Well, good evening, everyone, welcome to nbc news live coverage of night one of the Republican National convention. As with the democrat last week, this convention will look a lot different than the ones in the past, of course, due to the pandemic. The republicans make their case to hit back at joe biden and the democrats. We will be hearing from a variety of speakers over the next four nights, office holders, family member, trump loyalists. We start with the headliner governor and United NationsAmbassador Nikki Haley. We will also hear from the president s oldest son, donald trump, jr. And republican senator tim scott. We expect to hear from President Trump. On each of these four nights, including in a video with american hostages freed during his administration earlier in charlotte, north carolina, where the entire convention was originally scheduled. They will renominate donald trump and mike pence for president and Vice President. We will start with chuck todd and andrea mitchell. Chuck, im start with you. We had about 90 minutes or so of the Republican Convention so far. And judging by what weve heard and seen, who do you think the republicans are trying to reach out to this week . Ah, well, right now, it feels like a base convention or disaffected republicans is who they are trying to talk to. Because this is not quite as upbeat, my definition of upbeat, jason miller said to me on sunday on this, but this actually reminds me of the convention george h. W. Bush had in 1992. The reason i bring that up, thats the last time an incumbent president entered a convention trailing by as much as donald trump is. And, look, in order to get back into the game, you got to win back people you used to have. This is a convention that seems more designed to talk to republicans and say, let me tell you this apocalyptic version of the democrats. Dont go over there. That to me is who they are trying to talk to. Theyre not talking to real swing voters yet. Theyre trying to have es the president s stress the president s accomplishments and they will be with hostages freed during his admistraon. What can you tell us about that . Its a number of people he managed to get out of captivity. They can claim some credit. They were more aggressive, more active in getting people back, especially some of the more notable people. Others whom thigh got out of captivity and some from iran as well, venezuela. So this will reenforce their view that they have been better at getting people back than president obama was. But so far, so far, it has been a lot of red meat, not so much optimism and hope. Well, we are awaiting as we speak an appearance by the president. By the way, not the first appearance tonight. We actually saw him earlier in the convention speaking with people affected by the covid crisis. Now we are about to join the Convention Live with this piece of donald trump. Freeing american hostages. We have six incredible people who were held hostage by various countries and im very pleased to let everybody know that we brought back over 50 hostages from 22 different countries. We worked very hard on it. Ambassador obrien and others, and i will tell you, we are very proud of the job we did. But id like to ask maybe pastor brunson to say a few words, we can go through, give us a hill history how life is treating you . I was held in turkey for two years. You took unprecedented steps actually to secure my release and your administration really fought for me. I think if you hadnt done that i still may be in turkey. I am very grateful. They had you there 28 years. They had you scheduled for a long time, andrew. We had to get you back. And i have to say, to me, president erme, president erdogan was very good. After a few conversations, he agreed. So we appreciate that we appreciate the people of turkey. You still appreciate the people of turkey, i understand . We love the turkish people. Thats great. Its great to have you back, andrew, thank you. Mr. President , im sam go goodw goodwin. I was held in syria for 63 days. I think i speak for my fellow former hostages detainees when i say im as grateful to be home safely. Thank you for the invitation and opportunity to be here, particular ambassador obrien was incredibly supportive and helpful to my family. I cant say enough nice things about him. Thank you for promoting him. Really happy to be here. So thank you. We got you back. You got me back. We got you all back. We have some more we are working on right now to get back. Please, go ahead. Once again, its an honor to be here and meet you in person. Basically, what had happened with me i went to travel over to the country of iran. It turned out it was a major, major trap. I was apprehended there. I went through a lot. The american Justice System and the iranian Justice System. Iran is an expressionist, extortionist regime. You know what i am talking about. What you did, you were able to get me out of that prison in record time. It was amazing. Thank you very much. The honor is all mine. Please. My name is josh holden. My wife tale. We were held hostage in venezuela two years. I know very well. You helped us get out. Senator hatch worked with you as well. It was a great honor to be able to meet you right when we got back. I remember a lot of people asked me, what was it like meeting President Trump . I was broken away. I got released after two years, then im shaking the hands of the president in the oval office. I dont remember a whole lot of it. Its been great. Its been great to be back helping people through situations they have gone through. Now we start our family. The great people of utah really wanted me to do something about you two. We were able do it. A little of a miracle, frankly. It was. It was a hostile period. We appreciate everybody working so hard with us. But we were able to get you both back. Are you living in utah now i hope . We are still living there. Say hello to the folks of utah, theyre great people. Thank you very much, congratulations. Please. I spent an unexpected trip to india. I was not going to india, i was going through india to nepal working the last 18 years. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you, President Trump, for getting us out and getting us home. The darkest moment of our whole time together your letter to my wife came. And it really gave her the hope and the peace. Thats great. From that time forward, as more people got involved, especially the ambassador there in india, things became more peaceful and the hope was there for the last four months. We really would get to come home. They had planned on keeping me threetofive years. The original charge thing was threetofive years. Right. That was cleared. They came up with new charges, so it was seven years. I think you responded very well to my request. So we appreciate that. We appreciate everything you all did. Thank you all for being with us. We have a few more people we want to get back. We will get them back. They will be back very soon. Thank you very much, appreciate it. Great stories. And the idea of how we will be seeing the president used throughout this Convention Period in this case, interviewing people who had been released, detained or held hostage overseas. I want to bring in our chief correspondent richard engel. He joins us from belarus covering the mass protests in that countrys election. We heard syria and iran. Talk about things that have been overshadowed by covid and the election. Tell us about the president s record in that part of the world, where things stand. Reporter well, here in belarus, for example, people believe that President Trump is not doing much to support their movement, not doing much to support democracy. And lets be frank, around the world, since President Trump has taken office, the United States position as a global super power has declined. Hes not trusted by our allies. Our allies generally try to avoid him. The adversary thinks they can flatter and manipulate him. Hes seen as someone who is trying to tear down the very institutions that the United States helped create after world war ii, with attacks on nato, attacks on climate agreement and it leads to, in general, a lack of respect for the United States. And that is something President Trump says that under his leadership the u. S. Would be respected more. But a recent opinion poll found that under President Trump, the United States isnt seen as much as a world power as it used to be. Richard engel in belarus, thanks. Nikki haley served as u. N. Ambassador during the first two months of the trump administration. We also expect to hear from senator tim scott as well. Lets go to halle jackson. Its been very notable, so far, how many black voices have been included in the rnc presentation so far. Can you talk about the strategy there . Reporter yeah, including, for example, a young woman who is running, a young black republican woman for a house seat in baltimore who quoted shirley chisholm. A democrat looking to build support in his community for President Trump. And, savannah, this is a theme we will see in several of the speeches tonight, including u. N. Former Ambassador Nikki Haley who will talk about her upbringing as a child immigrant and, of course, senator tim scott, the only black republican in the senate will talk about ways he worked on issues like opportunity zones, trying to make the case to americans that President Trump has worked to lift black americans out of poverty and into success. Savannah. All right. Thank you. As we await nikki haley and tonights other speakers, we will take a quick break here so please stay with us. 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All eyes will be on nikki haley. She is someone that has gotten buzz as a potential candidate in 2024. She is going to speak to President Trumps Foreign Policy bonifi bonifides. Of course, it is a checkered record, particularly when you think about north korea, President Trump met with jim congress eun a number of times, still no dpeem for nuclear disarmament. She is going to make the case she is a strong leader. That itself the type of argument that appeals to President Trumps base. Weve talked a lot about who the president is trying to reach out to, through this convention and, particularly, on this first night. It is a convention that is largely aimed at trying to energize the president s base, trying to make sure he is not losing any key republican voters, including in the suburbs. Issues like Foreign Policy matter a lot. Nikki haley a former u. N. Ambassador here. A female serving in his administration. She helped as well. Many argue in this convention, she is a rising star. As you noted is seen as a potential candidate the next time around. All right, governor of South Carolina in 2010, reelected in 2014, named u. N. Ambassador by donald trump two weeks after he was selected in 2016. We expect to see nikki haley now as she makes her way in front of the camera. One of the major speeches of the night. Good evening. Im nikki haley and its great to be back at the Republican National convention. Ill start with a little story. Its about an American Ambassador to the United Nations and its about a speech she gave to this convention. She called for the reelection of the republican president she served. And she called out his democratic opponent, a former Vice President from a failed administration. That ambassador said, and i quote, democrats always blame America First. The year was 1984. The president was ronald reagan. And ambassador Jane Kirkpatricks words are just as true today. Joe biden and the democrats are still blaming America First. Donald trump has always put America First and he has earned four more years as president. It was an honor of a lifetime to serve as the United States ba d ambassador to the United Nations. The u. N. Is not the faint of heart. Its a place where dictators, murderers and thieves denounce america and then put their hand out and demand that we pay their bills. Well, President Trump put an end to all of that. With his leadership, we did what barack obama and joe biden refused to do. We stood up for america and we stood against our enemies. Obama and biden let north korea threaten america. President trump rejected that weakness and we passed the toughest sanctions on north korea in history. Obama and biden let iran get away with murder and literally sent them a plane full of cash. President trump did the right thing and ripped up the iran nuclear deal. Obama and biden led the United Nations to denounce our friend and ally israel. President trump moved our embassy to jerusalem. When the u. N. Tried to condemn us, i was proud to cast the american veto. This president has a record of strength and success. The former Vice President has a record of weakness and failure. Joe biden is good for iran and isis, great for communist china and hes a godsend to everyone that wants america to apologize, abstain and abandon our values. Donald trump takes this a different approach. Hes tough on china and he took on isis and won. And he tells the world what it needs to hear. At home, the president is the clear joyce on jobs and the economy. Hes moved America Forward while joe biden has held america back. When joe was vp, i was governor of the great state of South Carolina. We had a pretty good run. Manufacturers of all kind flocked to our state from overseas, creating tens of thousands of american jobs. People were referring to South Carolinas the beast of the southeast, which i loved. Everything we did happened in spite of joe biden and his old boss. We cut taxes. They raised them. We flashed red tape. They piled on more mandates and when we brought in goodpaying jobs, biden and obama sued us. I fought back and they gave up. A bindharris administration would be much, much worse. Last time, joes boss was obama. This time, it would be pelosi, sanders and the squad. Their vision for america is socialism and we know that socialism has failed everywhere. They want to tell americans how to live, what to think. They want a government takeover of healthcare. They want to ban trafficing and kill millions of jobs. They want massive tax hikes on working families. Joe biden and the socialist left would be a disaster for our economy. But President Trump is leading a few enew era of opportunity. Before china gave us the coronavirus, we were breaking economic records left and right. The pandemic has set us back, but not for long. President trump brought our economy back before and he will bring it back again. Theres one more important area where our president is right. He knows that Political Correctness and cancel culture are dangerous and just plain wrong. In much of the Democratic Party, its now fashionable to say that america is racist. That is a lie. America 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 turbin. 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. America is a story thats a work in progress. Now is the time to build on that progress and make america even freer, fairer and better for everyone. Thats why its so tragic to see so much of the Democratic Party turning a blind eye toward riots and rage. The American People know we can do better. And, of course, we value and respect every black place. The black cop whos have been shot in the line of duty. They matter. The black Small Business owner whos watched their lifes work go up in flames, they matter. The black kids who have been gunned down on the playground, their lives matter, too. And their lives are being ruined and stolen by the violence on our streets. It doesnt have to be like this. It wasnt like this in South Carolina five years ago. Our state came facetoface with evil. A white supremacist walked into Mother Emanuel Church during bible study. 12 africanamericans pulled up a chair and prayed with him for an hour. Then he began to shoot. After that horrific tragedy, we didnt turn against each other. We came together, black and white, democrat and republican, together we made the hard choices needed to heal and removed a divisive symbol peacefully and respectfully. What happened then should give us hope now. America isnt perfect. But the principles we hold dear are perfect. Theres one thing ive learned. Its that even on our worst day, we are blessed to live in america. Its time to keep that blessing alive for the next generation. This president and this party are committed to that noble task. We seek a nation that rises together, not falls apart in anarchy and anger. We know that the only way to overcome americas challenges is to embrace americas strengths. We are striving to reach a brighter future, where every child goes to a World Class School chosen by their parents. Where every family lives in a Safe Community with good jobs, where every entrepreneur has the freedom to achieve and inspire. Where every believer can worship without fear and every life is protected. Where every girl and boy, every woman and man of every race and religion has the best shot at the best life. In this election, we must choose the only candidate who has and who will continue delivering on that vision. President trump and Vice President pence have my support and america has our promise. We will build on the president gore of our past and unlock the promise of our future. That future starts when the marine people reelect President Trump donald trump. Thank you. Good night. And may god always bless america. Good evening, america, im donald trump, jr. Here were to talk about this land of promise and opportunity of heroes and greatness. Just a few short months ago, we were seeing the American Dream become a reality for more of our citizens than ever before. The greatest prolonged economic expansion in marine history. The lowest Unemployment Rate in nearly 50 years. The lowest Unemployment Rate ever for black americans, hispanic americans, women, and pretty much every other demographic group. Then courtesy of the Chinese Communist party the virus struck. The president quickly took action and shut down travel from china. Joe biden and his democrat allies called my father a racist and a xenophobe for doing it. They put Political Correctness ahead of the safety and security of the American People. Fortunately, as the virus began to spread, the president acted quickly and insuring ventilators got to hospitals that needed them the most. He delivered ppe to our great front line workers around he rallied the American Private sector to tackle this new challenge. There is more work to do, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Job gains are outpacing what the socalled experts expected. But bidens radical leftwing policies would stop our economic recovery cold. Hes already talking about shutting the country down, again. Its madness. Democrats claim to be for workers, but theyve spent the entire pandemic trying sneak a tax brake into the covid release bill and suspend my father for middle class workers. If you think about it, joe bidens entire economic platform seems designed to crush the working man and woman. Hes supported the worst trade deal in the history of the planet. He voted for a nafta nightmare. Down the tubes went our auto industry. He pushed for ppp. Goodbye, manufacturing jobs. Beijing biden is so weak on china that the Intelligence Community recently assessed that the Chinese Communist party favors biden. They know hell weaken us both economically and on a world stage. Biden also wants to bring in more Illegal Immigrants to take jobs from american citizens. His openborder policies would drive wages down for americans at a time when lowincome workers were getting real wage increases for the first time in modern history. Hes pledged to repeal the trump tax cuts, which were biggest in our country. After eight years of obama and bidens slow growth, trumps policies have been like rocket fuel to the economy and especially to the middle class. Biden has promised to take that money back out of your pocket and keep it in the swamp. That makes sense, though, considering joe biden is basically the lockness monster of the swamp. For the past half century, he has been lurking around in there. He sticks his head up every now and then to run for president. Then he disappears and doesnt do much in between. So if you are looking for hope, look to the man who did what the failed obamabind administration could never do and built the greatest economy our country has ever seen. And President Trump will do it again. We will be stronger than ever because when we put our mind to it, there is no obstacle that america cant surmount. Except there is a difference this time. In the past, both parties believed in the goodness of america. We agreed on where we wanted to go. We just disagreed on how to get there. This time, the oth which our nation was founded. Freedom of thought. Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. The rule of law. Thomas jefferson famously said, i have sworn upon the altar of god, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. Our founders believed there was nothing more important than protecting our godgiven right to think for ourselves. Now, the left, theyre trying to cancel all of those founders. They dont seem to understand this important principle. In order to improve in the future, we must learn from our past, not erase it. So were not going to tear down monuments and forget the people who built our great nation. Instead, we will learn from our past so we dont repeat any mistakes. And we will work tirelessly to improve the lives of all americans. Joe biden and the radical left are now coming for our freedom of speech. They want to bully us into submission. If they get their way, it will no longer be the silent majority. It will be the silenced majority. This has to stop. Freedom of expression used to be a liberal value. At least before the radical left took over. Now, the Republican Party is the home of free speech. The place where anyone from any background can speak tear mind. And may the best ideas win. People of faith are under attack. You are not allowed to go to church, but mass chaos in the streets gets a pass. Its almost like this election is shaping up to be church, work, and school versus rioting, looting and vandalism. Or in the word of biden and the democrats, peaceful protesting. Anarchists have been flooding our streets and democrat mayors are ordering the police to stand down. Small businesses across america, many of them minorityowned are being torched by mobs. The democrat mayors pretend its not happening. They actually called it a summer of love. And that brings me to another important principle. Every american must be free to live without fear of violence in your country, in your communities and in your homes. All men and women are created equal and must be treated equally under the law. Thats why we must put an end to racism and we must insure that any Police Officer who abuses their powers is held accountable. What happened to george floyd is a disgrace and if you know a Police Officer, you know they agree with that, too. But we cannot lose sight of the fact that our police are american heroes. They deserve our deepest appreciation. Because no matter what the democrats say, you and i both know when we dial 911, we dont want it going to voice mail. So demondaying the police is not an option. Everything starts with safety and security. You cant have anything else without it. You cant focus on building a Better Future for your children without the peace of mind that they can study safely in their classrooms, play safely in their neighborhoods, and sleep safely in their beds. Trumps america is a land of opportunity, a place of promise. I was lucky to grow up in a untilly that can afford the greatest universities. The great education cannot be the exclusive right to the rich and power. It must be accessible to all. Thats why my dad is pro education choice. Its the single issue not just of our time, of all time. It is up acceptable that too many africanamerican and spanishamerican children are stuck in bad schools just because of tear zip code. Donald trump will not stand for it. If democrats really wanted to help minorities and underserved communities, instead of bowing to big money, union bosses, theyd let parents choose which school is best for their kids. Theyd limit immigration to protect american workers. Theyd support the police who protect our neighborhoods. Theyd learn how to negotiate trade deals that prioritize americas interests for a change. Theyd end the endless wars and quit sending our young people to solve problems in foreign lands. Theyd cut taxes for families and workers. Theyd create opportunity zones that drive investment into inner cities. In other words, if democrats cared for the forgotten men and women of our country, theyd do exactly what President Trump is doing. America is the greatest country on earth, but my fathers entire world view revolves around the idea that we can always do even better. Imagine the life you want to have. One with a great job, a beautiful home, a perfect family. You can have it. Imagine the country you want to live in. One with true, equal opportunity, where hard work pays off and justice is served with compassion and without partiality. Imagine a world where the evils of communism and radical islamic terrorism are not given a chance to spread, where heroes are celebrated and the good guys win. You can have it. That is the life. That is the country, that is the world that donald trump and the Republican Party are after and, yes, you can have it. Because unlike joe biden and the radical left democrats, our party is opened to everyone. It starts by rejecting radicals who want to drag us into the dark and embracing the man who represents a bright and beautiful future for all. It starts which reelecting donald j. Trump, president of the United States. Thank you, and god bless america. You have just heard backtoback speeches at the Republican National convention, night one, nikki haley, former ambassador to the u. N. And donald trump, jr. , the president s eldest son. Andrea, your thoughts. Well, two very different speeches in tone. You had nikki haley talking about being the proud daughter of an immigrant, a brown girl in a black and white country, a black and white world. Celebrating those values. Then you had donald trump, jr. In a really tough speech. He talked of joe biden as being the lockness monster of the swamp. It could not have been more aggressive. I dont know how many times he used the term radical left. But that is the trump that is defined by at least a lot of the speakers for this convention. Well see how the tone goes as the days progress. Donald trump, this is a trump Republican Party. They have no platform other than a resolution endorsing the trump agenda and there is no plays here for the elected officials not showing up. There are very few on the podium tonight or in the night to come. Especially some of the vulnerable senator whos are facing tough reelections. So this really is the Trump Convention and the party is appealing to the base. Let me bring in chuck todd about that and talk about whether its extending the base or even beyond that. A lot of these speeches weve heard in this prime time hour, even before, talk about the violence in the streets, making no differentiation between true violence and people who are protesting some of these things. Is that a message that potentially broadens the base, finds an ear that maybe they wouldnt have had . Well, i want to go back to it all depends how you define when we say base. There is the donald trump base, with i is the core of this Republican Party right now. And i think everybody is getting a taste of it. But there is another aspect of the Republican Base that actually has been shrinking under donald trump. When i say the Republican Base, sort of more traditional suburban voters, you know, and our demographic world, we call them the collegeeducated white guys or the dhchamber of commer type republicans. These are the people that have been fleeing. This is the reason democrats look to be in such a strong position right now. What i have watched all tonight is ive watched in systematic ways their strategy to try to win back those voters. Theyre trying to win back former republicans. Theyre trying to win back former, you know, romney voters, former even perhaps trump firstterm voters. That to me is about the best i can tell. For instance, all of this appeal, you seen quite a few africanamericans speak at this convention. A lot is getting baaing the suburban white voters back who have not liked the president s tone. So i see their strategy. But it is a strategy just to win back former republicans. I have not seen a strategy yet that gets into the 50 column or things like that. Hes just trying to get back the voters he got if 2016. Well, it didnt take long for to you get to some percents there, chuck. Which brings me to my question. We have to do a reset. This is monday night, the start of the Republican Convention. Did bind get a bounce and what is the state soft race tonight . The state of the race is where it was. Nothing. We didnt expect it to move in fairness. Convention bounce went away when they stopped being one month each. When theyre xaktd, were basically come spa. Com pacte. Democrats feeling more positive about him than they did before. But the numbers really havent changed and, you know, i dont expect bidens numbers to go up any further. Hes about at the ceiling. The real question will be can donald trump get back to liss approvalrating number. His approvalrating number is in the 44 45 range. His raw vote number against be back to 45 in the ballots test. Which shouldnt be that hard, you are trying to win back former republicans. But i do wonder about the tone of this so far in this convention. He also has some of the economy wind at his back even as bad as things have got season. Yes and no it is the perception, there is people that still think they feel the wind there. The problem is the numbers are moving fast and we know that without this additional relief, i mean, the amount of Consumer Spending has been going down rapidly as that 600 is gone. All right. Chuck todd, thanks very much. Up next, senator tim scott. He has the big final speech of the prime time hour. Lets listen to senator scottofscott of South Carolina as he take the podium. Good evening. Im senator tim scott from the great state of South Carolina. To all of you tuning in and participating in the political process, god bless you. This isnt how i pictured tonight. But our country is experiencing something none of us envisioned. From the Global Pandemic to the deaths of george floyd and breana taylor, 2020 has tested our nation in ways we havent seen for decades. But regardless of the challenges presented to us, every four years, americans come together to vote, to share stories of what makes our nation strong, and the lessons we have learned can strengthen it for further generations. Because who ill this election is between donald trump and joe biden, it is not solely about donald trump and joe biden. Its about the promise of america. Its about you and me, our challenges and heart breaks, hopes and dreams. Its about how we respond when tackling Critical Issues like police reform. When democrats call our work a token effort and walked out of the room during negotiation. Because they wanted the issue more than they wanted a solution. Do we want a society that breeds success or a culture that cancels everything it even slightly disagees with . I know where i stand, because you see, i am living my mothers American Dream. My parents divorced withhen i w 7yearsold. We moved into my grandparents into a two bedroom home, me, my mom and brother sharing a room and one bed. My mom worked 16 hours a day to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads. She knew if we could find the opportunity, bigger things would come. I thought i had to use football to succeed in life and my focus on academics faded away. My freshman year, i failed out. I failed four subjects, spanish, english, world geography and even civics. Trust me, though, after seven years in the senate, i know im not the only one in congress who failed civics. But even while i was failing the 9th grade, my mother always said to me, timmy, if you would just shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you will be among the stars. She never lost faith in me even when i lost faith in myself. Because of her encouragement, i went to Summer School and caught up. The next year, i met my mentor. John saw something in me that i could not see in myself and started teaching me valuable life lessons, like having a job would be a good thing, but creating jobs would be even better. But having an income could change my lifestyle, but creating profit could change my community. He planted the seeds of what would become opportunity zones. This initiative that the president and i worked together on is now bringing more than 75 billion of private Sector Investment into distressed communities. I took those lessons to heart and started putting the pieces of my life back together. I realized a quality education is the closest thing to magic in america. Thats why i fight to this day for school choice, to make sure every child and every neighborhood has a quality education. I dont care if its a public, private charter, virtual, or a home school, when a parent has a choice, their kid has a better chance. And the president has fought alongside me on that. Later in life, i started my own Small Business. Thats why i know it is critical for us to have a tax code that encourages growth. We actually saw revenues to the treasury increase after we lowered taxes in 2017. Rest assured, the democrats do not want you to know that. After starting many i Small Business and spending some time in local government, i decided to run for congress in tent 10. The district is based if charleston, South Carolina, where the civil war started a i begins a son of our legendary senator strom thurmon. You may be asking yourself, how does a poor, black kid from a singleparent household run and win in a race crowded with republicans against the thurmon . Because of the evolution of the southern heart. In an overwhelmingly white district, the voters judged me not on the color of my skin but on the content of my character. We live in a world that only wants you to believe and the bad news racially, economically and culturally polarizing news. The truth is, our nations are always been back toward fairness. We are not fully where we want to be, but i thank god almighty, we are not where we used to be. We are always striving to be better. When we stumble, and we will, we pick ourselves back up and try again. We dont give into cancel culture or the radical and factually baseless belief that things are worse today than in the 1860s or the 1960s. We have work to do, but i believe in the goodness of america. The promise that all men and all women are created equal. And if you are watching tonight, im betting you do, too. Over the past four years, we have made tremendous progress towards that promise. President trump built the most inclusive economy ever. 7 million jobs created pre covid19 and twothirds of them went to women, africanamericans and hispanics. The first new major effort to tackle poverty in a generation, opportunity zones. We put hardearned tax dollars back in peoples pockets by cutting tear taxes, especially for singleparent households like the one i grew up in, cutting singlemothers taxes 70 on average. President trump supported these tax cuts for those single moms and other working families and signed these policies into law. And our nation is better off for it. So, im going to ask you, the American People, not to simply look at what the candidates say but to look back at what theyve done. This election is about your future and it is critical to paint a full picture of the record of donald trump and joe biden. Joe biden said, if a black man didnt vote for him, he wasnt truly black. Joe biden said, black people are a monolithic community. It was joe wide one said, poor kids can be just as smart as white kids. And while his words are one thing, his actions take it to a whole new level. In 1994, biden led the charge of the crime be ill that put millions of black americans behind bars. President trumps criminal Justice Reform law fits many of the disparities biden created and made our system more fair and just for all americans. Joe biden also failed our nations historically black colleges and universities, heaping blame on them as a thought to ensure our young folks had access to higher education. Once again, to clean up joe bidens mess, President Trump signed into law historically high funding for hbcus as well as a bill to give them permanent funding for the first time ever. And now joe biden wants to come for your pocketbooks, unless, of course, you are a blue state millionaire. Im serious. Thats one of their solutions for the pandemic. They want to take more money from your pocket and give it to manhattan elites and hollywood moguls so they get a tax break. Republicans, however, passed President Trumps onceinageneration tax reform bill that lowers tacks for single moms, working families and those in need. So when it comes to what joe biden says hell do, look at his actions. Look at his policies. Look at what he already did and what he didnt do while he has been in washington for 47 years. Ladies and gentlemen, people dont always see those failures because they think were having a policy debate on two side of an issue. That is not what is happening. Our side is working on policy while joe bidens radical democrats are trying to permanently transform what it means to be an american. Make no mistake, joe biden and Kamela Harris want a cultural revolution, a fundamentally different america. If we let them, they will turn our country into a socialist you t utopia around his tore taughtto it loo ed to misery, especially for hardworking people to rise. Instead, we must focus on the promise of the american journey. I know that journey well. My grandfathers 99th birthday would have been tomorrow. Growing up, he had to cross the street if a white person was coming. He suffered the indignity of being forced out of school as a 3rd grader to pick cotton and he never learned to read or write. Yet, he lived long enough to see his grandson become the first africanamerican to be elected to both the United States house and the United States senate in the history of this country. Our family went from cotton to congress in one lifetime. And thats why i believe the next American Century can be better than the last. There are millions of families just like mine all across this nation full of potential seeking to live the American Dream. And im here tonight to tell you that supporting the republican ticket gives you the best chance of making that dream a reality. God bless you and, father, please continue blessing the United States of america. God bless. From the state of South Carolina, senator tim scott there. Let me bring in, if i can, kristen welker. He seemed to be change the narrative about race in this country. Reporter he was, lester. I think thats absolutely right. And i thought it was notable. He was making the broader argument of this convention that joe biden and Kamela Harris will turn the United States into a socialist country through the prism of race, though. And looking back at joe bidens policies, notable that he raised the 1994 crime bill. I can tell you that a lot of the president s allies think he should be talking about joe bidens record. Joe biden would say that was passed with bipartisan support and there are pieces of it we would do differently now. He hit biden on the flubs he has had in recent weeks on the issue of race that biden, himself, has apologized for. Of course, tim scott is such a significant voice. Hes the only black gop senator. Hes someone who has chosen his words on race quite carefully when it comes to the president. He will speak out when he thinks the president has done something that is offensive. He could help win over a few africanamerican voters. Broader context here, right now joe biden lead with africanamerican voters more than 80 . President trump right now registering in the single digits. Lester. Lets turn to halle jackson, hour White House Correspondent for a look ahead tomorrow. We are about to wrap up tonights events. Reporter we have the first lady who will speak from the rose garden tomorrow night, savannah. This will be the first event on white house ground, which has raised questions about frankly the extraordinary nature of holding these Convention Speech itself on campus at the white house. You also will see an audience in the rose garden, sources familiar with the planning tell me it will be about 50 or so people. This will be the first time at a Convention Event we will see people there. They will be socially distanced, we are told, covid precautions will be taken. You will see that on wednesday with the president up in ft. Mchenry in battle moltimore thursday on the south lawn of the white house. Tomorrow you will hear from secretary of state mike pompeo who received criticism for delivering his speech while on an official visit overseas to the middle east. Savannah, lester. All right, halle, thank you. We will take a quick break right here, come back with final thoughts and a look ahead in just aoment. M verizon knows how to build unlimited right. Start with americas most awarded network. Im on my phone 24 7. Then, for the first time ever, give families more entertainment with disney , hulu, and espn now all included, were a big soccer family. Handmaids tale. 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Get started with a powerful internet and voice solution for just 64. 90 a month. Call or go online today. Chuck will give you the last word on tone and how you think they will paint quite a portrait. Lets see how he looks at the end of this piece. Tomorrow night, night two of the Republican Convention, speakers will include two more of the president s children, son eric and daughter tiffany as well as his wife, first lady, melania trump, who will be speaking from the newly renovated rose garden. Speaker tim scott will be up early, too. He will be our live guest. Well be back here tomorrow night 10 00 eastern time. For all of us here at nbc news,. [rollicking music] tonight, american Ninja Warrior hits cincinnati. Im sliding into cincy. Safe the swan wings flapping, and the crowd loves it. Yeah got my ticket in my hand our pot of gold. Is at the top of the power tower. The towers of power standing tall. [yells] oh. All o cincinnati, im ready to party. Yeah the island ninja drop it like its hot. We came from the windy city. To the queen city. When im back in my hometown