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

The 2020 Republican National Convention continues Tuesday, with several members of President Donald Trump’s family scheduled to deliver prime time speeches.

Headlining Tuesday’s program is First Lady Melania Trump, who is scheduled to speak from the recently renovated White House Rose Garden. Four years ago, her convention speech went awry after it was revealed several lines were plagiarized from the speech former First Lady Michelle Obama delivered during the Democrats’ 2008 convention.

“You know Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone loves it, it’s fantastic. They think she’s absolutely great. My wife Melania gives the exact same speech and people get on her case, and I don’t get it!” then-candidate Donald Trump joked during the annual Catholic Archdiocese of New York charity dinner in 2016.

Other family members on Tuesday’s schedule are Tiffany Trump, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 alongside former Vice President Joe Biden’s granddaughter Naomi, and Eric Trump

Also scheduled to speak is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who will address the convention in prerecorded remarks made from Jerusalem.

Democrats and some Republicans have criticized Pompeo for taking part in the convention, which breaks with a long-standing precedent of secretaries of state not taking part in political conventions. It also comes after Pompeo warned diplomats and other employees last month not to “improperly engage the Department of State in the political process.”

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

The second night of the Republican National Convention is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. Eastern and last two and a half hours.

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 also watch here on Inquirer.com, via the Washington Post.

Notable speakers highlighted by Republicans expected to take part Tuesday, 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, the party’s presidential nominee in 2012, 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 Charlotte on Monday

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.