5 Takeaways from Day One of RNC: Boos, teleprompter snafus and Tucker Carlson bugaboos

Day One of the Republican National Convention is in the books, and we've already accomplished a lot:

The delegates formally nominated former President Donald Trump as their Republican presidential candidate. Trump then picked U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio as his No. 2. And Trump and Vance then made a surprise appearance on the floor of the convention late Monday, Trump's first public event since the assassination attempt on his life on Saturday.

But that's not all. Here are five other takeaways from Monday's RNC.

All is forgiven if Trump needs you on the ticket …

Vance, a first-term Republican senator, has been a really harsh critic of Trump in the past. Let us recount the ways.

“I’m a Never Trump guy,” Vance said in an interview with Charlie Rose in 2016. “I never liked him.”

Vance tweeted of Trump in October 2016: “My god what an idiot."

Around the same time, Vance, author of bestseller "Hillbilly Elegy," also wrote privately of the 45th U.S. president: "I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon who wouldn't be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he's America's Hitler."

A pre-bearded Vance even went so far once as to suggest on MSNBC several years ago that he believed the story of Jessica Leeds, who claimed Trump groped her.

Wow.

But that is all history. Trump and Vance now are all chummy and ready to take the fight to incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

… but not everyone is being shown mercy

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, was booed heartily as he spoke on behalf of Kentucky's delegates during Monday's roll call to formally nominate Trump at the RNC on Monday.

McConnell has had a difficult relationship with Trump and his MAGA allies since the Republican leader accused Trump of "provoking the events" of Jan. 6. McConnell, who is working to help the GOP gain control of the Senate, is scheduled to step down from his leadership post later this year.

Asked repeatedly by reporters at the Fiserv Forum what he thought of Trump’s selection of Vance as running mate, McConnell initially stayed silent. He then said “great choice,” according to the Huffington Post.

Sen. Johnson could use a little help with his teleprompter

Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson was given the high-profile job of welcoming the thousands of delegates to Milwaukee on Monday night.

Only the third-term senator didn't end up giving the speech he intended to, due to a teleprompter miscue.

Earlier in the day, Johnson, who can wage political war with the best of them, had suggested he would emphasize the need for unity in the party when he addressed the delegates.

But the version of his speech that he was presented omitted what was supposed to be his opening refrain: "We meet at a somber moment in history. We should all heed President Trump's call for unity, strength and determination."

Later, he said Democratic policies were "a clear and present danger to America, to our institutions, our values and our people." That line was supposed to have been deleted from the final version of his planned remarks.

But the snafu could have been worse. CNN, it turns out, skipped airing Johnson's four-minute speech in its entirety, meaning much of the country was unaware of his very public snafu.

Not everyone got the unity message

While it was all smiles and hugs at Fiserv, the keynote speaker at the Heritage Foundation's Policy Fest at the Milwaukee Symphony set a much different tone.

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in talking to several hundred conservatives early Monday afternoon attacked many Washington, D.C., politicians for living lives full of lies in each of the two parties. He ripped "all the bad people" who aligned against Vance during the fight to be named Trump's veep.

Carlson, who was bounced from Fox News last year, described Vance as "one of the only members of the Senate with a happy marriage."

OK.

Carlson then pivoted to take on the "forces of chaos and destruction, which are fundamentally anti-human, which are against people." He cited supporters of transhumanism, advocates of artificial intelligence, those opposing climate change and Biden administrators, saying all of them are lined up in opposition to Christians.

"There is a spiritual battle under way," said Carlson. He added that the "religion of Jesus" makes these people mad.

But the conservative talking head was not all doom and gloom. He praised Trump's defiant response to his assassination attempt over the weekend. He said Trump revealed his inner character when he stood up after being shot, held out his fist and said, "Fight, fight, fight."

In that moment, Carlson assured his audience, the presidential race was over. He said Trump "acted like a man."

"That's it," Carlson said in his 20-minute talk. "You do that, you win."

Should we call it a wrap?

Look for the union label

So how do you end a rip-roaring first day of the RNC not long after Trump makes his grand appearance and model Amber Rose pledges her fealty to him and his party?

If you guessed with a full-throated affirmation of unions by the top Teamsters official, well, you would be lying. Because no one would expect that. Especially not the anti-union former Gov. Scott Walker.

But Sean O'Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, didn't hold back after thanking Trump for letting him speak, even though his group has not endorsed in the race.

He argued for the value of labor rights and corporate responsibility in America. He attacked Amazon, Uber and Walmart for opposing labor groups and praised conservative Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, for joinging workers on the picket line. He said American workers own the nation and corporations are the largest recipients of welfare.

Historically, labor unions and the Democratic Party have been closely aligned with labor groups pouring millions of dollars into the campaign coffers of liberal candidates.

But O'Brien called on both parties to come together in support of union workers.

"To paraphrase (Republican) Sen. Markwayne Mullin, it's time for both sides of Congress to stand their butts up," he said. "We need trade policies and put American workers first. It needs to be easier for companies to remain in America. We need legal protections that make it safer for workers to get a contract. We must stop corporations from abandoning local communities to inflate their bottom line."

A little jarring to hear this at this huge gathering of Republicans? Certainly. Some delegates didn't appear to know what to do. A few members of the Texas delegation yelled, "Right to work." But there was also plenty of applause for O'Brien's pointed critique of American working conditions.

If nothing else, the talk showed once again — it's not your grandmother and grandfather's GOP. No, it's the party of Donald Trump and anyone else who joining him on his political roller-coaster.

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or [email protected]. Follow him on X at @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Day One of RNC: Teleprompter snafus, Tucker Carlson bugaboos