‘Mental plantation,’ ‘Hurts my soul;’ RNC 2020 opens with fiery speeches

Day two of the scaled-down Republican National Convention begins Tuesday after more than a dozen speakers made live and pre-taped presentations of support for President Donald Trump, who was officially renominated on the convention’s opening day.

Two of the three coveted final speaking slots Monday night went to people of color who have been openly critical of Trump in the past, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

The fact the Republicans gathered at all stood in contrast to Democrats, who held an all-virtual convention last week. The Democratic programming included a roll call video montage featuring officials from across the nation. The Republicans spoke from the ballroom in Charlotte.

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Here are some of the evening’s most memorable quotes:

• “Joe Biden said if a Black man didn’t vote for him, he wasn’t truly Black. Joe Biden said Black people are a monolithic community.” US Sen. Tim Scott
• “Joe Biden is basically the loch ness monster of the swamp.” — Donald Trump Jr.
• “America is not a racist country ... I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. My father wore a turban. My mother wore a sari.” — Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley
• “Democrats won’t let you go to church, but they’ll let you protest. Democrats won’t let you go to work, but they’ll let you riot. Democrats won’t let you go to school, but they’ll let you go loot.” — US Rep. Jim Jordan
• “The Democrats still assume that Black people will vote for them no matter how much they let us down and take us for granted. We’re sick of it. We’re not going to take it anymore. The days of blindly supporting the Democrats are coming to an end.” — Kim Klacik, Maryland congressional candidate
• “The Democratic Party does not want Black people to leave the mental plantation they’ve had us on for decades.” — Georgia State Representative Vernon Jones

• “It hurts my soul to hear the terrible names that people call Donald. The worst one is ‘racist.’ I take it as a personal insult that people would think I would have a 37-year friendship with a racist.” — Herschel Walker

• “I’m speaking to you from an auditorium emptier than Joe Biden’s daily schedule ... They’ll disarm you, empty the prisons, lock you in your home, and invite MS-13 to live next door.” — US Rep. Matt Gaetz
• “Democrats no longer view the government’s job as protecting honest citizens from criminals, but rather protecting criminals from honest citizens.” — Mark and Patricia McCloskey

• “If you want to see the socialist Biden-Harris future for our country, just look at California.” — Kimberly Guilfoyle

Also appearing was Parkland father Andrew Pollack, who said the “safety of your kids depends” on whether Trump wins a second term.

Pollack’s 18-year-old daughter, Meadow, was killed in February 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Pollack blamed a culture of leniency that failed to hold the gunman accountable for many transgressions that occurred before the shooting, which killed 17 people. He says gun control laws didn’t fail his daughter, but people did.

>MORE: Watch RNC 2020 video highlights

Jones said “all hell broke loose” when he announced his support for Trump. But Jones said he stands by his decision in part because Trump has backed initiatives including increased funding for HBCUs, criminal justice reform and “the most inclusive economy ever.”

Jordan recounted a phone conversation with Trump as the Ohioan was en route to visit his grieving family after Jordan’s nephew died in a car accident. Jordan said he asked Trump if he’d like to say hello to the boy’s father.

“For the next five minutes, family and friends sat in complete silence as the president of the United States took time to talk to a dad who was hurting,” Jordan said. “That’s the president I know.”

Jordan’s story came a week after nightly vignettes of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s connection with people who have lost spouses, children and jobs.

Trump, who was not scheduled to deliver his keynote convention address until later in the week, made multiple public appearances throughout the first day of the four-day convention. In one pre-taped segment, Trump appeared in a video with six former hostages freed during his administration.

The former prisoners were among more than a dozen religious or other people whose release the Trump administration helped broker, including Michael White, Sam Goodwin, Pastor Andrew Brunson, Joshua and Tamara Holt, and Pastor Bryan Nerran.