RNC 2024 Day 2 updates: Trump rivals take center stage along with divine intervention
The theme of Tuesday's session is "Make America Safe Again."
The second day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee ended Tuesday with appearances from some of former President Donald Trump's former rivals: former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy -- all calling for Republican Party unity.
They were joined by some of Trump's longest allies including Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Ben Carson in bashing the Democrats over what they claimed were harmful and failed policies.
The program focused on law and order with a theme of making the country "safe again."
Trump, with a bandage on his ear, made an appearance again Tuesday evening -- just days after he was wounded in an assassination attempt at one of his rallies in Pennsylvania over the weekend. Several speakers touched on that God spared Trump in the shooting, saving him for a divine plan for the presidency.
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GOP putting Harris front and center
Over and over again, the speakers on Tuesday night are taking jabs at Vice President Kamala Harris, going after her on immigration and arguing that a vote for President Joe Biden is a vote for Harris.
To be clear, Harris was tasked with addressing the root causes of immigration, not securing the border, but the spotlight on Harris is notable, especially given all the questions and concerns about Biden’s age.
But the argument that Harris is a drag on the ticket may be losing steam -- we have seen in recent days several polls showing Harris doing slightly better than Biden in a head-to-head matchup with Trump.
Of course, even Biden said Tuesday bluntly that Harris could be president, and he has argued a good one at that.
-ABC News' Mary Bruce
Democratic Party 'stabbed us in the back,' crime victim's mother says
Madeline Brame, one of the people billed by the RNC as an "everyday American," spoke about the murder of her son in an impassioned speech.
Her son, Hason Correa, was stabbed to death in New York City in 2018 at the age of 35 after serving in the military.
Four people were charged related to Correa's murder. Three pleaded guilty to felony charges and one was convicted at trial. Two were handed sentences of 20 years to life, one was sentenced to seven years, and one served 14 months.
Brame called the latter two plea deals in the case an "injustice" that was "devastating for me and my family."
"We need justice for victims and we need accountability for prosecutors who fail in their duty," Brame said. "Soft-on-crime prosecutors like Alvin Bragg in New York, Kim Foxx in Chicago and George Gascón in Los Angeles have turned our great country and city into war zones."
She said the Democratic Party "stabbed us in the back."
"Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who claimed to represent us, have abandoned us," she said. "They neglected the poor minority communities across America."
Fact check: Drug overdose deaths
The Trump administration had limited success in reducing the estimated number of drug overdose deaths, mostly due to fentanyl and other opioids, from 2017 to 2018 from 70,237 to 67,367 according to data from the CDC. However, that progress was reversed in 2019 growing to 70,630 and then surged during the pandemic in Trump’s final year to 91,799>).
As the pandemic raged, that ugly trend continued during the Biden administration with overdose deaths climbing to 106,699 in 2021 and peaking in 2022 at 111,027 before falling slightly in 2023 to 107,543, according to CDC data.
'USA' chants boom during Sarah Huckabee Sanders' speech
The energy level was high for the Arkansas governor's address.
The crowd was largely on its feet, and chants of "Trump, Trump, Trump" and "USA" boomed through the convention center during Sarah Huckabee Sanders' speech.
The noise was thunderous when she said "not even an assassin's bullet could stop" Trump.
Trump was seen with a big grin as she spoke.
-ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler