Night Two of the Republican National Convention went a mite smoother than the pilot episode. Trump was formally nominated. The Trump children gave well-received remarks; Chris Christie got everyone excited about putting Hillary Clinton in jail; Paul Ryan tried to get everyone to sing kumbaya. Still, the prime speaking slots went to an avocado farmer who used to be on The Young and the Restless and a very off-script Ben Carson.
Now for your speed read.
AJC Coverage
Greg Bluestein and Aaron Gould Sheinin's premium site lede-all:
The moment seemed to mark a turning point for the candidate and his party.
"Congratulations, Dad, we love you!" Donald Trump Jr. said in casting the votes for the Trumps' home state of New York that officially made him the nominee.
Bluestein: Georgia casts 42 of its 76 delegate votes for Trump.
Bluestein: Christie prosecutes Clinton ... figuratively.
Jim Galloway: The kids on growing up Trump.
Galloway: Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell make their peace with Trump.
Conservative columnist Kyle Wingfield looks at how energy could be a winning issue for Trump.
Liberal columnist Jay Bookman says Team Trump's pattern of lies tests supporters' loyalty and gullibility.
And be sure to bookmark this page to lead you to all of the AJC's Cleveland coverage deluge.
National coverage
The interwebs had a brief moment of excitement for Melania, The Sequel last night, but Vox assures us that Donald Trump Jr. did not plagiarize his speech. One of his speechwriters cribbed some lines from his own column.
The Washington Post's Dan Balz analyzes the Trump, Ryan, McConnell trio, noting that, despite the happy talk, the latter two are more than willing to dump the top of the ticket to preserve their majorities.
Speaking of Ryan, here's your awkward moment of the day, via Buzzfeed. What, no "SEC Pride?"
Pointing to the in-state rivalries between teams like the Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies, and TCU Horned Frogs, Ryan said, "You guys are at each other's throats … [But] when one team advances to a big bowl game or a national championship, don't you root for the Aggies? … Don't you root for the Longhorns?"
The ballroom full of Texans erupted in laughter, boos, and shouts of, "No!"
Ryan chuckled, taken aback, and said, "Start thinking that way, OK?"
And then, "Holy moly, this explains everything right now."
Politico has a deep dive on Republican leaders looking past a Trump collapse, with this eye-opening quote from George W. Bush, said to be uttered at a staff reunion in Dallas in April: "I'm worried," Bush told them, "that I will be the last Republican president."
National Journal's Josh Kraushaar writes that Christie's stemwinder lent some star power and showed that Trump might have made a mistake passing on him as running mate.
Don't Forget About the Dems
It looks like Hillary Clinton will announce her vice presidential choice Friday in Florida. (L.A. Times)
That means the oppo research (slash media vetting) is starting to dribble out. The Wall Street Journal reports on Labor Secretary Tom Perez's grandfather's relationship with Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, a tale that runs counter to one Perez routinely tells.
Tweet storm:
The night's theme was "Make America Work Again," for the record.
Fun with old tweets.
During Carson's speech, the teleprompter just gave up.
Up Next: Vice Presidential nominee Mike Pence has his coming out party with Wednesday night's biggest speech, but we'll also hear from Newt and Callista Gingrich (the dynamic duo also spoke jointly at the 2012 convention), Ted Cruz, Scott Walker and Marco Rubio (only by video message, because Florida needs him).
Today's discussion topic: National Review reports that Cruz will not endorse Trump tonight and is already laying the groundwork for his next presidential run, as he tries to both be a loyal party soldier (i.e. not go Full Kasich) but also be blameless if Trump goes down in flames.
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