Republican National Convention: Start time, speakers, how to watch and stream first night

The Republican National Convention begins Monday, offering President Donald Trump and his party the chance to offer a rebuttal to scathing attacks tossed out by prominent Democrats — including former President Barack Obama — during their convention last week.

Unlike the Zoom-style convention Democrats aired last week, Republicans say they are opting for a mostly live event that will look and feel similar to gatherings in years past, though obviously with fewer people. It will culminate with Trump delivering his acceptance speech as the party’s official nominee Thursday in the South Lawn of the White House, a major break from presidential norms that have seen candidates keep the office of the president and the campaign separate.

After initially pulling out of North Carolina due to coronavirus restrictions, much of the convention will be held across several federally owned venues. That includes Fort McHenry in Baltimore and the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., which is just around the corner from the Trump International Hotel (which increased its rates for the nights of the convention, according to the Daily Beast).

While Donald Trump, Jr., the president’s oldest son, is the featured speaker Monday, Pennsylvania congressional candidate Sean Parnell is also scheduled to speak on the convention’s opening night.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the first night of the 2020 Republican National Convention:

The primetime portion of the Republican National Convention is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. Eastern and last two and a half hour.

The convention will stream live on the RNC’s website and across all their social media channels. In Philadelphia, it will also air live on NBC, ABC, CBS, and WHYY, with most networks opting to carry the final hour beginning at 10 p.m. CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News will also offer live coverage starting hours before the event begins, each offering their own analysis.

Comcast Xfinity X1 subscribers can watch all the programming by simply saying “RNC” into their remote.

You can watch live here on Inquirer.com, courtesy of the Washington Post:

On Sunday, Republicans released a list of the major speakers each night, but suggested there might be a surprise or two. Speakers expected to take part Monday, in no apparent order, include:

The Republican National Convention will take place over four nights this week, from Monday to Thursday. Convention programming is scheduled to air live each night from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern.

Here are notable speakers for the remaining nights of the convention, including local lawmakers:

While the Democrat’s convention included a ideology-diverse array of speakers (including two former presidents) and a handful of Republicans, a number of high-profile Republicans aren’t scheduled to speak at this week’s convention.

President George W. Bush, former First Lady Laura Bush, and former Vice President Dick Cheney aren’t on the schedule, which isn’t all that surprising considering none spoke on behalf of Trump in 2016 (Bush’s Secretary of State, Colin Powell, spoke at the Democratic National Convention).

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, who currently holds the third-highest position in Republican House leadership, it currently not slated to speak. Neither is Utah. Sen. Mitt Romney, though that’s hardly surprising considering he’s the sole Republican to vote in favor of impeaching Trump.

While political conventions have largely grown into television events designed to promote political parties and their leaders, the business of the convention includes formally nominating the primary winner — in this case, Trump — as the party’s official presidential nominee. That roll call vote (with a reduced delegate count due to coronavirus regulation) took place in-person earlier today in Charlotte.

Another important function that usually takes place is formalizing a party platform. On Sunday, Republicans announced due to the “scaled back” convention they will adjourn without adopting a new platform. Instead, according to a new resolution, Republicans “will continue to enthusiastically support” Trump and his agenda.