Day 3 Summary – Republican National Convention

As excitement grew on Day 3, so did the tension.

Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump arrived at Burke Lakefront Airport around 2 in the afternoon, with cheers from the crowd. Around 5 in the evening, tensions outside the convention center flared up as members of the Revolutionary Communist Party lit an American flag on fire in front of the entrance to the convention center. Before being arrested, one of the protestors lit their pants on fire due to the flag and was grabbed by officers.

Meeting with delegates is always an interesting time, and it remained so today. Two memorable interviews were with Cynthia Shaffer (IL-3rd) and Bob Bedner (IL-10). Both were avid fans of Trump, and both had dramatic things to say. Shaffer thought that Trump “was a buffoon” before she heard him speak for the first time, but now believes he is “terrific” and saying “everything we were all thinking, but afraid to say.” Bedner was unhappy with his Congressman, Bob Dold for not endorsing Trump, saying Dold “needs to figure out he’s a Republican.”

Both, as well as other Illinois delegates, confirmed that the delegation has not met as a whole in an official capacity since they arrived in Cleveland. Bedner thinks it’s not necessary since the entire delegation is already committed to vote as the people in their district did. By his reasoning, the delegation has no need to hold an official meeting since they are forced to vote one way regardless of their own opinions, especially since they already met after the Illinois state convention.

The most talked about portion of the day occurred during the speech that Senator Ted Cruz during the evening session of the convention. When it became clear that Cruz would not be endorsing Trump, boos erupted from the crowd and anger flared up. Heidi Cruz was escorted out of the hall after a delegate attempted to get onto the stage and the crowd began to chant “Goldman Sachs” as she was led out. He ended his speech with “Vote with your conscience,” which was received very poorly by the delegates.