The Republican National Convention kicked off Monday night in Cleveland, Ohio, and what a night it was! The fun began in the afternoon when the #NeverTrump delegates were denied a state by state roll call. Rules were passed with a quick and dirty voice vote, which elicited boos and walkouts from some of the delegates.
Presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump, being a reality star himself lined up a few to speak, including Dancing with the Stars contestant Antonio Sabato Jr, Duck Dynasty’s Willie Robertson, plus 80’s actor Scott Baio.
Scott Baio speaks at the RNC
“Donald Trump will always tell you the truth as he sees it,” said Robertson.
Click to Watch Willie Robertson Speak at the RNC
Antonio Sabato Jr. Speaks at the RNC
“I know I’m not your typical convention speaker,” he said. Adding: “The truth is, I’ve never considered myself very political.”
Many rank and file Republican politicians are sitting out the convention in order to distance themselves from the controversial candidate, including former presidential candidate and Ohio governor, John Kasich. It’s the first time a sitting governor skipped the party’s convention in their home state.
Typically, the presidential candidate doesn’t make an appearance until the last night of convention. But could Donald Trump resist the lure of the cameras before Thursday? HELL NO. He arrived on stage Monday night like a rock star to introduce his wife, Melania Trump. Queen’s “We Are the Champions” played as the presumptive nominee made his big entrance. The last time Trump used a Queen song, Brian May ordered him to CEASE AND DESIST. But hey! TRUMP DOES WHAT HE WANTS AMIRIGHT PEOPLE. I can’t wait to read Dr. May’s blog tomorrow. He should be fuming, and rightfully so.
#ICYMI The moment Donald Trump entered the #RNCinCLE. Coverage continues: https://t.co/nORLRTAKpV #Decision2016 https://t.co/PqzknKZIoD
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 19, 2016
BUT THE DRAMA WAS ONLY BEGINNING! Melania delivered a rather non-descript speech, praising her husband and sharing her own humble roots as an immigrant-turned-American, and it appears that she lifted paragraphs from First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2008 DNC convention speech. UH OH.
CORRECTION: Melania stole a whole graph from Michelle’s speech. #GOPConvention
WATCH: https://t.co/8BCOwXAHSy pic.twitter.com/zudpDznGng— Jarrett Hill (@JarrettHill) July 19, 2016
Here’s Melania’s full speech:
Michelle Obama at the 2008 DNC
The theme of the night was “law and order” the mother of a man who died in Benghazi took the stage to deliver a painful speech, in which she blamed Hillary Clinton for his death. There were also folks whose relatives were murdered by undocumented immigrants. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani took the stage to blast Hillary’s foreign policy and ability to deal with terrorist threats. There was a lot of shouting! “I am sick and tired of the defamation of Donald Trump by the media and by the Clinton campaign,” Giuliani said, adding that he was tired of the negative campaigning.
The morning was pretty news-filled as well! Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter of Trump’s best selling 1987 memoir, The Art of the Deal, sat for a New Yorker interview, explaining why he believed, after spending countless hours with the man, he believed Donald Trump to be a sociopath. He stopped by Good Morning America for an interview too.
https://youtu.be/euPja4kQt1Q
UPDATE: Melania told the Today show earlier yesterday that she wrote the speech herself with a little help, but Trump says she had a team of writers! “I read over it, and that’s all,” she told Today’s Matt Lauer on Monday before her speech. “Because I wrote it … with as little help as possible.”
Here’s the official statement from the campaign:
“In writing her beautiful speech, Melania’s team of writers took notes on her life’s inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking. Melania’s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success.”
From the official Queen twitter:
An unauthorised use at the Republican Convention against our wishes – Queen
— Queen (@QueenWillRock) July 19, 2016
Current Queen frontman, Adam Lambert tweeted this:
— ADAM LAMBERT (@adamlambert) July 19, 2016
In an interview with ABC News, Antonio Sabato Jr. insists that President Obama is a Muslim.
“I don’t believe the guy is a Christian. I don’t believe he follows the God that I love and the Jesus that I love,” Sabato said. “If you understand about Obama, I mean, that’s not a Christian name, is it?”
“We had a Muslim president for seven and a half years.” He insisted “I believe that he’s on the other side. The Middle East. He’s with the bad guys. He’s with them. He’s not with us.”
ABC’s Tamron Hall Rips into Scott Baio for Sharing Ugly and Misogynist Hillary Clinton memes.
She destroys him, and it’s a beautiful thing. I mean, ya’ll can say I’m biased but I don’t care how much you hate Hillary, calling a woman the C word is disgusting. He deserved to be called out. His excuses are pathetic.
