Vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance asked on X/Twitter the question on the minds of many Americans:
“If Joe Biden doesn’t have the cognitive function to run for re-election, then he certainly doesn’t have the cognitive function to remain as Commander-In-Chief. How can any Dem pushing him to drop out of the presidential race, argue in good faith that he should stay on as POTUS?”
Operatives at the highest levels of the Democratic Party have been conducting a trickle campaign to erode the ground under President Biden, who is said to have Covid, according to the White House.
Biden had a fourth dose of Paxlovid and his “loose, nonproductive cough and hoarseness continue to be his primary symptoms, but they have improved meaningfully from yesterday,” Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a letterreleased Friday.
The number of nationally elected Democrats calling for Biden to step back from his reelection campaign is now over 60, with more senators and representatives joining the call for Biden to leave the race.
Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola of Alaska has not joined that chorus of Democrats. She is still on record saying Biden is the “sharpest, smartest” person she has met in Washington, D.C., although she has also acknowledged more recently that Biden will lose Alaska in a landslide.
Headlines from news organizations are amping up the pressure:
“Democratic mood darkens as Biden faces new pressure,” wrote BBC.
“Behind the Curtain: Top Dems now believe Biden will exit,” wrote Axios.
More Democrats call on Biden to exit; his team says he is ‘absolutely’ still in the race, wrote the Los Angeles Times.
But Biden is fighting mad at his own party for undermining him in what appears to be an internal coup that would thwart the will of the primary voters.
Biden said Friday he plans to return to the campaign trail next week and sees a path to victory over Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris was meeting with donors on Friday and his campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that “he’s in it to win it.”
The software company CrowdStrike says that the a major computer outage affecting banks, businesses, airports, and even Alaska’s 911 emergency system was not a cyberattack. Instead, it’s a “single content update” is to blame for the meltdown, but that the patch for the error “has been deployed,” referring customers to its support portal for updates.
Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted, the company said.
It’s the kind of widespread computer disruption that was expected when the year 2000 rolled around, due to expected computer errors related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates. The worldwide disruption, however, was anticipated and was mostly avoided when the clock struck 12 on Jan. 1, 2000.
The current outage has stranded thousands of travelers, including Alaska Republican delegates and guests coming back from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where the airport is experiencing what would be one of its busiest days of the year.
Members of the Alaska delegation to the convention who are flying Delta are experiencing up to two-hour delays leaving Milwaukee or Chicago, sources said, but Alaska Airlines flights were operating normally.
“With the global technology issue impacting several airlines this morning, please check your flight status directly with your carrier. Longer lines and wait times are possible, please allow extra time,” Chicago O’Hare International Airport said on Facebook.
Although Alaska Airlines was not impacted directly, it felt the effects of transfer passengers not showing up for flights.
Airlines and airports around the world are feeling the domino effects.
In Anchorage, state courts and some hospital services were impacted.
By 6:45 a.m., Alaska’s 911 system had been restored, according to a notice by the Alaska State Troopers.
In Seattle, Seattle Children’s Hospital clinics closed, as are most Social Security offices. In Southern California, Boston and New York, court proceedings and operations were disrupted as workers were unable to log into their computer workstations.
One major impact was to bump a lot of the news about the Republican National Convention off of the pages of America’s news websites, as the focus turned to CrowdStrike.
What is CrowdStrike?
CrowdStrike is a dominant supplier of software that businesses use to protect from ransomware attacks. Over half of Fortune 500 companies use the software. According to the company’s website, Crowdstrike hs been around since 2012 and currently has the “world’s most advanced cloud-native platform that protects and enables the people, processes and technologies that drive modern enterprise.”
Headlines from around the country after the Trump acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday:
New York Times: “Trump Reverts to Attacks as He Accepts Nomination”
“Speaking at the Republican convention for more than 90 minutes, former President Trump pivoted to familiar grievances after recounting the attempt on his life.”
“Trump Details Assassination Attempt in Convention Speech”
“Donald Trump said he had ‘God on my side’ during the shooting at his rally on Saturday.
Washington Post: “Trump accepts GOP nod in lengthy speech”
“The former president’s address wrapped a fresh gesture toward unity around his usual dark view of American decline and loathing for political opponents and immigrants. Thursday’s speech marked Donald Trump’s first public remarks since the assassination attempt.”
Los Angeles Times: “Trump recounts assassination attempt, then lays out dark portrait of America”
“Trump’s speech Thursday culminates a week of worship at the Republican National Convention.”
Seattle Times: “Trump urges unity after assassination attempt while proposing sweeping populist agenda in RNC finale”
New York Post: “Trump delivers heartfelt call for ‘unity’ and recounts harrowing assassination bid in RNC speech: ‘Every single moment we have on Earth is a gift’”
Chicago Tribune: “Trump describes assassination attempt in personal detail as he accepts Republican nomination”
“Donald Trump, somber and bandaged, accepted his party’s nomination on Thursday at the Republican National Convention just five days after an assassination attempt that could have ended his life.”
Detroit Free Press: “Fact-checking RNC Day 4: What Trump, other speakers got right and wrong”
USA Today: “Takeaways: Somber Trump acceptance speech turns into grievance list”
“Trump 3.0: Kinder-and-gentler, but with warnings of apocalypse, too”
Donald Trump came out on the stage to a roaring reception in Milwaukee on Thursday night. He brought a sense of calm and composure, and a message of national unity. More than an hour and a half later, he was still speaking, bandaged ear and all. He started with the teleprompter, but then ad-libbed the rest of his remarks. It was an emotion-filled night at the Republican National Convention, and it felt as though history was being made and America was being restored.
At the outset of his acceptance speech for the Republican nomination, he recounted moment by moment what had happened to him just five days earlier, when an assassin’s bullet grazed his ear while he was speaking to a rally in Butler, Penn.
He said he would recount the assassination attempt to the convention attendees on Thursday, but admitted he wasn’t eager to do so, because it was painful to tell. And he would not likely be willing to recount it again.
After giving his account of what it felt like to have his ear nicked by a whizzing bullet and come so close to death, he recognized the firefighter who had been hit and killed by a bullet during the attempt on Trump’s life, and during his entire speech, firefighter Corey Comperatore’s firefighter uniform was positioned on the stage as a silent sentry. Trump went over to the uniform and kissed the helmet that had once kept Comperatore safe. He called for a moment of silence in the stadium in honor of the man killed by the assassin’s bullet.
Trump later showed the chart that he said he had tilted his head to look at during the Pennsylvania rally, and recalled that the small movement of his head to look at the chart was what saved his life. He also said he felt there was providence at work, that God had a hand in it, and that he felt serene.
“I stand before you in this arena only by the Almighty Grace of God,” he said.
“Last time I put up that chart, I never really got to look at it. But without that chart, I would not be here today,” he said. Here’s the chart, shown at the rally on Saturday, and again on Thursday:
The chart that Trump showed at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and again on Thursday night at the Republican National Convention.
“I’m not supposed to be here.” Trump said. “I’m not supposed to be here.” The crowd shouted back, “Yes You Are!”
“We will not break. We will not bend. We will not back down. And I will never stop fighting for you, your family, and our magnificent country. Never,” Trump vowed. “I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America,” Trump said, in his unifying message.
The former president also spoke about returning America to energy dominance and said he will end the green energy “scam” that is being perpetuated by the Biden Administration. He will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one. That was a message welcomed by Rick Whitbeck, Alaska director of Power the Future.
“Tonight, Donald Trump showed why he is the clear choice to lead America for the next four years. His resolve, leadership and vision are in stark contrast to our current President. His focus on American energy, where he seeks to make us not just independent, but dominant again on the world stage, is exactly what Alaskans and Americans should be happy to hear. The first Trump administration brought Alaska opportunities in ANWR, the NPR-A and the Ambler Mining District. All were shut down by Joe Biden and his band of eco-radicals. A second Trump presidency will once again allow Alaska’s energy future to shine brightly. What a four years that will be for our great state,” Whitbeck said.
“At the heart of the Republican platform is our pledge to end this border nightmare, and fully restore the sacred and sovereign borders of the United States of America… We’re going to do that on day 1. Drill, baby, drill, and close our borders,” Trump said, before speaking at length about the invasion of illegal immigrants through the border with Mexico.
““They are sending their murderers to the United States of America … that’s why to keep our families safe, the Republican Party promises to launch the largest deportation operation in the history of our country,” he said.
Trump, who barely mentioned President Joe Biden in his speech, also brought up his idea of creating an “iron dome” for America, similar to one that Israel has, to guard against missile attacks. It is something that he had mentioned to Sen. Dan Sullivan earlier.
Congressional candidate Nick Begich, who is at the convention all week, sent Must Read Alaska his immediate reaction to the speech:
“Tonight President Trump reminded us that we can be strong again; reminded us that we can be prosperous again; reminded us that we can be safe again; reminded us that we can restore American greatness. We remember the America we had under President Trump and what we have lost under Joe Biden. To fix this disaster, we have to fight for our children, for our people, and for our future. This election truly is the most important of our lifetimes. It’s never been more important for us to show up in August and again in November – and when we do, we will make our State and our Nation better than it has ever been. Not just for this generation but for generations to come.”
Alaska’s Trump campaign Chair Kelly Tshibaka sent this reaction:
“Trump spoke to all Americans tonight with courage, compassion, and vision. As he stood at the podium this evening, he spoke not only as our future Commander-In-Chief, but as the nation’s Unifier-In-Chief. Trump established himself as the leader Americans need in this time to bring people together across political divides.”
Alaska delegate Earl Lackey, at 84 the oldest member of the Alaska delegation to Milwaukee, sent Must Read Alaska readers a video he took of the finale of the evening, with the red, white, and blue balloon top:
The finale for the Republican National Convention, with the traditional balloon drop, as video-recorded by Alaska delegate Earl Lackey of Alaska Raceway Park.
Over in the Democratic Party, Nancy Pelosi and former President Barack Obama are now on record trying to get President Joe Biden out of the race.
That news, relayed by The Washington Post and other major Democrat newspapers on Thursday, can only mean it’s all but certain that Biden will not run again. Many expect him to make some kind of statement this weekend, as the excitement from the Republican National Convention dissipates and the Democrat strategists look for a new way to battle the surge of enthusiasm across America that has been built for Trump this week.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy was seated three seats from former President Donald Trump on Thursday evening at the Republican National Convention, in the first row of Trump’s designated box.
It’s a signal of the closeness in the relationship between the two political figures — a former and possibly future president and a second-term Republican Alaska governor. Dunleavy has been a strong supporter of Trump through thick and thin and was early to endorse him for president in 2023, after Trump announced his run. Dunleavy has said numerous times that Trump was the best president Alaska has ever had, when it comes to Alaska issues.
There would be dozens of other Republican governors or lawmakers who would jump at the chance to be three seats from the former president on the night when Trump is giving speech in which he will formally accept the nomination of the party.
Carmela Warfield, Alaska Republican Party chairwoman, said she snapped a couple of photos, one of Trump reaching over to shake Dunleavy’s hand. Then, Dunleavy turned and pointed straight at Warfield, who snapped another photo.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy spots Alaska Republican Party Chairwoman Carmela Warfield on the convention floor, just as she snaps this photo of him in the box assigned to Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention.
“Governor Dunleavy being seated in the President’s Box with President Trump, on the last night of our Republican National Convention, is a sign of great things to come for Alaska. There could not be a greater contrast between the Biden administration – which has levied more sanctions on Alaska than he has on the country of Iran – and what the future holds for Alaska with a united Republican Party under a Trump administration. Together, President Trump and Governor Dunleavy will make America energy dominant again. Let’s get to work!” said Warfield.
Rumors are swirling that Dunleavy will be tapped for a seat in the Trump cabinet, if Trump is elected president in November. Those rumors have been around for months, but are especially being discussed now, and the seating arrangement at the convention has fed further speculation about a possible position as Secretary of the Interior.
Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan has been a star at the Republican National Convention, appearing at events alongside grassroots Alaskans, dressed in a smart suit, with his wife Julie Fate Sullivan at his side. He has spent more time there than most other Republican senators or congressional representatives.
But Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has been seen nowhere, not even in Alaska, according to reports from around the state. She’s done a deep dive into silence. And she has been largely absent from her social media account. That may be because she is a “never-Trumper,” with her well-known hatred of Donald Trump.
Neither senator is allowed to use their official social media accounts for political business, but Murkowski has been quiet for four days since her one social media post that spoke about the assassination attempt against Trump.
Today, her staff simply posted a congratulatory message to Alaska’s two Olympic athletes, Kristen Faulkner of Homer, on the U.S. Cycling Pursuit Team; and Alev Kelter of Eagle River, on the U.S. Rugby team. The message was from the entire congressional delegation.
Murkowski avoided being with the Alaska Republicans who are at the convention, and has said several times she is considering leaving the Republican Party, especially is Trump is elected. For her, Trump is a bridge too far.
She may now be realizing that, with Republicans on the rise and the likelihood that Trump will win in November, she could very well be odd-man-out in a new Republican majority in the Senate.
Murkowski has to pick her path carefully now, because she is in line to become a leading Republican member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, should the Republicans regain majority rule in the Senate.
Murkowski was the only Republican senator facing re-election in 2021 who voted Trump guilty at his impeachment trial. Trump went on to endorse Kelly Tshibaka for Alaska’s Senate seat, but Murkowski’s minions outsmarted him by convincing Alaskans to adopt ranked-choice voting, which ensured her reelection.
“She is neither Republican in form or action. Everything she’s done to this point is about big-government — she just wants to grow government,” observed Michael Tavoliero, a Republican activist from Eagle River. “When you look at her record, she maintained that ‘you put legislation repealing Obamacare in front of it I’ll vote for it,’ but when it was in front of her she was a key vote to keep it in place. She voted for every big-money Biden bill we’ve seen.”
In addition to being on the outs with her own party, Murkowski has had other bad news this week that may contribute to her going into her bunker.
An applicant for U.S. District Court judgeship was outed by the Alaska Landmineas being involved in a sex-texting scandal with former federal District Court Judge Josh Kindred, who has recently and quite suddenly resigned under pressure, after an investigation by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Landmine disrobed the seedy scandal that involves lawyers in both the Justice Department of the Biden Administration, and the court system itself.
Although Michelle Nesbett applied, she was not among those who were actually considered, even as she lines up with Murkowski on many liberal issues. Nesbett was the Alaska attorney who led 120 women lawyers from Alaska to Washington, D.C. to meet with Murkowski and ask her to vote down the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Murkowski complied and voted against Kavanaugh, who was confirmed, nonetheless.
After receiving applicants for the open position created by the retirement of Judge Timothy Burgess, Sullivan last September set up a panel to help the delegation recommend a judge candidate. The nine-member panel helped him delay the appointment of a liberal to that seat. He and Murkowski don’t appear to agree on candidates for the job of federal judge.
Murkowski was hostile to the nominating council process Sullivan set in place, preferring to defer to the highly political Alaska Bar Association. Murkowski said the Sullivan judicial council process would delay filling a vacant Alaska U.S. District Court seat.
The application period for that judgeship ended in November, and 16 have applied. It’s the president who names the federal judges, but almost always with the advice of the state’s delegation. And that is where things get sticky.
With the rise of Donald Trump as a viable nominee, and the fall of President Joe Biden, who has gone from slightly addled to nearly decrepit, Murkowski is finding herself in a no-man’s land. She had probably hoped to put in a liberal pro-abortion judge to line up with U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason, who is an appointee of President Barack Obama. But now, with Biden ailing and Trump in a position to win, she may lose this opportunity to make a liberal-dominated district court for Alaska.
Murkowski aligns with Democrats more than Republicans, yet if she becomes an actual registered “independent,” she may get no significant role in the leadership organization in the Senate that seems more and more likely to favor Republicans. And her hatred of Trump makes her less of an asset to Alaska.
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan was on a bipartisan call with the heads of the U.S. Secret Service and FBI this week, being briefed on the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Sullivan was one of four senators on the call who were given the opportunity to ask questions about the state of security around Trump, who survived an assassin’s bullet on Saturday.
The briefing statements from the federal top law officials appear to have been vague and unsatisfactory. One senator asked about the use of drones in their security work. The answer was yes, but drones were not utilized in this instance because Secret Service had augmented their security with snipers.
Sullivan said he was able to get three questions in, and none of the answers were that helpful. The first question was why the manufacturing building outside the event where Trump was speaking had not been secured. The pre-event walk around the grounds by security officials showed them that the building was a real security risk. But the building was still not secured during the event. There were no police stationed on it or around it.
That building Crooks was on was outside the perimeter of the event itself, and so was the responsibility of state and local law enforcement in coordination with the Secret Service, so there was some kind of breakdown in communication, since Crooks was seen by many people. Secret Service is in charge of coordinating the security for such an event.
Officials told senators that up to 63 minutes had passed between the time Secret Service snipers first spotted the Thomas Matthew Crooks on a rooftop and the time shots were fired at Donald Trump, while he spoke at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, sources said.
The officials had again spotted Crooks at least by 5:52 pm, and Crooks was able to shoot at Trump at 6:12 pm. Crooks’ bullets hit others behind Trump, killing one man and injuring two others, officials told others.
Sullivan also asked how Crooks got up on the building. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle “literally said, ‘We don’t know yet.'”
In response to the briefing segment about a separate attempt on Trump’s life by Iranian operatives, Sullivan asked for more details on the Iranian threat and asked what the law enforcement arms of the United States plan to do about the threat.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the Iranian threat was unrelated to Crooks, as far as they know at this time, but that Iran’s lethal targeting of senior American officials has become “very brazen and aggressive.”
Some believe the reported Iranian plot to kill Trump is in retaliation for Trump ordering the drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps until his death on Jan. 3, 2020. Trump had killed the most notorious terrorist on the planet.
Since the shooting on July 13 in Pennsylvania, the Secret Service has come under withering scrutiny for its emphasis on “diversity, equity, inclusion” hires and not hiring for lethality, skill, and judgment. Secret Service Director Cheatle has been subpoenaed by the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee.
Many questions are unanswered, with top federal law enforcement officials not revealing as much information as an average citizen could gather by simply reviewing video footage taken by hundreds of people at the event, all of which is widely available now on social media.
Alaska’s U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, who attended the first three days of the Republican National Convention, said the party is unified with a common vision for the future.
In an exclusive interview with Must Read Alaska, Sullivan said the platform for the party is strong on policy helping working Americans, energy dominance, and national security.
Sullivan gave a “big shout out” to Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, who is the first Green Beret to serve in Congress, for coming up with a platform that has the party fully unified.
In it are the words “Drill, Baby, Drill,” something that Sullivan thought Donald Trump probably had a hand in inserting as language.
In his talks with Trump, Sullivan said the presidential nominee brought forward the idea of creating an “iron dome” type missile defense for America, similar to what Israel has. Sullivan said that Alaska would play a large role in such an endeavor.
Sullivan met with several former and possibly future national security figures this week, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development Elbridge A. Colby.
“We will have a very strong foreign policy, in sharp contrast to the weakness of Biden,” Sullivan said. “Peace through strength.”
Speaking about J.D. Vance as the vice presidential nominee, Sullivan noted with pride that Vance would become the first U.S. Marine in history to become vice president.
Sullivan remembered that he attended events in Ohio in 2022, when Vance was running for Senate, and that Vance attended Sullivan’s retirement party when he left active service in the Marines.
There’s a bond between them as Marines: “We have an ethos: Always faithful, semper fidelis. It applies to Marines but also to the American people we serve. Vance stopped and looked at the camera and said, ‘To all the Marines out there: Semper Fi.’ I loved that!”
Sullivan also appreciated that Vance has a focus on helping the working men and women who built this country.
People now have a choice between the Democrats, who view themselves as the party of working Americans but who are not, Sullivan said. It’s the Republicans who have the real interests of working Americans, as the Democratic Party is now being run by and for coastal elites and left-coast radicals.
For Sullivan, who formed up a group in the Senate called the Labor and Working Americans Caucus, it’s a focus he has had for years, as his home state is one that is very much the heart of working-class families.
“Alaska is ground zero. Think of everything we do, from oil rigs, to ice roads. The Democrats want the state of Alaska shut down,” he said.
Sullivan also touched on the personal life story of J.D. Vance, whose book “Hillbilly Elegy” talks about the terrors of a child growing up around opioid and fentanyl drug use. It’s an issue that is exceedingly important to Sullivan and that he has worked on continuously, as Alaska has serious issues with substance abuse.
On the fun side of the convention, he hosted a gathering for Alaskans at a local beer brewing company in Milwaukee, and brought in Sen. John Thune of South Dakota and others to speak.
Vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance took the stage as the final speaker in a long day of emotion-filled speeches at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night. He did not disappoint.
As Donald Trump’s choice for vice president, Vance spoke to his working-class upbringing in a small town, his mother’s addiction, and being raised by that single parent who was dysfunctional. He talked about his grandmother, “Mamaw,” who kept loaded guns all over her house and dropped the “F” bomb regularly. It was a rough growing up, but one that many in America can relate to.
“Now, my Mamaw died shortly before I left for Iraq in 2005, and when we went through things, we found 19 loaded handguns. They were stashed all over her house, under her bed, in her closet, in the silverware drawer. And we wondered what was going on,” he said. “And it occurred to us that towards the end of her life, Mamaw couldn’t get around so well, and so this frail old woman made sure that no matter where she was, she was within arm’s length of whatever she needed to protect her family.”
“That’s who we fight for. That’s American spirit,” Vance said. He continued, turning to his theme of affordability and the crisis that many Americans now face just making ends meet.
“Joe Biden’s inflation crisis, my friends, is really an affordability crisis, and many of the people that I grew up with can’t afford to pay more for groceries, more for gas, more for rent, and that’s exactly what Joe Biden’s economy has given them,” Vance said. He turned his sights on the wolves of Wall Street.
“We’re done, ladies and gentlemen, catering to Wall Street; we’ll commit to the working man,” Vance said. “We’re done importing foreign labor. We’re going to fight for American citizens and their good jobs and their good wages. We’re done buying energy from countries that hate us. We’re going to get it right here from American workers in Pennsylvania and Ohio and across the country.”
“President Trump represents America’s last best hope to restore what, if lost, may never be found again, a country where a working-class boy born far from the halls of power can stand on this stage, as the next Vice President of the United States of America,” Vance said.
“America’s ruling class wrote the checks. Communities like mine paid the price,” Vance said. “For decades, that divide between the few, with their power and comfort in Washington, and the rest of us only widened. From Iraq to Afghanistan. From the financial crisis to the Great Recession. From open borders to stagnating wages, the people who govern this country have failed and failed again.”
The first-term U.S. senator from Ohio was enthusiastically received by the delegates and guests of the Republican National Convention, which has captivated the nation with many speakers who have moved the delegates to tears with their personal stories, in stark contrast to the dysfunction of the Democrats.
Vance, 39, enlisted in the U.S. Marines shortly after 9/11. That touched the heart of many in the convention, including Rep. Jamie Allard of Alaska.
“J.D. Vance gave it to us straight tonight. As a new generation of conservatives rises, J.D. somehow reminds us of the Greatest Generation, one who was willing to lay down his life as a Marine in Iraq. He’s also someone many Americans can relate to, rising above his humble beginnings and imperfect family struggles. Compared to Kamala Harris … well, there just is no comparison,” said Rep. Allard, who is a U.S. Army veteran.
Vance’s working class roots, family dysfunction, and the stepping of his tough-as-nails grandmother to raise him was something that Alaska congressional candidate Nick Begich said shows how all Americans can overcome their tough childhoods.
“J.D. Vance’s story is like so many Americans’ story — aspirations and dreams impacted by a challenging home life,” said Begich, who is at the convention. “Drug abuse, alcoholism, and a broken home threatened to crush a boy with incredible potential, but a tough and loving grandparent stepped in to raise the young man who will become our nation’s next vice president. Vance’s story reminds us that every child has potential, every child deserves good parents, and that preserving the American Dream is not some lofty goal but is vital to the health of our nation.”
John Mowry of Fairbanks, who is at the convention as a delegate, said he was struck by the humility that Vance exhibited.
“The thing I really liked about Vance is his solid commitment to Christian conservative values and as vice president to carry on the mantle of the Make America Great Again movement and not the establishment’s agenda,” Mowery said. Mowery is the youngest Alaska delegate at the convention. He is 26 years old and a personal friend of Bernie Moreno, who is running for U.S. Senate in Ohio, and who is endorsed by Trump.
Bernie Moreno, running for U.S. Senate in Ohio, and John Mowery of Fairbanks, Alaska, delegate to the RNC Convention on July 17, 2024.
“We are a unified and electrified Party, and we are mission focused as we move toward November. More young Americans are making their voices heard as members of our Party. JD Vance is an indicator of the powerful youth movement in the Republican Party and the new energy and generation stepping forward to lead – he is the first top ticket candidate in 70 years who is under the age of 40. Vance is relatable and admirable – he comes from humble beginnings, has served our country with honor, and his message is resonating with many. He will be an inspiring Vice President and a shining example for us all,” said Carmela Warfield, chairwoman of the Alaska Republican Party.
Writer Ben Domenech reflected on Vance’s unlikely journey from being a never-Trumper, thinking Trump was a dead end for Republicans, to embracing him as a champion for “America First.”
“If the vice presidency is itself a very boring job in the realm of politics, tasked with worthless drudgery, Vance is far more interesting than the role requires. And his intellectual journey to this point, whatever you think of his views today, is worth understanding to get the measure of a man who seemed more likely to end up in academia than in the White House,” Domenech noted in this thought-provoking column in The Spectator.
