RNC Day 2: What to expect and who will speak?

(NewsNation) — The Republican National Convention enters its second day Tuesday, a day after former President Donald Trump named Sen. JD Vance as his vice president pick on the 2024 Republican ticket.

Trump made an appearance with a bandage across his right ear, but did not speak. He is not expected to until Thursday.

Tuesday’s focus will center around immigration, a topic central to the Trump ticket and one that is a hot button issue for many Americans.

Who will be speaking?

Many of the Republican Party’s heavy hitters will be on hand this week, with some of its biggest presences speaking Tuesday, per a source familiar with the RNC plans.

In a surprising note, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will speak tonight.

Others to take the floor throughout the evening include Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and Vivek Ramaswamy.

From 9 p.m. ET, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, DeSantis, Haley, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Lara Trump will speak on stage.

What will be the highlights?

The RNC is calling Day 2 of the convention “Make America Safe Once Again.”

While that will touch on immigration issues facing America, crime is a central topic to be discussed at Fiserv Forum.

Events on Tuesday include “Transatlantic Approaches to China,” “A Republican Approach to a Dangerous World” and “Giving Americans a Voice Town Hall,” among others.

Former US President Donald Trump, and Senator JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio and Republican vice-presidential nominee, during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, on Monday, July 15, 2024. Credit: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images

What are Republicans saying?

Prior to Tuesday’s events, the RNC released a statement detailing the messaging of the day’s events.

“Once iconic American cities and communities have become hollowed out, dystopian nightmares thanks to Joe Biden and Democrats’ ‘woke’ soft-on-crime and open border policies,” the RNC’s description reads.

“In Joe Biden’s America, unvetted illegal aliens and deranged criminals are free to roam the streets and terrorize everyday Americans, all while law enforcement is demonized.

“Cartels have overrun our border, flooding our neighborhoods with enough deadly fentanyl and methamphetamine to kill every American multiple times over.

“President Donald J. Trump will stand up for our law enforcement and put an end to the senseless crime spree and drug flow that plague America.”