First night of GOP convention humanizes Trump, highlights Republican activists of color

Republicans kicked off their nominating convention Monday night with a humanizing tribute to President Trump that included ringing endorsements and personal stories from people of color.

Seeking to counter last week's Democratic narrative of a Trump-led America that was racially hostile, the Republican National Convention showcased prominent minorities who turned the tables on the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris ticket.

They ranged from professional football star Herschel Walker's personal tale of the time Trump made a surprise visit to Disney World with his family to Sen. Tim Scott's impassioned declaration that his family's rise from "Cotton to Congress in one generation" proved the American dream was alive and well.

Former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.), who served as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, took on the Democratic narrative of racial grievance in America as she shared her story of growing up in the South as a brown woman.

"In much of the Democratic Party, it’s now fashionable to say that America is racist," Haley said. "That is a lie. America is not a racist country. This is personal for me. I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. They came to America and settled in a small southern town. My father wore a turban. My mother wore a sari.

"I was a brown girl in a black and white world. We faced discrimination and hardship. But my parents never gave in to grievance and hate. My mom built a successful business. My dad taught 30 years at a historically black college. And the people of South Carolina chose me as their first minority and first female governor."

Activist Kimberly Guilfoyle, girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr., and a senior campaign official, spoke of her Latina heritage.

"When you are in trouble, and need 911, don’t count on the Democrats," Guilfoyle said. "As a first generation American, I know how dangerous their socialist agenda is. My mother, Mercedes, was a special education teacher from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. My father also an immigrant came to this nation in pursuit of the American Dream. Now, I consider it my duty to fight to protect that dream."

Some of the night's speakers provided red meat for the faithful. Donald Trump Jr. attacked Biden and his five decade career in Washington as the "Loch Ness monster of the Swamp," while Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida poked fun at Biden's absence in the public arena since COVID-19 struck.

"I’m speaking to you from an auditorium emptier than Joe Biden’s daily schedule," Gaetz quipped.

But the main focus of the first night of the GOP convention was to offer a more intimate portrait of the president and his accomplishments from a diverse cast of minorities who disputed the Democratic narrative about race in America.

Walker, the former NFL star, spoke of his 37-year friendship with Trump, including the president's love of family. 

"He could be in the middle of a big meeting, but if one of his kids was on the phone, he dropped everything to take the call," Walker said. "He taught me that family should be your top priority." 

Walker said he's seen Trump "treat the janitors, security guards, and waiters the same way he would treat a VIP. ... He made them feel special because he knew they were. He understands that they are the people who make this country run. They clean. They cook. They build. They drive. They deliver. He told me, 'Herschel, make an effort to get to know people. Remember their names.' That stuck with me."

Walker told the story of how he had planned to take the Trump children to Disney World with Walker's own family, and at the last minute, Trump joined.

"So there he was, in a business suit, on the 'It’s a Small World' ride," Walker said. "That was something to see. It just shows you what a caring, loving father he is."

Walker, who is African-American, decried critics who label Trump as a racist.

"It hurts my soul to hear the terrible names that people call Donald," Walker said. "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. People who think that don’t know what they are talking about. Growing up in the Deep South, I have seen racism up close. I know what it is. And it isn’t Donald Trump." 

House Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana spoke of how Trump showed compassion as the congressman was fighting for his life in hospital after being shot on a baseball field by a liberal gunman.

"That same night, Donald Trump came to the hospital, along with First Lady Melania Trump," Scalise said. "They consoled my wife Jennifer. They were there for my family in my darkest hours. Donald Trump would call to check on me throughout the following weeks, just to see how I was doing. That’s the kind of person he is. That’s the side of Donald Trump that the media will never show you."