Author: Staff

Political Optics: A visual look at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

Thousands of Republican delegates officially made Donald Trump their party’s presidential nominee on July 15, just days after he survived a brush with gun violence. The shooting hung over the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where prominent GOP officials and everyday citizens from around the country spoke to the radical party faithful. They made their case for Trump – a criminally convicted ex-president and adjudicated rapist – to return to the White House, and savaged Democratic President Joe Biden with blistering attacks. Appearing in public for the first time since a bullet grazed his ear, Trump entered the...

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Republicans lean into Trump’s immigration and border message on second day of National Convention

Immigration took center stage as the Republican National Convention resumed on July 16 in Milwaukee, with speakers spotlighting a key element of the convicted felon and former President’s political brand that helped endear Donald Trump to the radical GOP base when he began his first campaign in 2015. Among the speakers on July 16 were families who had been impacted by violent crime, part of the GOP’s political propaganda that seeks to falsely link crime to border policies. Immigration has long been one of Trump’s banner issues, as he has criticized the unprecedented number of migrants entering the country...

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Fatal shooting by Ohio police officers beyond the RNC jurisdiction fuels anger with Milwaukee residents

Ohio police officers in Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention shot and killed a Milwaukee man on July 16, fueling anger from residents who questioned why out-of-state officers were in their neighborhood located about a mile from the convention site. The man was shot by five officers with the Columbus, Ohio, police department, according to a statement released by that city’s police division. Thousands of officers from multiple jurisdictions are in Milwaukee providing additional security for the convention that began July 15 and concludes on July 18. The Columbus Police Department, as well as the chief of staff for...

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Protesters have a stage to speak from but no audience just one day after downtown march on the RNC

A city park designated for protesters at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee was almost empty on the second day of the event, July 16. Police officers on bicycles and event staff in orange shirts were present at Zeidler Union Square, but no speakers had shown up by early afternoon. The park is less than a mile from where the convention is being held and one of two set aside for protesters by the city. The quiet scene came a day after the March on the RNC coalition of protesters marched through downtown streets advocating for reproductive rights, solidarity...

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GOP delegates cheer the nomination of a convicted felon for president with JD Vance as running mate

Cheering GOP delegates formally nominated Donald Trump for president, despite being a convicted felon, as the Republican National Convention kickoff on July 15, less than two days after his brush with gun violence at a political rally. Their vote made it official that Trump, who has long been the presumptive nominee, will lead the GOP in a third consecutive election. The winner in 2016, he lost to current President Joe Biden in 2020. In November, he will again face Biden. Hours after the vote, Trump chose Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate, picking a onetime critic...

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First day of the RNC focuses on Trump’s unspecified plans to fix an already healthy economy

Donald Trump went into the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15 with his usual false promises about fixing an already healthy U.S. economy, offering a sketchy plan and very few details about how it would actually work. Because the U.S. economy is a diverse and sprawling behemoth, it is possible to have a solid job market and problematically high inflation at the same time – especially after the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But nuance died a long time ago at political party conventions. That was why the convention speech...

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