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(MILWAUKEE, W.I.) — Day 3 of the Republican National Convention features the prime-time debut of J.D. Vance introducing himself both to Republicans and Americans nationwide.
He’ll speak to the delegates as Donald Trump is again expected at the convention hall to watch his running mate make his national debut.
Tonight’s theme at the RNC is “Make America Strong Once Again.”
Trump to attend RNC tonight
Trump will attend the RNC events Wednesday evening — as he has the previous two days.
The former president is expected to enter the arena around the same time as Tuesday night — around 8:02 p.m. CT.
The last two days, Trump, with a bandaged ear, has entered Fiserv Forum to cheers from his supporters and chants of “fight, fight, fight” as he pumps his fist in the air — a callback to his response shortly after an assassination attempt on him at his rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
-ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh
Wisconsin voters speak on Trump, Biden and America’s divisions in wake of shooting
It had been less than 48 hours since the attempted assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, and for four Wisconsin voters, it was yet another sign of how divided the nation has become.
Valori Schmidt, a Republican living in Milwaukee, described the shooting at the former president’s Pennsylvania rally as a “wake-up call.”
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t necessarily a surprise because the climate of hatred has escalated to such a high level,” Schmidt said. “The wake up call is we must take the temperature down. We must become more civil, and we must start being factual and not not name calling and just saying awful things about one another.”
Next to her, Gary Berns, a fellow Milwaukeean who votes Democratic, replied: “I can’t disagree with that.”
Berns and Schmidt, joined by other local residents Julie Buckholt and Charlene Abughrin, sat down with ABC News at Miss Katie’s Diner just as the Republican National Convention was kicking off in their hometown.
“As far as the loudness and the anger calling, I mean he brings that on himself,” Berns said of Trump. Schmidt later countered that Trump, “has been vilified as a Hitler, as an anti-American, as an extremist … it’s been nonstop from all aspects.”
-ABC’s Alexandra Hutzler
Tonight’s theme is ‘Make America Strong Once Again’
The RNC says speakers today with focus on “Chinese Military and Economic Threats, Border Security, Energy Security and Securing the Peace/Restoring America’s Place in the World Israel.”
Featured speakers include: Peter Navarro, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Kellyanne Conway, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Reps. Nancy Mace, Brian Mast, Ronny Jackson, Matt Gaetz, Monica De La Cruz, Anna Paulina Luna, and Michael Waltz.
Peter Navarro set to speak after release from prison
Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro will speak at the RNC tonight just hours after being released from federal prison in Miami this morning, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Navarro’s release date for serving time after being convicted on contempt of Congress charges was previously set for today, and according to a source, he left prison this morning.
He served four months in a low-security facility.
-ABC’s Katherine Faulders
JD Vance to introduce himself to voters
Donald Trump’s running mate – the 39-year-old first-term senator from Ohio – gets his chance in the national spotlight when he makes a prime-time speech at the RNC.
J.D. Vance can be expected to tell his personal story of growing up in Middletown, Ohio, and the upbringing that inspired him to write his best-seller “Hillbilly Elegy.”
Even with that, he is largely an unfamiliar face to many Americans – even to Republicans – including those in the convention hall.
Trump can again be expected to be watching from his presidential box.
Vance will be introduced by his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, after strong Vance- backer Donald Trump Jr. speaks right before.
-ABC’s Soorin Kim
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