Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and all three finalists to serve as vice president are scheduled to speak at the upcoming Republican National Convention in Wisconsin, the Trump campaign announced on Saturday.
The campaign released a list of family members, lawmakers, celebrities and special guests who will speak at the convention next week in Milwaukee. Noticeably absent from the list is former first lady Melania Trump, who is expected to attend but will apparently not comment.
Here are some of the most notable names who will speak on stage before Trump formally accepts the Republican Party’s nomination on Thursday night.
Allies of former President Trump and sources close to the former president’s orbit said North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (R), Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) are considered the most likely choices at this point for vice president.
Government employees
More than 50 elected officials are listed as headliners for the convention, including several senators, some governors and several former Trump administration officials.
DeSantis, the Florida governor who developed a fierce rivalry with Trump during the primary campaign, is among those expected to speak. So is South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who was considered a vice presidential candidate until a spate of bad headlines about her account of shooting her dog in a new book, among other controversies. , sank his chances.
Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Senator Tim Scott (RS.C.), and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (R) are all scheduled to speak. Trump has mentioned all four as candidates to serve as his running mate.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who some lawmakers have urged Trump to consider for vice president, will also speak. Arkansas GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), and Reps. Nancy Mace (R.S.C.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), and House Speaker Mike Johnson ( R-La.) also on the list.
GOP Senate candidates Kari Lake (Ariz.), Jim Banks (Ind.), Mike Rogers (Mich.), Tim Sheehy (Mont.), David McCormick (Pa.), Bernie Moreno (Ohio), Eric Hovde (Wis.), Sam Brown (Nev.), Hung Cao (Va.) and Jim Justice (W.Va.) will also provide remarks, according to the campaign.
Among the former White House officials scheduled to speak is Peter Navarro, Trump’s former trade adviser. Navarro will speak just hours after being released from prison, where he is serving a four-month sentence for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Tucker Carlson speaks at the Turning Point Action conference, Saturday, July 15, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
Media figures
The Trump campaign boasted a list of more than a dozen “celebrities” and industry leaders who would speak.
Perhaps the most notable name is Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host who was ousted from the network in April 2023, days after she settled a blockbuster defamation lawsuit.
Reports emerged in the weeks following his departure suggesting that a factor in Fox’s decision to take him off the air was the content of certain text messages he sent to fellow network employees attacking leadership at the time of the 2020 election and making other controversies. statements, including some criticizing Trump.
Trump granted an interview to Carlson last August instead of attending the first GOP primary debate.
Other media figures and celebrities scheduled to speak include “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood; Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks; UFC CEO Dana White; former presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy; David Sacks, CEO of Yammer, and Alina Habba, Trump campaign advisor and lawyer.
Donald Trump Jr. is in court ahead of the continuation of his civil corporate fraud trial in New York Supreme Court, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in New York. (Michael M. Santiago // Pool photo via AP)
Trump family members
Four members of the Trump family are listed as speakers for the week.
Donald Trump Jr. is expected to deliver remarks on Wednesday, ahead of the unveiling of Trump’s running mate. The moment sparked speculation that Vance, with whom Trump Jr. is close, could be the pick for vice president.
Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, will also speak. Guilfoyle went viral in 2020 for her convention comments, which were notably dark and ended with her shouting into the microphone.
Eric Trump will speak, as will his wife, Lara Trump, who is co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
Former first lady Melania Trump will not speak, nor will Ivanka Trump. Both spoke at the 2020 and 2016 conventions, with Ivanka introducing your father in both events.
Barron Trump, 18, was initially selected as Florida’s delegate to the convention. But Melania Trump’s office later said he could not attend due to a scheduling conflict.
Other speakers
The Fiserv Forum takes place on June 27, 2024, in Milwaukee. The Wisconsin city is scheduled to host the 2024 Republican National Convention. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Trump’s campaign also announced a list of about a dozen Americans who will speak at the convention to highlight aspects of the former president’s agenda.
Guests include Michael Morin, whose sister, Rachel Morin, was killed after leaving for work in Maryland. An immigrant who entered the country illegally was accused of killing Morin.
Two Trump business officials will also speak: Carrie Ruiz, general golf manager at former President Trump’s National Doral estate, and John Nieporte, who is the head golf professional at Trump International in West Palm Beach.
Also speaking will be members of a fraternity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who went viral after raising the American flag at a campus protest over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Others expected to speak include an Arizona farmer, the mother of a fentanyl poisoning victim, several veterans, a petroleum engineer and a pastor.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
