were handled, said Regina Thomson, Ted Cruz’s state director and Colorado delegate and executive director of Free the Delegates”.
Earlier this month, the slaying of a black man in Baton Rouge by white officers led to protests nationwide and heightened concerns about the state of race relations in America. President Barack Obama, responding to the shooting Sunday, noted that the incidents had come just before political conventions that tend to involve “overheated” rhetoric.
President Barack Obama on Sunday called for both parties to avoid “careless accusations” meant to score political points.
“You are ignoring delegates who have been elected to this convention”, Utah Senator Mike Lee told C-SPAN. “She also said her husband “will never be bought”, perhaps a reference to Hillary Clinton”.
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Cleveland hoped it would escape any violence of its own. The city’s police chief, Calvin Williams, said it seems everyone is arriving to “exercise their First Amendment rights”.
