Welcome to Breitbart News’s live updates of the 2016 Republican National Convention. Wednesday’s theme is “Make America First Again,” and vice presidential nominee Mike Pence highlights tonight’s program. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) will also speak and there is much suspense about what he will say and how raucously he will be received. Other speakers will include Eric Trump, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Newt and Callista Gingrich, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Pastor Darrell Scott, retired astronaut Eileen Collins and small business owners.
***LISTEN TO/WATCH BREITBART NEWS’S LIVE COVERAGE OF THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION HERE*** Call in: 713-955-0782.
All times eastern.
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12:01: Trump: “No big deal.”
Cruz losing a lot of good will:
11:33: CNN’s Dana Bash cannot overstate how many of Cruz’s own supporters were denouncing Cruz. She says the person who ran Cruz’s campaign in Virginia said Cruz “failed the nation” and will never support him again.
11:28: “We Like Mike!”
11:15: Pence: “I believe we have come to another rendezvous with destiny.”
11:11: Dennis Prager:
11:08: Pence says we can’t have four more years apologizing to our enemies and abandoning our friends.
“America needs to be strong for the world to be safe. And on the world’s stage, Donald Trump will lead from strength,” Pence says, vowing that Trump will confront radical Islamic terrorism and destroy the enemies of freedom.
11:04: Pence says a lot of traditional Democrats–union members, African-Americans, Hispanic Americans–have been abandoned by Dem. leaders.
11:03: Crowd reportedly chanted “Goldman Sachs!” at Cruz’s wife as she left the convention hall.
Tensions inside the hall were high. As Heidi Cruz, the senator’s wife, left the hall accompanied by security, she was showered by chants of “Goldman Sachs!” the Wall Street bank where she has worked.
11:00: Pence says Clinton will have the press doing half of her work for her but “it won’t be nearly enough” against a candidate who has captured the attention of the country like Trump has.
10:58: Pence: 2016 is “change vs. status quo.” He says when Trump becomes president, change will be “huge.” (not “yuge”?)
10:57: Pence: Trump an “outsider” who turned a “long shot candidacy into a movement.” He says you have to hand it to the Dem. establishment because they have outdone themselves this time by nominating the exact opposite. He says if he were Clinton he would want a better title too.. since Clinton is “Secretary of the Status Quo.”
10:56: Pence stands with the thin blue line:
10:55: Pence says he has seen the way Trump deals with those who work for him. He says Trump can be a little rough with politicians on stage but he has an “utter lack of pretense” up close and respects those who work for him while being devoted to his family. Pence says if you doubt what he says, “as we say back home, you can’t fake good kids.”
10:52: Pence says Trump is “distinctly American.” Pence says the media keep thinking they’ve done Trump in only to find that Trump is still standing and running better than ever before. “The man just doesn’t quit. He’s tough. He perseveres.” Pence says he’s gone as far as he has gone in business but never turned his back on working men and will never turn his back on those who serve at home and abroad.
10:51: Interesting:
10:49: Pence says Americans are tired of being told “this is as good as it gets” from politicians. He says this economy is nowhere near the best that we can do it–is the best that they can do.
10:44: Pence jokes that Trump, because of his charisma, was maybe looking for some balance on the ticket. He say he grew up on the front lines of the American dream. He had a corn field in his back yard. The heroes of his youth were JFK and MLK Jr. His dad was a combat veteran in Korea and ran gas stations in his small town.
[Pence’s bio speech makes a great first impression, especially to average Americans. He comes off as very earnest.]
10:42: Mike Pence says he prefers an introduction that’s a bit shorter:
10:38: House Speaker Paul Ryan introduces Mike Pence. He says he could not be more proud of our vice presidential nominee.
10:34: Newt: Trump will show “zero tolerance” for anyone calling for the death of police officers. He says our law enforcement officers deserve the same respect as the President of the United States.
10:32: Newt: “The cost of Hillary’s dishonesty could be the loss of America as we know it.”
10:30: Newt: “We are sleepwalking through history as if this is all about politics,” he says. Newt says every American should be terrified by the prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidency because she’s been at the center of the dishonesty re: terrorism, Iran deal, Benghazi, Syrian refugees. Newt slams Clinton for wanting to increases refugees by 500%.
10:28: Gingrich says “we have nothing to fear from the vast majority of Muslims,” who are often victims. He says the challenge, though, is even a small percentage of Muslims support violence, that is still a “giant recruiting base.” Gingrich says 9% of Muslims in Pakistan view ISIS favorable. He says that’s 16 million people. Gingrich adds that though we are losing the war against Islam, we’ve been lucky so far.
10:24: Gingrich says keeping America safe is the first responsibility of the President. He praises Trump’s courage to tell some important truths about national security. He says there is no substitute for victory re: Islamic terror. He says Clinton and foreign policy elites lie about our threats. He says if our enemies had their way, not a single woman could defined their futures while gays would be put to death. Newt says Trump is right that we are losing the way against radical Islam and we must “change course to win the war.”
10:22: NEWT takes the stage after being introduced by his wife. Newt addresses Cruz’s “conscience” remarks and says “in this election, there is only one candidate who will uphold the Constitution.” Gingrich says if you want to uphold the Constitution, the only possible choice this fall is Trump/Pence.
10:18: Eric Trump says in November “vote for the one candidate who does not need this job.”
10:13: Eric Trump says he sees sadness in his dad’s eyes re: the death of people like Jamiel Shaw Jr. and Kate Steinle because of sanctuary cities and immigration laws that are not enforced.
10:12: “Only if I had no choice.”
10:09: Eric Trump asks who better than to bring jobs back home and prevent companies from moving to Mexico. He says it’s time for a president who understands the art of the deal and appreciate the value of our tax dollars. He says it’s time for a president who has always signed the front of a check. He says Trump has always been called on by the government to save bloated public projects.
10:04: Eric Trump now on stage. He says it’s such an honor to be in Cleveland for a man he loves “so, so much.” He says 13 months ago, his dad sat his family down and said he could no longer sit by and let the country that has given their family so much crumble. Eric Trump says his dad defied the predictions of every political pundit and inspired generations, including his own. He says Trump could not longer stand to see special interest dollars dictating an incompetent foreign policy that puts foreign countries above our own.
9:57: Cruz booed off stage as crowd chants “endorse Trump”:
9:48: Cruz says people are fed up with politicians who don’t listen to them and a political system that doesn’t benefit working Americans. He says we deserve an immigration system that builds a wall to keep Americans safe. He says freedom will lift people out of dependency and to the dignity of work. Cruz asks people to “don’t stay home in November.” He says “vote your conscience” and vote for people up and down the ballot who will remain faithful to the Constitution. Cruz says he appreciates the “New York delegation” as the crowd raucously chants “endorse Trump.”
[This isn’t 1976. And Cruz doesn’t resonate like Reagan.]
9:42: Cruz now talking about the profound difference between the parties. Cruz calls for a “return for freedom” after saying “enough is enough” with the Obama administration’s agenda. He talks about the freedom to choose your child’s education even if you are not as rich as Obama/Clinton. He shifts to Obamacare, taxes, the Internet. He says freedom means “free speech” not “politically-correct safe spaces.” He says it also means religious freedom. It also means the right to bear arms and every human life is precious and must be protected.
9:40: Cruz says America is more than a land mass between two oceans. It’s a powerful idea. And “freedom matters.” He says for much of human history, government power has been a constant in life. “But not here. We have no king or queen. We have no dictator. We the people constrain government,” he says. “Our nation is exceptional because it was built on five of the most powerful words in the English language–I want to be free.” He says never has that message been more needed than today. He says we stand here tonight a nation divided.
9:39:
9:33: Sen. Cruz takes the stage. He mentions LeBron’s comeback victory and he is convinced America is going to “come back, too.” He wants to congratulate Donald Trump “on winning the nomination last night.” He says, like each of your, I want to see the principles in which we believe prevail in November.
9:32: Rubio, in a video message, slams Clinton for not having the “honesty, courage, and independence” to be president. He says Trump takes seriously the threat of radical Islamists and will appoint Constitutionalists unlike Obama/Clinton. Rubio calls on Republicans to unite and “win in November.”
9:31: Lynne Patton, the Vice President of the Eric Trump Foundation, praises how Trump raised his children and calls them the siblings she never had.
9:22: Walker says liberal insiders have ruined the country and Clinton is the ultimate insider. He says a vote for anyone other than Trump is a vote for Clinton. “Make no mistake.” He says if Clinton was any more on the inside, she’d be in prison.
9:14: Walker’s mantra tonight: “America Deserves Better.”
9:12: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says the well-connected in D.C. are standing behind Clinton because she is “one of them” and “they wan’t more of the same.” He says Trump is standing with the people and is not afraid to take on the mess in D.C.
9:08: Harold Hamm says Trump will be the first President to get America to achieve energy independence.
9:00: Pastor Darrell Scott says he met Trump several years ago and he was troubled by the direction of the country. They have spoken about immigration, race relations, immigration, the military, the economy and many other issues. Trump says despite his many accomplishments he still feel a void that can only be filled by service to Americans. He says the “the Democratic party has failed us” because we are “spiritually empty” and “more divided now than we have ever been before.” He says Trump is a “patriot” and America is poised to make history by standing together as one nation under God, indivisible.
8:54: Alvarado says Obama and his “apprentice” Hillary Clinton have talked about the American Dream but they have absolutely no idea how to “protect it, foster it, and expand it.” He says Obama has failed to end racial tension and has left us more divided than ever. He blasts Obama for attacking religious liberty and the right to bear arms and free speech. He says Trump is the one candidate who can protect the American Dream for current and future generations. He says he has a message for his Spanish-speaking Latino friends at home. He asks them to vote for Trump. He says Clinton has “failed the Hispanic community and you don’t deserve our votes.”
8:51: Kentucky State Senator Ralph Alvarado, the first American of Hispanic descent elected to Kentucky’s General Assembly, is now speaking. He says his father was a proud legal immigrant from Costa Rica. Her mom from Argentina. He talks about the quiet commitment to hard word and the family structure, discipline, love, high personal expectations. He says they were Hispanics and Americans and very proud to be both.
8:49:
8:41: Collins says exploration leads to innovation, exploration and discovery. She cites missions to jupiter and pluto. Collins says the last time we launched astronauts form our own soil was five years ago and “we must do better than that. Countries that are strong are countries that explore, invent, and discover to remain resilient” in a changing world. She says we need visionary leadership that inspires the next generation of explorers to inspire Americans to ask again, “what’s next?” She says we need leadership to make America’s space first program first again and make America great again.
8:40: Astronaut Eileen Collins says we’re a nation of explorers. She says JFK issued a challenge to America to land a man on the moon and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin answered that call 47 years ago to this day. They had a plaque with this inscription: “Here, men from planet earth first set foot upon the planet moon. July, 1969. We came in peace for all mankind.”
8:30: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says Nov. 8 will be a “day of reckoning” and the people will take back our government. She slams Obama for playing “Russian roulette with our borders.” She says Nov. 8 is when Americans will feel safe again. Bondi says our laws are under siege by a president who ignores laws he doesn’t like and a former Sec. of State who believes the laws don’t apply to her. She says Clinton doesn’t deserve a security clearance and asks, “how do you become President of the Untied States when you don’t have a security clearance?” She says Trump will undue Obama’s executive amnesty and take back control of our borders. She says we must stop the influx of drugs like cocaine from flowing across the borders. She says Hillary believes our enemies “deserve our respect and empathy.” She says “this is unreal.” Bondi says Trump believes “terrorists deserve to die.”
[Nikki Haley says she’s going to vote for Trump.]
8:23: Businessman Phil Ruffin says Trump’s word is his bond and his handshake is worth more than any contract. He says Trump works 20 hours a day. He says Trump can see things in deals that others can’t see. Ruffin says a “tsunami” is coming to D.C. once Trump—and his movement–gets elected.
8:19: Ingraham tells the press that the Trump won because he called out the phonies and the corruption that has gone uncovered for too long. “Do your job.” RAUCOUS OVATION as she denounces the mainstream press. She says Trump respects us enough to tell us the hard truths about what has happened to this country on issues like immigration and trade even in the face of unfair criticism and sheer hatred. “They had their chance. Now, it’s our chance,” she says. She calls on Americans to reject the “politics of division” and “defeat the Clinton machine.” Ingraham: “Let’s send the consultants, the pollsters, the lobbyists packing. Let’s give the power back to the people. And lets elect Donald Trump president of the United States. God Bless you and God Bless the United States of America.”
8:12: Ingraham says Clinton doesn’t believe in borders while Clinton doesn’t believe in them. She says Trump knows that Americans should be first while Clinton thinks America is “just another nation in a global order.” She says Trump understands America’s greatness comes from her people, her freedom. She slams Clinton for thinking that there is a government solution for every problem. “No, Hillary. You’re the problem,” she says. Ingraham says she doesn’t want to tell her children about how great America used to be. Ingraham says this is the most important election since 1980 and calls on GOP candidates to honor their pledge to support the nominee. She says “we’re not your servants. You’re ours.”
8:05: Laura Ingraham addresses the convention. She says she is supporting Trump because she refuses to leave her kids a country that is worse off than the one her parents left her. She talks about how her grandparents were Polish immigrants. She says her mom waited tables until she was 73 years of age while her dad enlisted in the Navy and then worked at his car wash. Her parents, she says, flew the flag at their house and not just on the Fourth of July. She says her mom wore the same winter coat for 40 years and any extra money went into the bank for education. She says she learned that there is dignity in every job. She says her parents didn’t believe there were jobs that Americans wouldn’t do. She says she asked her mom why people burned the flag and she said because their parents didn’t teach them about respect. She talks about a lack of respect for law and order and police. She says “too many citizens and non-citizens don’t respect our laws either.. and many of our allies–they don’t respect us anymore.” She says it is “heartbreaking to see this happening” to the country that we love.
8:01: Scott says this election is about the survival of the American Dream. He says we get to fire politicians this year and who else to say “you’re fired than Donald Trump.” Scott says we need a president who is “politically incorrect and tells it like it is.” Scott says we need a president who realizes that great countries have borders while not being afraid to say “radical Islamic terrorism.” When Scott says Clinton fails on all of these measures, the crowd chants “Lock Her Up.”
7:58: Scott: “I’m old enough to remember when terrorism only happened in foreign countries. Not anymore.” He asks how many more Orlandos, San Bernardinos, or Fort Hoot needs to happen before President Barack Obama is honest about the the threat of radical Islamic terror. He says the next president must “destroy this evil. Donald Trump is the man for that job.”
Scott says he met Trump 20 years ago before either decided to run for office. He says a lot of politicians like to give speeches about crossroad, but Scott says we’re in debt, our economy is not growing, our jobs are going overseas, our military is decaying. He says Democrats have led us to a cliff and not a crossroads.
7:57: Florida Gov. Rick Scott now speaking. He wants to express his gratitude to everyone who has kept Florida in their prayers after the Orlando terror attack. He says they have received love and outpouring from Americans everywhere. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he says on behalf of all Floridians.
7:35: After “Sweet Caroline” plays, RNC Chair Reince Priebus calls the convention to order.
7:15: Never Trump leader:
7:10: Trump releases Facebook video before convention resumes:
7:00: Indiana Gov. Mike Pence will accept the GOP’s vice presidential nomination, but Ted Cruz’s speech will also draw plenty of headlines. No word on whether Cruz will endorse Trump at the convention.