Trump welcomes ex-rivals back into fold: 5 takeaways from Day 2 of RNC

Former President Trump’s 2024 rivals were welcomed back into the fold Tuesday, with former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis taking the stage amid a broader push for unity during the GOP gathering. 

At the same time, the unity messaging was often undercut by attacks from speakers such as Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who lashed out at Democrats. 

Still, the event has mostly gone off without a hitch as Trump’s GOP pitches a more positive message to the country in the wake of his near-assassination.

Here are five takeaways from the second day of the convention: 

Republicans work to smooth over divisions 

Despite Trump easily clinching the presidential nomination, divisions still plagued the GOP throughout much of this year’s primaries, with some voters casting protest ballots against the former president.

But those conflicts have been put aside — at least for now — in the wake of a shooting that nearly took Trump’s life. Speakers have repeatedly emphasized a message of unity, both for the party and for the country as a whole, and Day 2 of the convention notably gave the spotlight to two of Trump’s top rivals, Haley and DeSantis. 

Haley’s appearance in particular represented a remarkable turn of events, as the former South Carolina governor had said she was initially was not invited to the convention. But that apparently changed in the aftermath of the attempted assassination, and Haley used her speech to offer her first full-throated endorsement of the former president since she dropped her own White House bid.

“I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear,” Haley began. “Donald Trump has my strong endorsement.” 

DeSantis, another primary rival, had been quicker to get behind Trump after exiting the race. But if there were any doubt remaining, Tuesday night underscored that the Florida governor — seen as a potential 2028 prospect — is fully behind Trump.

Their appearances, along with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announcing the delegates from Kentucky for Trump on Monday, further illustrate how Republicans are trying to circle the wagons around their nominee as President Biden grapples with his own party turmoil.

“We’re not all going to agree on everything, and that’s OK,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), a more moderate Republican in a battleground district. “You have to allow for robust debate and discussion. And ultimately, though, you have to find compromise and you have to find commonality and forge a path forward, and I think that’s what [Haley] was speaking to.” 

Still, there were signs of underlying tensions. In one of the most memorable moments from Day 2, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) taunted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on the convention floor, highlighting the animosity that exists among Republicans even as they make a show of locking arms.

Unity messaging was often undercut by attacks  

Even as some of the night’s top speakers called for unifying the country across party lines in the wake of the shooting, Republicans were using their speeches to lash out against Democrats in charged remarks.

“The problems we face are huge — the problems caused by the Democrat Party,” said Lake, who’s running against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego for the Grand Canyon State’s seat in the Senate. She also railed against “the fake news” that she argued obscures “disastrous Democrat policies.”

Cruz echoed Lake’s accusations about Democrats’ action on the border, arguing “Democrats cynically decided they wanted votes from illegals more than they wanted to protect our children,” prompting boos from the crowd.

“Today, as a result of Joe Biden’s presidency, your family is less safe,” Cruz said.  

The media was another target. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson accused the free press of “abus[ing] the public trust,” drawing yet more boos.

“They divide us,” Carson said. “Our government has been no better.”  

In a normal convention, such red-meat comments wouldn’t be surprising. But the remarks were striking given that the overarching theme of the week has been unifying Americans after the Pennsylvania rally’s violent attack — and that they also come as Republicans, as well as Democrats, have called to lower the temperature in politics.

Harris was invoked frequently 

Vice President Harris was invoked more than once from the convention stage, name-drops that come amid talk of potentially replacing Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket. 

Haley slammed Harris over the situation at the border while alluding to the prospect of the vice president taking over for her boss.

“Let me remind you: Kamala had one job. One job. And that was to fix the border. Now imagine her in charge of the entire country,” Haley said, prompting boos from the crowd. 

The language reflects the uptick in attacks that Trump allies have lobbed at the vice president both in the face of a potential ticket swap — which Biden has rejected — and to further the argument that she is more in control of the Oval Office than Biden, who has received attacks over his fitness for office. 

“Who’s ready to retire Joe Biden and send border czar Kamala Harris back to California?” Pennsylvania Senate Republican nominee David McCormick opened. Harris has notably rejected the “border czar” moniker used by Republicans.  

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird also went after Harris on the issue of policing, targeting her calls for reform. 

“They treat police like criminals and criminals like victims,” she said, referring to Biden and Harris. 

Blaming Biden and Harris both for the country’s problems was a common refrain throughout the day and will likely continue to be present in GOP messaging through November. 

“You are worried that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are hurting our country because they are,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) said to independents and possibly disaffected Democrats, Van Drew himself being a former Democrat. 

Battleground Senate candidates made their pitches to the base  

Senate candidates in key battleground states addressed the convention, knocking their rivals across the aisle and pitching their messages to the GOP base as the party seeks to take the Senate in November.

Lake launched chants of “build the wall” as she blamed the Biden administration for issues at the border, railing against “the Biden invasion.”

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) brought his bulldog “Babydog” on stage to cheers and chants of the popular pet’s name, then suggested his dog could predict the political future. 

“Babydog says we’ll retain the House, the majority in the House. We’re going to flip the United States Senate. And overwhelmingly we’re going to elect Donald Trump and JD Vance in November,” Justice said.  

Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno (R) jabbed that rival Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) “seem[s] to have a very close relationship” with Biden, and said it’s time for both Democrats “to go home.”

Wisconsin Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde reflected the at-times split messaging of Republicans and the country needing to unify but also blaming others for dividing the U.S. 

“Instead of putting on just the blue jersey or the red jersey, we need to put on the red, white and blue jersey and come together as Americans,” Hovde said, adding that Republicans will heal the country from the divisions that the media and “left” has brought. 

The Senate hopefuls’ speeches were red meat for their base, revving up the crowd as they charge toward competitive races in the fall.  

Event has gone smoothly 

The Republican convention is halfway over, and despite the pressure that typically goes into the nominating conventions, it has mostly been smooth sailing so far. 

Speakers have mostly stayed on message and been clear in praising Trump, pointing to his presidency as a success that the country can return to, and denouncing the Biden administration as the reason for many of the problems the country is facing. 

Some may have strayed from the unity message to go on attack against Democrats, but all have returned to the central theme of why viewers need to vote for Trump. Some past conventions have strayed from this, including at the 2016 convention when Cruz famously told delegates to “vote your conscience” instead of rallying for Trump. 

This time, Cruz started his remarks “giving thanks to God Almighty” that Trump survived the assassination attempt, as did many other speakers. 

The audience did not seem put off by the Saturday shooting, showing enthusiasm immediately and excitement each time Trump has appeared. Two more days are left, but Republicans seem to be overwhelmingly pleased with its progress so far. 

Al Weaver contributed.