Donald Trump Will Be Joined By Other Extremists At Next Week’s Convention
With a racist, misogynist reality TV star Donald Trump as the presumptive GOP nominee, it was always likely that the upcoming Republican National Convention would be extreme. And now, after the Republican National Committee released a partial list of the people who will speak at next week’s convention—which is full of anti-immigrant, anti-abortion, and pro-NRA speakers—it is almost certainly guaranteed that next week’s Republican National Convention will be as extreme as its headliner Donald Trump.
Below is an overview of the RNC’s extreme speakers from Think Progress’s Josh Israel. For an analysis of more of the speakers, check out his full article in Think Progress:
- Pam Bondi, Florida’s Republican attorney general: Bondi’s relationship with Trump has drawn criticism from ethics watchdogs and state newspapers. Four days after she announced she might join an investigation into Trump University, one of Trump’s family foundations gave $25,000 to a group supporting Bondi’s re-election. Soon after, she announced she would not pursue a lawsuit.
- David Clarke: The African American sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, and nominally a Democrat, Clarke has emerged as the go-to critic of the Black Lives Matter movement. He has called groups protesting the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri “vultures on a road side carcass” and claimed that homes with single mothers were the real cause of police shootings of black men. Clarke has also predicted that Black Lives Matter “will join forces with ISIS” to bring down the United States. A strong gun-rights advocate, he has also proposed adding a semi-automatic rifle to the nation’s seal.
- Chris Cox, the chief lobbyist for the National Rifle Association: Cox is a staunch opponent of efforts to reduce gun violence and has warned that those lawmakers who seek to blame his organization for the epidemic of gun violence “will pay a price for it.” At his group’s May convention, he made a series of sexist attacks on Hillary Clinton, calling her a “horse” and playing an out-of-context video of her barking.
- Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor: Huckabee is best known for his staunch opposition to LGBT rights, claiming marriage equality will lead to legalized polygamy and prostitution. He emerged last year as a chief defender of Rowan County, Kentucky clerk Kim Davis and her illegal refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, comparing her to Abraham Lincoln. He also has suggested using federal troops to stop women from accessing abortions, claimed that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be “appalled” by the Black Lives Matter movement, and warned that some immigrants only come to America “because they heard there is a bowl of food just across the border.”
- Jeff Sessions, U.S. Senator from Alabama: Before being elected a Republican U.S. Senator from Alabama, Jeff Sessions was a rejected nominee for a federal judgeship. The reason: senators were concerned about his history of racially insensitive remarks, including reportedly calling the NAACP an “un-American” and “Communist-inspired” organization that “forced civil rights down the throats of people.” Today, he uses his perch in the Senate to attack immigrants, who he says “create culture problems.”
BOTTOM LINE: Between their presidential nominee and their cast of speakers, the Republican National Convention will likely be full of extremism. Now more than ever, the United States needs its leaders to demonstrate that they’re committed to uniting the country, not spreading more hate and fear.
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