Election Live Updates: Night 2 of RNC features First Lady, Trump kids

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Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Night 2 of RNC features First Lady, Trump kids
The people closest to President Donald Trump - his family - starred in the second night of the Republican National Convention as the GOP works to reintroduce the president to the A

The people closest to President Donald Trump - his family - starred in the second night of the Republican National Convention as the GOP works to reintroduce the president to the American electorate in the midst of the campaign and pandemic.

First Lady Melania Trump, as well as two of Donald Trump's children, took the stage on Tuesday.

The overall theme of the convention, "Honoring the Great American Story," will highlight "the promise and greatness of America" and Trump's "leadership and what he has planned for the future."

Each night will also have a sub-theme; on Tuesday, it was "Land of Opportunity".

Speakers on Tuesday:

First lady Melania Trump

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds

Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi

Abby Johnson, anti-abortion activist

Jason Joyce, Maine lobsterman

Myron Lizer, vice president of the Navajo Nation

Mary Ann Mendoza, an "Angel Mom" whose son was killed by an undocumented immigrant

Megan Pauley

Cris Peterson

John Peterson

Nicholas Sandmann, a student from a Covington, Kentucky, high school who sued news outlets for their coverage of a confrontation between him and a Native American man at the Lincoln Memorial

Eric Trump, the president's son

Tiffany Trump, the president's daughter

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Melania Trump speaks from Rose Garden

First lady Melania Trump cast her husband as the best hope for America's future in a Rose Garden address Tuesday night as President Donald Trump turned to family, farmers and the trappings of the presidency on the second night of the scaled-down Republican National Convention.

Melania Trump expressed sympathy for families affected by COVID-19, an "invisible enemy" she said has challenged America but brought its citizens together.

In her prime-time Republican National Convention address on Tuesday night, the first lady said she has "been moved in the way Americans have come together in such an unfamiliar and frightening situation."

She says her husband "will not rest until he has done all he can" to stem the "invisible enemy" of the coronavirus outbreak.

Mrs. Trump also talked about "the beautiful side of humanity" she has observed in the wake of natural disasters around the country, noting that a common thread "is the unwavering resolve to help one another."

Watch First lady Melania Trump's full remarks at the 2020 Republican National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 25, in Washington.

Eric, Tiffany Trump tout father's accomplishments

Two more of President Donald Trump's children took to the Republican National Convention stage to make the case for their father's reelection campaign.

Eric Trump, the third eldest, talked about the president's first four years in office and his continued fight for "America's forgotten workers."

Eric Trump speaks at the 2020 Republican National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

The president's daughter Tiffany Trump highlighted "how 'Make America Great Again' is not just a slogan for President Trump."

She attributed a litany of characteristics to her father's supporters, saying "We believe in freedom of religion for all faiths."

Tiffany Trump speaks at the 2020 Republican National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

Pompeo hails Trump's America First policy

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has plunged into the heart of the 2020 presidential race with a speech supporting President Donald Trump's reelection at the Republican National Convention.

The speech was recorded in Jerusalem during an official visit to the Middle East and aired Tuesday at the RNC.

The address was roundly condemned by Democrats and others as an inappropriate breach of decades of diplomatic precedent and a possible violation of federal law prohibiting executive branch employees from overt political activism while on duty. Indeed, Pompeo himself had reminded State Department staffers of those restrictions only last month.

Sec. of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the 2020 Republican National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

Trump hosts naturalization ceremony

President Donald Trump hosted a naturalization ceremony at the White House in a video that aired Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf administered the oath to five people as Trump looked on.

Afterward, Trump welcomed the five into the "great American family" and congratulated them, saying, "Great going."

He told them: "You followed the rules, you obeyed the laws, you learned your history, embraced our values and proved yourselves to be men and women of the highest integrity."

He says there is "no higher honor and no greater privilege" than being a U.S. citizen.

The five new U.S. citizens hailed from Bolivia, Lebanon, India, Sudan and Ghana.

Billy Graham's granddaughter touts Trump

A granddaughter of the late evangelist Billy Graham says President Donald Trump is the only choice for voters of faith, adding that the Democratic ticket "leaves no room" for them.

Cissie Graham Lynch portrayed the Obama administration as one in which religious freedoms "were under attack." But with Trump's election, Lynch said "people of faith suddenly had a fierce advocate in the White House," citing the appointment of judges "who respect the First Amendment."

Lynch spoke Tuesday night during the Republican National Convention. She says the "Biden-Harris vision for America leaves no room for people of faith."

Cissie Graham Lynch speaks at the 2020 Republican National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

VP Pence shares stories of Americans helped by Trump administration

Vice President Mike Pence is the star of a video airing during the Republican National Convention featuring the stories of six Americans whose lives have been helped by the Trump administration.

The nine-minute video, titled "Lincoln," was filmed last week at President Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home in Lincoln City, Indiana. Pence delivers a tribute to Lincoln, the first Republican president, before holding casual conversations with everyday Americans.

Pastor Aaron Johnson praised President Donald Trump's support of opportunity zones, and Judge Cheryl Allen, the first Black woman to be elected to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, outlined her belief that Trump is committed to improving minority communities.

Jordan McLinn, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, thanked Trump for signing the federal version of the "Right to Try" law in 2018.

Jack Hughes and his mother, Sarah, discuss how they used school vouchers to enroll Jack in a parochial school that better suited his learning needs.

And Lidia Brodine, a naturalized American originally from Honduras, talk about how the Paycheck Protection Program helped save her family's new security business from folding once the pandemic hit.

Nicholas Sandmann, teen from video of 2019 Washington protest, addresses RNC

A Kentucky teenager known for video of his interaction with a Native American man during dueling demonstrations at the Lincoln Memorial last year was among Tuesday's speakers at the virtual Republican National Convention.

Nicholas Sandmann urged voters to reelect President Donald Trump in his speech during the gathering's second night. Sandmann, who now identifies himself on Twitter as a spokesman for the Transylvania University College Republicans, tweeted that he couldn't express "enough about how excited I am to be apart of this years RNC!"

Sandmann was among the students from Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Kentucky, holding 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.

Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann speaks at the 2020 Republican National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

Anti-abortion activist speaks

An anti-abortion activist who spoke 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 addressed the RNC on Tuesday. In May, Johnson 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.

Anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson speaks at the 2020 Republican National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

Trump highlights pardoned bank robber Jon Ponder

President Donald Trump highlighted 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 program in Las Vegas that helps former prisoners reenter society, called Hope for Prisoners.

Trump has trumpeted criminal justice reform as part of his outreach to Black and evangelical voters.

President Donald Trump is highlighting the pardon of Jon Ponder, a Nevada man convicted of bank robbery. Video shows the president signing the document as Ponder and his wife look on.

RNC speaker pulled after anti-Semitic messages

A speaker who had been scheduled to address the second night 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 Tuesday night 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 U.S. illegally.

She and and other parents whose children have been killed by people in the country illegally have labeled themselves "Angel Moms" and have made frequent appearances at the White House and Trump campaign events.

Mendoza had apologized 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."

First lady Melania Trump to address the nation during RNC

First lady Melania Trump is set to give the marquee address from the Rose Garden. She has focused on anti-bullying initiatives during her tenure in the White House, so she may offer one of the convention's most positive addresses.

Her speech at the 2016 GOP convention, the night she introduced herself to voters, was well-received but was later found to have included lines that were very close to what former first lady Michelle Obama said in her 2008 speech at the Democratic convention. A speechwriter for the Trump Organization took the blame.

Trump says he will nominate Chad Wolf as permanent head of DHS

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will nominate Chad Wolf to be the permanent Secretary of Homeland Security.

Wolf has been acting secretary since November and his tenure has been controversial, most recently in his role carrying out Trump's orders to use federal agents to respond to violent protests in Portland, Oregon.

2020 VOTE RESOURCES

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ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.