Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, spoke on the first night of the Republican National Convention on Aug. 24, 2020.
Transcript
Good evening. I’m Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee and on behalf of everyone in our party and President Trump, thank you for tuning in as we kick off this historic convention. As we speak to you tonight, we send our thoughts and prayers to those facing terrible fires in California, recovering from storms in Iowa, and preparing for hurricanes in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. Democrats started their convention last week with Eva Longoria, a famous Hollywood actress who played a housewife on T.V. Well, I’m actually a real housewife and a mom from Michigan with two wonderful kids in public school, who happens to be only the second woman in 164 years to run the Republican party.
And unlike Joe Biden, President Trump didn’t choose me because I’m a woman, he chose me because I was the best person for the job. Four years ago, President Trump started a movement unlike any other. And over the next four days, we will hear from a few of the millions of hardworking everyday Americans who have benefited from his leadership. If you watched the DNC last week, you probably noticed that Democrats spent a lot of time talking about how much they despise our president. But we heard very little about their actual policies. Policies that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. Policies like banning fossil fuels, eliminating private health insurance, taxpayer funded healthcare for people who come here illegally and defunding the police.
Their argument for Joe Biden boiled down to the fact that they think he’s a nice guy. Well, let me tell you, raising taxes on 82% of Americans is not nice. Eliminating 10 million good paying oil and gas jobs is not nice. Policies that force jobs to flee our country or allow abortion up until the point of birth are not nice. The truth is, there’s only one person who has empathized with everyday Americans and actually been fighting for them over the past four years and that is President Donald Trump. In the nearly four years I’ve worked on behalf of President Trump, I’ve seen up close a man who has a deep love for family. A man who has reverence for the office of the presidency. A man with an incredible respect for law enforcement and our military. I’ve seen private moments where he comforts Americans in times of pain and sadness.
Now everyone knows he can be tough. He’s tough when he takes on China. Tough when he works to fix our unfair trade deals. Tough when he fights to secure our borders. President Trump is always going to be tough when he is fighting for the American people because nice guys like Joe cared more about countries like China and Iran than the United States of America. Tonight begins a new chapter in the great American story, a story that has inspired the world for generations. And when we re-elect President Trump this November, the best is yet to come. This election is the most important in our lifetime. Your vote counts more than ever. If you want to check your voting status, secure your ballot, or register to vote, text vote to 8-8-0-2-2. Earlier today, President Trump and Vice President Pence came to North Carolina to thank our delegates for unanimously re-nominating them to a second term.
Our official roll call and the business of our Republican convention was conducted today in Charlotte. We have created a short video to symbolize the excitement for President Trump across all 50 states and territories. Thank you for watching. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.
