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House Speaker Mike Johnson made a quick exit after the teleprompter cut out during the first day of the Republican National Convention.
The moment came just after Donald Trump was formally nominated as the Republican Party’s candidate for president for the third election cycle in a row.
“The chair announces that President Donald J Trump, having received a majority of the votes entitled to be cast at the convention, has been selected as the Republican Party nominee for president of the United States,” Johnson said on stage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Monday.
He then went on to name Trump’s children – Eric, Don Jr, Tiffany, Ivanka, and Barron – to serve on the escort committee for the former president. It was at this moment that things went awry.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is now my honor to introduce the attorney general... and there goes the teleprompter,” Johnson said to laughter in the room before the speaker quickly exited the stage.
A break lasting just over 45 minutes ensued before Johnson made his return, thanking the crowd for their patience before introducing the attorney general of Iowa, Brenna Bird.
Bird then led the process of nominating the Republican candidate for vice president – Ohio Senator JD Vance - who entered the convention hall to cheers and applause alongside his wife Usha Vance.
Trump likely chose Vance as part of his strategy to win back the midwestern states he lost in 2020. Vance, who first gained prominence for his 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy about growing up poor in Appalachia, was initially a harsh Trump critic who nevertheless explained the appeal of Trumpism in rural America. In the same year as his book was published, Vance once referred to Trump as “America’s Hitler.”
But Vance has since had a complete turnaround and is now considered one of the top surrogates for the MAGA movement. Choosing Vance also reveals that the old pre-Trump Republican Party has little, if any, influence left.
The former president could have chosen a more moderate running mate, but instead of trying to appeal to new voters, he anointed a possible successor to lead his movement. A stalwart of the pre-Trump GOP, outgoing Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell was roundly booed on the convention floor as he announced the delegate vote for his home state of Kentucky.
Vance is now the only person on either presidential ticket with military experience, having deployed to Iraq as a Marine.
The senator has had a meteoric rise in the last few years. At 39, he’s the second-youngest senator and was sworn into office for the first time last year.
