RNC 2024 Day 3 updates: JD Vance touts working class roots in debut as VP nominee

Two veterans billed by the RNC as "everyday Americans" addressed what they saw as failings of the Biden administration.

Sgt. David Bellavia, a Medal of Honor recipient who served in Fallujah, Iraq, argued that Biden has demoralized America's military.

"Military recruitment has plunged. Confidence in the armed forces has reached a 20-year low," he said. "Under President Donald Trump, our enemies will know that American power is as decisive as it is overwhelming."

Scott Neil, a Green Beret veteran, criticized Biden over the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"We want to prove that America remains the land of opportunity for those brave enough to reach out and grab it. But tragically, almost three years ago, my fellow veterans and I recoiled at the bloody anarchy of President Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan," he said, with the crowd booing. "We saw weakness and chaos. We saw 13 of our brothers and sisters lose their lives."

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Trump arrives at convention

Trump has walked out on the convention floor to the James Brown song "It's A Man's Man's Man's World."

ABCNews.com

Trump has walked out on the convention floor to the James Brown song "It's A Man's Man's Man's World."

He is wearing a bandage on his ear again and is raising his fist as the crowd cheers.

Seen in the VIP box with Trump are Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and others.

Jondavid Longo, the mayor of Slippery Rock in Butler County, Pennsylvania, was in the front row when the attempted assassination attempt against Trump took place on Saturday.

Now, he is at the Republican National Convention.

"What a 180 from Saturday," he told ABC News Digital of the convention's atmosphere. "And I think this is what we're all, we're looking forward to having on Saturday, and that was stolen from us, of course. But this right here shows you that the party is resolved, the base is ready to go and deliver Pennsylvania for Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance.”

He said tomorrow he wants to hear Trump "project strength."

"But I know that's what he's going to do. He projected strength on that stage that day, I saw him wrangle his arms from the Secret Service and raise his fist like that. He let us know, 'We're here. We're not going anywhere.'"

-ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler

Kellyanne Conway, who was Trump's campaign manager in 2016 and one of his longest-serving aides, said she got to know Trump in a "foxhole." She said he had a long record of promoting women and signature qualities of "strength and toughness."

"We don’t get those policies without that personality," Conway said.

"We win through addition, not division," she added, encouraging Republicans to reach out and expand their tent.