Republican National Convention night 1: ‘America is not a racist country’

MILWAUKEE — After Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took the stage on night one of the Republican National Convention the next three speakers were all Black men. Current Lt. Governor of North Carolina Mark Robinson, Texas Congressman Wesley Hunt, and Congressman John James of Michigan’s 10th District all spoke about their personal stories, the importance of voting this November, and why former United States President Donald J. Trump is the best choice for president.

Robinson, the first Black Lt. governor in the history of North Carolina, led things off by telling a story about growing up poor as the ninth of 10 children in North Carolina. “There is hope and I’m living proof,” said Robinson, who is running for a gubernatorial campaign for his state’s seat this fall. Robinson went on to say the country’s economics were better during the first Trump administration and that Republican voters have to help put him back in office this November.

“Under President Trump the American dream was alive and well,” he said. “This November lets select the Braveheart of our time, Donald J. Trump.”

Robinson was followed by Texas Congressman Wesley Hunt, who was one of the politicians that attended the barbershop small business forum in Atlanta last month. Hunt, a veteran of the United States military, who said he was a great, great grandson of a slave, said 65% of Americans are living “paycheck to paycheck” and that was because of Biden and Harris.

“On November 5, we the people can fix the Democratic disaster,” Hunt said of the current economy under the Biden-Harris administration. “We can fix this disaster by electing Donald John Trump and sending him back to where he belongs in the White House.”

“We must win in November to take our country back,” Hunt said.

Congressman John James of Michigan, also a veteran, followed Hunt onto the stage and shared the story of how his father grew up in Starkville, Mississippi and couldn’t even dream of attending Mississippi State University because of Jim Crow. Despite that injustice and racism, James said he was raised by his parents that America was not a racist country.

United States Senator Tim Scott followed a bit later and upon taking the stage asked the crowd, “Are you ready for four more years of Donald Trump?”

Scott began by talking about the attempted assassination attempt of Trump on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. He told the crowd that if they didn’t believe in miracles before Saturday they better believe now.

“We are not setting the course for the next four years, we are setting the course for the next 40 years,” Scott said. “We are the Republican Party of Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and Donald Trump.”

Byron Donalds, Congressman out of Florida, took the stage to massive applause. He was there to close the Black portion of the evening’s speakers. Wearing a red tie and navy blue suit, Donalds stayed on brand and spoke mostly about the value of education.

“Donald Trump believes every parent deserves a choice and every child deserves a chance,” Donalds said. “If there was ever a time in our nation to come together, that time is now. With Trump our economy will boom again. Together we will make America great again.”

Scott said he always gets in trouble for saying this but he was going to say it again anyway: “America is not a racist country,” said Scott.

If you take the speaker lineup on night one of the Republican National Convention as proof, at least we can all agree that the Republican Party is doing a better job of proving that it is not.

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