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Republican Convention Speeches: What You’ve Missed So Far Republican Convention Speeches: What You’ve Missed So Far and Our Fact Checks
(35 minutes later)
Welcome to the prime-time lineup for Day 1 of the Republican National Convention. Melania Trump, Donald J. Trump’s wife, is the featured speaker tonight. She is among a series of celebrities, politicians and former military officers whose jobs are to describe how Mr. Trump will “keep America safe again.”Welcome to the prime-time lineup for Day 1 of the Republican National Convention. Melania Trump, Donald J. Trump’s wife, is the featured speaker tonight. She is among a series of celebrities, politicians and former military officers whose jobs are to describe how Mr. Trump will “keep America safe again.”
Here are the highlights and our fact checks (you can also watch live video and check out our real-time analysis):Here are the highlights and our fact checks (you can also watch live video and check out our real-time analysis):
• Two actors kicked off the night’s speeches, giving a Hollywood shout-out to Mr. Trump. Scott Baio, who starred on “Happy Days” as a child, and Willie Robertson, the star of “Duck Dynasty,” both warned that America is headed toward dark times. • Two actors kicked off the night’s speeches: Scott Baio, who starred on “Happy Days” as a child, said the country does not want to pick Hillary Clinton, who is “wrecking this country,” while Willie Robertson, the star of “Duck Dynasty,” said that those who feel forgotten should know that “Donald Trump will have your back.”
Mr. Robertson said that those who feel forgotten should know that “Donald Trump will have your back,” and Mr. Baio said the country does not want to pick Hillary Clinton, who is “wrecking this country.” Mr. Baio said that Mr. Trump, the former reality TV star, is “doing this from the goodness of his heart and genuinely wants to help.”
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• Next up: Hitting on national security hard. Rick Perry, the former governor of Texas and two-time presidential candidate, introduced Marcus Luttrell, a retired member of the Navy SEALs and the author of “Service: A Navy SEAL at War.” Mr. Luttrell stressed the need for “an elite military” because terrorism had come to America’s shores. “Your war is here. You don’t need to go looking for it. It’s here.” • Rick Perry, the former governor of Texas and two-time presidential candidate, introduced Marcus Luttrell, a retired member of the Navy SEALs and the author of “Service: A Navy SEAL at War.” Mr. Luttrell stressed the need for “an elite military” because terrorism had come to America’s shores. “Your war is here. You don’t need to go looking for it. It’s here.”
He was followed by Patricia Smith, the mother Sean Smith, a State Department employee who was killed in the 2012 attack on an American compound in Benghazi, Libya. Near tears, she recalled her last conversation with her son. “Nobody listened, nobody seemed to care. The next day he was murdered by radical Islamic terrorists.
“I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son. Personally.”
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• He was followed by Patricia Smith, the mother Sean Smith, a State Department employee who was killed in the 2012 attack on an American compound in Benghazi, Libya. Near tears, she recalled her last conversation with her son. “Nobody listened, nobody seemed to care. The next day he was murdered by radical Islamic terrorists.
“I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son. Personally.”
• Then the attacks on Hillary Clinton over the Benghazi attack got more serious with a video that described an administration frozen by inaction.• Then the attacks on Hillary Clinton over the Benghazi attack got more serious with a video that described an administration frozen by inaction.
John Tiegen and Mark Geist, authors of the book “13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghanzi,” discussed their memories of terror and fog of war in a 20-minute account full of claims that were difficult to verify.John Tiegen and Mark Geist, authors of the book “13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghanzi,” discussed their memories of terror and fog of war in a 20-minute account full of claims that were difficult to verify.
Fact check: At one point, however, they contended that Mrs. Clinton was watching a live feed of the attack from a drone and doing very little in response. Mrs. Clinton has testified that no one at the State Department had access to real-time video of the attacks.) Fact check: At one point, however, they contended that Mrs. Clinton was watching a live feed of the attack from a drone and did very little in response. Mrs. Clinton has testified that no one at the State Department had access to real-time video of the attacks.)
Fact Check: Mr. Geist concluded that “when Hillary failed to do her job,” Americans died. But the House Select Committee on Benghazi did not share that view: It concluded that while there were failures across the board, from the Pentagon to the State Department, there was no new evidence of culpability by Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Geist said that “when Hillary failed to do her job,” Americans died. But the House Select Committee on Benghazi did not share that view: It concluded that while there were failures across the board, from the Pentagon to the State Department, there was no new evidence of culpability by Mrs. Clinton.
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• To hit on immigration were the brother and sister of Brian Terry, a border patrol agent who was killed in a shootout that involved guns later linked to the disputed gun-trafficking investigation called Operation Fast and Furious. In emotional terms, Kelly Terry-Willis and Kent Terry said the program, in which federal agents tried to trace illegal guns, was responsible for his death and said “no one in Obama’s administration were ever held accountable for its failure.” • To hit on immigration were the brother and sister of Brian Terry, a border patrol agent who was killed in a gunfight in December 2010 that involved two weapons later linked to the disputed gun-trafficking investigation called Operation Fast and Furious. In emotional terms, Kelly Terry-Willis and Kent Terry blamed the program, in which federal agents in Arizona tried to trace illegal guns, for his death and said “no one in Obama’s administration were ever held accountable for its failure.”
Fact Check: After numerous investigations, the Justice Department’s inspector general issued a scathing report that severely criticized federal officials for their handling of the gun-running program, in which they lost track of hundreds of weapons, including two that were found near the site where Mr. Terry was killed. The I.G. found no evidence to show that Obama administration officials approved the operation. But the report did fault several higher-level Justice Department officials. Several were reassigned; one resigned and at least one retired. Fact Check: After numerous investigations, the Justice Department’s inspector general issued a scathing report that severely criticized federal officials for their handling of the gunrunning program, in which they lost track of hundreds of weapons, including two that were found near the site where Mr. Terry was killed. The I.G. found no evidence that Obama administration officials approved the operation.
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• Mr. Trump kicked off his campaign by focusing on illegal immigrants who had committed murder. Three relatives of such victims took to stage to describe those horrors. “It’s time that we have an administration that cares more about Americans than it cares about illegals,” said Mary Ann Mendoza, whose son was a victim. “Trump is sent from God,” said Jamiel Shaw, whose son was also a victim. • Mr. Trump kicked off his presidential campaign in June 2015 by focusing on illegal immigrants who had committed murder. Three relatives of such victims took to stage in Cleveland on Monday to describe their stories. “It’s time that we have an administration that cares more about Americans than it cares about illegals,” said Mary Ann Mendoza, whose son, a police officer, died in a head-on collision with a wrong-way driver in 2014.
They were followed by Representative Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas who is the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. He charged that Mrs. Clinton favors “open borders, executive amnesty and the surge of Syrian refugees.” They were followed by Representative Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who is the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. He said that Mrs. Clinton favored “open borders, executive amnesty and the surge of Syrian refugees.”
Fact Check: While Mrs. Clinton has said she supports President Obama’s executive actions to allow some illegal immigrants to live and work in the United States, she has not called for “open borders” and her support for accepting Syrian refugees has been limited to 65,000, far fewer than the number that were accepted by some European countries. Fact Check: While Mrs. Clinton has said she supports President Obama’s executive actions to allow some illegal immigrants to live and work in the United States, she has not called for “open borders” and her support for accepting Syrian refugees has been limited to 65,000 people, far fewer than the number who were accepted by some European countries.
Mr. McCaul’s call for an outright war on what he called “radical Islam,” using a phrase Mr. Obama has avoided for fear that it alienates more than it informs, never confronted the central question of the last Republican administration: After you attack the terrorists, how do you hold hte territory and assure that the enemy does not return? It is a problem that bedeviled President Bush as much as President Obama, and to which the speakers have offered no strategy. _____
• Darryl Glenn, the Republican candidate for senate in Colorado, took the stage to declare himself an African-American, a Christian, a Republican and a veteran. He accused President Obama of leaving the country more racially divided than it was when he came into office, and he paraphrased a line from Mr. Obama’s 2004 convention speech: “This is not about white American or black America, this is about the United States of America.” He declared that “blue lives matter,” urging a standing ovation in the arena.
But he drew his biggest applause with a dig at Mrs. Clinton, who he called “unfit” to be president. He noted that she “loves her pantsuits” but added: “We should send her an email and tell her that she deserves a bright orange jumpsuit.”
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• Senator Tom Cotton, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq – and who authored the now-famous letter to the Supreme Leader of Iran threatening to undermine any nuclear deal — took up the “leading from behind” critique of the Obama administration. It was a classic, pre-Trump call for a more muscular America: “We’d like a commander in chief who speaks of winning wars and not merely ending wars.”