RNC 2024 Day 3 updates: JD Vance touts working class roots in debut as VP nominee
The theme at the RNC on Wednesday is "Make America Strong Once Again."
Day three of the Republican National Convention centered around vice presidential candidate JD Vance as he introduced himself to Republicans as Trump's running mate.
The day was held under the theme of "Make America Strong Once Again."
Former President Donald Trump made an appearance at the convention hall to watch his running mate make his national debut. Other notable speakers included Trump's son and granddaughter and several Gold Star families who expressed their support for the former president.
Despite calls for unity, several speakers spent time bashing President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democrats on several issues including immigration, crime and Israel.
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Kimberly Guilfoyle fires up crowd
Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former 2020 campaign staffer and Donald Trump Jr.'s fiancée, got the crowd fired up in her speech on the floor.
Guilfoyle claimed that under President Joe Biden, the country "is more dangerous, vulnerable and impoverished than anyone had thought possible."
"We are closer to World War III than any time in my life," Guilfoyle said.
She said Republicans would "restore an era of national pride where freedom of speech is respected and cancel culture is ended, [and] where high school girls only compete with other girls, not biological men."
2 veterans address RNC
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."
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."
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.
'180 from Saturday': PA mayor on rally shooting, RNC
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