What to watch on Day 3 of the RNC

The Republican National Convention is entering its third day on Wednesday, with Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) prime-time speech marking the marquee event of the day.

Vance will formally accept the party’s vice presidential nomination, while other expected speakers include Donald Trump Jr., North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).

Here are three things to watch on Day 3 of the convention.

Vance’s big moment

Vance will step into the spotlight Wednesday as he formally accepts the nomination of vice president on the GOP ticket.

Wednesday’s speech will be a major moment for the first-term senator, who will be introducing himself to a significant part of the country and seeking to articulate former President Trump’s vision for a second term.

Vance is expected to lean heavily on his biography, including his childhood in Appalachia, his experience growing up with poverty and his service in the Marines. He will also speak about how he has come around to become one of Trump’s most ardent defenders.

Organizers are hopeful Vance’s message will resonate with working class Americans, particularly in the Rust Belt and swing states like Pennsylvania.

Wednesday’s speech will be the first Vance has ever given at a political convention.

How intense do attacks get

Day 1 of the convention featured few personal attacks against President Biden and Democrats as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle called for dialed down rhetoric following an assassination attempt at a Saturday Trump rally.

But by Day 2, the attacks were more common and at times more visceral. 

West Virginia Senate candidate Jim Justice (R) warned that the country would “become totally unhinged” if Biden won in November. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) painted a dark picture of an America overrun by crime, while former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson accused the media of trying to “divide us along lines of race, class and gender, rather than uniting us around our shared bonds as Americans.”

Trump and his team have said multiple times that he ripped up his original speech for Thursday and rewrote one that was toned down and more unifying in the wake of Saturday’s tragedy.

The question is if others will follow suit. 

The theme of the day is “Make America Strong Once Again,” with a focus on border security and foreign policy. And some of the expected speakers are firebrands, including Trump Jr., former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

Team Biden counterprograms

The Biden campaign for the first time is sending both members of its ticket out onto the trail to try and counter the Republican convention.

President Biden, who addressed an NAACP gathering Tuesday, will speak to the Latino community at a UnidosUS event in Nevada on Wednesday. 

Vice President Harris will be in Michigan for a campaign event in Kalamazoo, where she will participate in a conversation with former Trump administration official Olivia Troye and with former Republican voter Amanda Stratton, who has spoken about GOP efforts to roll back abortion access.

Harris will travel Thursday to North Carolina, marking her seventh trip to the state this year as Democrats seek to flip it blue in November.

Biden campaign officials have in recent days resumed attacking Trump over his policies in the wake of Saturday’s assassination attempt, and Harris hit Vance as a would-be “rubber stamp” for Trump in a potential second term.