Nicholas Sandmann speaks from Washington during the second day of the Republican National Convention. Photo / AP
A Kentucky teenager known for video of his interaction with a Native American man during duelling demonstrations at the Lincoln Memorial says the country must unite around a president "who calls the media out".
Nicholas Sandmann assailed the media today during the second day of the Republican National Convention, and contended that no one has been a victim of unfair media coverage more than President Donald Trump.
Sandmann asserted that the simple act of wearing a "Make America Great Again" cap made him the target of network and cable news networks.
Eric Trump to his father: “I miss working alongside you every single day, but I’m damn proud to be on the front lines of this fight … Dad, let’s make uncle Robert very proud this week. Let’s go get another 4 years. I love you very much.” https://t.co/HqLszE3RUb #RNC2020 pic.twitter.com/VxkKMjsptr
— ABC News (@ABC) August 26, 2020
Sandmann was among the students from Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, participating in an anti-abortion march in Washington in January 2019. Footage of his interaction with Nathan Phillips, who was participating in a separate demonstration supporting Native American rights, spread widely online.
Both Sandmann and Phillips later said they were trying to defuse tensions among three separate groups participating in both demonstrations. Video of the encounter showed Sandmann and Phillips standing very close to each other, with Sandmann staring, and at times smiling, at Phillips as Phillips sang and played a drum.
Sandmann later settled lawsuits against CNN and other media outlets.
Don't confuse Trump with Bush (whose "compassionate conservatism" prioritized prisoner re-entry). Still, 45 was smart to deliver a feel-good, made-for-social-media-sharing moment for a Christian Right base that needs some energizing at the moment.https://t.co/E7k8fE5RWN
— Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) August 26, 2020
HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
A Wisconsin dairy farmer is thanking President Donald Trump for his support and claiming dairy farming is "roaring back," though that's not the case for hundreds of other farmers in the pivotal November swing state.
Cris Peterson said at the Republican National Convention that Trump helped struggling dairy farmers, socked by low milk prices in 2016, in part by "negotiating new trade deals."
However, in 2018 alone, roughly 700 Wisconsin dairy farms went out of business, according to US Department of Agriculture statistics, a trend accompanied by a spate of farmer suicides.
Among the factors was the renegotiated trade pact with Mexico and Canada, which blocked the export of a specific type of milk to Canada integral to cheesemaking. The provision hurt farmers notably in southwest Wisconsin, a region Trump won but where Democrats have posted victories since.
This RNC produced Trump ad uses lots of footage of Trump speaking in his official capacity but they seem to think it's fine as long as they blur the presidential seal. Then they cut again and again to him being praised by supporters in the White House. https://t.co/XgtfDy99V1 pic.twitter.com/2r66D73Gik
— Robert Mackey (@RobertMackey) August 26, 2020
A speaker who had been scheduled to address the second day of the Republican National Convention has been pulled from the lineup after directing her Twitter followers to a series of anti-Semitic, conspiratorial messages.
Trump campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh says, "We have removed the scheduled video from the convention lineup and it will no longer run this week."
Mary Ann Mendoza had been scheduled to deliver remarks to highlight the President's fight against illegal immigration. Mendoza's son was killed in 2014 in a head-on collision by a man who was under the influence and living in the US illegally.
His prominent role highlights the fundamental truth about the GOP in the Trump era: that it is an empty vehicle for conveying cultural grievance, writes @zackbeauchamp. https://t.co/UGaWL2aq3W
— Vox (@voxdotcom) August 26, 2020
She and and other parents whose children have been killed by people in the country illegally have labelled themselves "Angel Moms" and have made frequent appearances at the White House and Trump campaign events.
Mendoza had apologised for the tweet, writing that she "retweeted a very long thread earlier without reading every post within the thread" and said it "does not reflect my feelings or personal thoughts whatsoever."
A Republican familiar with the plans cited controversy as the reason for pulling Mendoza.
August 25: Today's model updates gave Joe Biden some of his best numbers of the campaign—a 10 point lead nationally and +7 in PA, the likeliest "tipping-point" state. RNC speakers have so far shown little sign that Trump knows how to turn things around. https://t.co/O6Lknvo6Kp pic.twitter.com/X3qVUfKs1v
— G. Elliott Morris (@gelliottmorris) August 26, 2020
An anti-abortion activist speaking during the Republican National Convention previously advocated for something called "household voting," saying wives should defer to their husbands on making decisions related to politics.
Abby Johnson in May wrote on Twitter that she "would support bringing back household voting," later explaining that, if spouses were to disagree, "Then they would have to decide on one vote. In a Godly household, the husband would get the final say."
Johnson previously worked for Planned Parenthood, becoming a vocal abortion opponent after saying she quit years ago following an abortion of a woman who was 13 weeks pregnant.
She founded a ministry that lobbies abortion clinics employees to leave their jobs, and a movie based around her life story was released last year.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow praises President Trump's leadership during the coronavirus pandemic: "Our economic choice is very clear" https://t.co/G68k6uN3aT pic.twitter.com/5LJ1PwlQln
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 26, 2020
President Donald Trump is highlighting the pardon of a Nevada man convicted of bank robbery as part of the second day of programming at the Republican National Convention.
In a video, Trump says that the story of Jon Ponder is a "beautiful testament to the power of redemption."
Ponder now leads a programme in Las Vegas that helps former prisoners re-enter society, called Hope for Prisoners.
President Trump pardoned Jon Ponder, a convicted felon who has since started a program to help former prisoners re-enter society.
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) August 26, 2020
“Today, praise God, I'm filled with hope, a proud American citizen who has been given a second chance,” Ponder said. https://t.co/g6CRVrzFDi #RNC2020 pic.twitter.com/UdLKYaIaDj
Trump has trumpeted criminal justice reform as part of his outreach to Black and evangelical voters.
The White House released a video of the pardon, which shows the President signing the document as Ponder and his wife look on.
The retired FBI agent who had arrested Ponder and went on to become one of his best friends also appears with Trump and Ponder.
Trump is much less popular with women than Biden. Biden is even slightly ahead among white women, which is significant because a majority of white women voted for Trump in 2016. https://t.co/Hph9Kk8AGS pic.twitter.com/R5Ajv3WFe3
— FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) August 26, 2020
A Republican congressional nominee from Georgia who supports the QAnon conspiracy theory and was congratulated by President Donald Trump on her primary victory has been invited to the Republican National Convention.
Marjorie Taylor Greene posted a photo of the invitation to her Twitter account.
She wrote that she was "honoured and thrilled to be invited to attend President Trump's acceptance speech ... at the White House."
A person familiar with Greene's invitation says it is legitimate.
Tiffany Trump: "I want to tell you the uncensored truth of what we believe in...If you're hearing these things and thinking to yourself, 'That is the kind of country I want to live in'—well, whether you realize it or not, you are a Trump supporter." https://t.co/ae9Q2Lnaom pic.twitter.com/XO0WJ5bprC
— ABC News (@ABC) August 26, 2020
Trump praised Greene as a "future Republican Star" after she won her primary earlier this month.
He has courted the support of QAnon believers, saying, "I heard that these are people that love our country."
Other Republicans, including Vice-President Mike Pence and Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy, have rejected the conspiracy theory, which centres on an alleged anonymous, high-ranking government official known as "Q" who shares information about an anti-Trump "deep state" often tied to satanism and child sex trafficking.
— AP
How a conspiracy theory that Trump (and Robert Mueller) were saving the world from cannibal pedophiles got from 4chan to Trump rallies to Donald Trump himself.
— Vox (@voxdotcom) August 26, 2020
QAnon, explained: https://t.co/pSjhzxRSfz
Starship, at 123m tall, is key to the billionaire's Mars colonisation plans.