mchenry and thursday live on the south lawn. live free or die. amazon.com. 40% off. thanks for being with us. brett and martha next followed by laura ingraham. have a good night. >> good evening from our nation's capitol. welcome to our special coverage of night one of the republican national convention. i'm martha maccallum. >> and i'm bret baier. with 71 days to go, the republicans have the microphone and using it to hit back at the messages that we heard last week from the dnc. the president will make a surprise appearance, his second one of the night. >> the president also surprised delegates in charlotte speaking after he crossed the thresholds of votes to become his party's

nominee. >> i want to thank everybody for this incredible support. be very, very careful. this is -- i believe this. this is the most important election in the history of our country. don't let them take it away from you. >> the president is slated to speak in some form every night in contrast to joe biden but to most presidential nominees of the past. also speaking, nikki haley. expected to launch a presidential bid in 2024. donald trump jr. one of the team trump's most vocal and outspoken members a vigorous campaigner on behalf of his dad. senator tim scott will close out the night with an address focused on hope and opportunity. >> let's begin with a quick recap of the night so far. watch this.

>> president trump isn't afraid to fight for what is right. he won't back down. his courage give great teachers renewed hope. >> brought up in the deep south, i've seen racism up close. it's not donald trump. >> they'll disarm you, empty the prisons, lock you in your home. >> the democratic party does not want black people to leave their mental plantation. we've been forced to be there for decades and generations. >> tonight begins a new chapter in the great american story. >> taxes cut, regulations reduced. economy growing. lowest unemployment in 50 years and building the wall andry

building our economy as we speak. >> as a healthcare professional, i can tell you without hesitation donald trump's quick action and leadership saved thousands of lives during covid-19. >> the president did what he said he would do. he took action. i'll bet you never heard about that. instead, the media turned my daughter's murder into a coordinated attack on president trump. >> not a single person in the out of control mob you saw at our house was charged with a crime. you know who was? we were. >> no matter where you live, your family will not be safe in a radical democrat america. >> martha: take you to this video about returning postages home and the president. >> diplomacy, negotiation

skills, faith, the ingredients of hope when there's no hope. no american should ever be left behind. priority, freeing american hostages. >> we have six incredible people who were held hostage by various countries. i'm very pleased to let everybody know that we brought back over 50 hostages from 22 different countries. we worked very hard on it. i'll tell you, we're proud of the job we did. i like to ask pastor brunson to say a few words. we can go through. give us a little history what happened and how is life treating you. >> i was held in turkey for two years. you took unprecedented steps to secure my release. your administration fought for me. if you hadn't done that, i may still be in turkey. grateful. >> 28 years.

they had you scheduled for a long time. >> yeah. >> we had to get you back. i have to say, to me. erdogan was very good. i know they had you scheduled for a long time. you're a very innocent person. he ultimately after we had a few conversations, he agreed. so we appreciate that. we appreciate the people of turkey. you still appreciate the people of turkey i understand, right? >> we love the turkish people. >> great to have you back you. >> mr. president, thanks for having me. i'm sam goodwin. i was held in syria for 63 days. i speak for my fellow former hostages and detainees that i'm as grateful as i've ever been to be home safely. thanks for the invitation and opportunity to be here. particularly ambassador o'brien was supportive and helpful to my family. can't say enough nice thing about him. thanks for promoting him.

happy to be here. >> we got you back. >> got me back. >> we got you back. some more that we're working on right now to get back that we better do. go ahead. >> thank you, mr. president. i'm mike. it's an honor to be here. basically what happened with me, i traveled over to the country of iran. a major trap. i was apprehended there. i went through a lot in their injustice system. iran is an oppressive terrorist regime. you know what i'm talking about. sir, you were able to get me out of that prison in record time. it was amazing. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. please. >> i'm josh holt. this is my wife, tammy. we were held hostage in venezuela two years. >> i know very well. >> senator hatched work with you to get us out. it was a great honor to meet you when we got back. i remember a lot of people

asking what is it like to meet president trump? i was like i was blown away. released after two years and shaking the land of the president in the oval office. i don't remember a lot of it. nice to meet you again. it's been great to be back, helping people through situations that they've gone through. now we are starting our family. >> the great people of utah wanted me to do something about the two of you. we were able to do it. little bit of miracle, i think, frankly. a hostile period. we appreciate everybody working so hard with us. we were able to get you both back. are you living in utah? >> we're still in utah. >> say hello to the folks in utah. they're great people. thanks very much. congratulations. please. >> i'm brian. i spent an unexpected trip to india. i was going to nepal where i worked 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. really gave her the hope and the peace. 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 that we really would get to come home. they planned to keep me for three to five years. the original charge thing was three to five years. that was cleared. then they came up with new charges to do seven-year term. >> and everybody responded well to my request. we appreciate that. >> everything you did. >> thank you nor being with us. we have a few more people. we want to get them back and they'll be back soon. thanks very much. great stories. >> bret: president trump with his second surprise appearance of the night talking to six hostages the u.s. secured their release. powerful. >> martha: it is powerful. these taped pieces are working well for them so far in terms of that. so we want to bring in our

panel. go around the horn here with chris wallace, brit hume, dana perino, karl rove and katie pavlich. chris wallace, your thoughts so far. >> i've watched most of the last 1 1/2 hours. while we're calling this a republican convention, it's really the trump convention. the most recent republican president, george w. bush won't be making an appearance this week. the republican national committee announced because covid is limiting the attendance of delegates, they're not going to pass a platform but pledge support for the president's america first agenda who we are going to be hearing from this week. the first lady, melania trump, the president's four grown children, members of the white house staff, members of the trump cabinet. every night of this convention as far as i know, it's unprecedented we'll hear from

the president himself. he seems to have made the calculation that the best spokesman, the best salesman for donald trump is donald trump. for the trump base, the millions of voters out there that voted for him in 2016 and plan to vote for him again, he's probably absolutely right. >> bret: karl rove, struck by the videos. one of them herschel walker. he said she had a 37-year relationship, friendship with donald trump and he's no racist. >> look, two things about that. first of all, i thought some of the most powerful moments were not the politcos. they were people like herschel walker. i was taken by the father of the parkland shooting victim. i was taken by the group of first responders and everybody from a truck driver to nurses. these showed a softer side of president trump. showed people heralding him as an individual.

we're used to having donald trump stand up in front of the gigantic rally and talk. we're not so used to seeing these people pop up and talk about him in the terms that they do. they show him empathetic, personal, caring. jim jordan talked about politics. but it was more powerful when he talked about how he was going into the home of a family member that lost a loved one. donald trump talked to him on the phone. that was -- that kind of stuff is very interesting to voters and i think going to be very helpful to the president's image. >> martha: juan, we heard from herschel walker as we just discussed and heard from an impressive speech by vernon jones, a democrat talking about why he was voting for president trump. a big theme that we also heard from a woman who is running in baltimore, klacik. she's also african american saying, you know, democrats should not be dictated too. they must vote for democrats. black people should not be

dictated to to vote for democrats. what do you think of that theme? >> it's a response like 90% of african americans oppose this president and plan to vote against him. so there was a tape released last week, martha, in which the president was talking to predominantly black audience and bragging about the fact that there were lower black voter turnout in 2016 and he thought that was a sign of black support for him. i think a lot of these testimonials to pick up on what my colleagues were saying about the president but specifically from black people is intended to attack and try to limit black support for joe biden. >> bret: dana, some of these deal with the fact that you may not like donald trump but he's getting things done. >> yes. that's one of the reasons that i love the hostages. you might have missed that. over 50 hostages have been

brought home by president trump's concerted effort that he started early on. a big focus. i think that's because of the tweets and the other things, the controversies, covid, you might have missed that. that was super powerful. to have them there with him, he does that things very well. the production of this has been very good. they tried to lower expectations because they only had a month to plan. the videos have been very good. i'm excited about the speeches to come especially nikki haley and tim scott, break-out stars for the republicans. they're coming up. >> bret: there was a vigorous defense on how he dealt with kevin. >> yes, he has vigorous message. there's a case for his side. this week needs to be about the

case for trump based on what he's done. it's obscured with the preoccupation with covid-19 and the spread. it's obscured his achievement with the economy by the recession that the covid-19 and the lockdowns have brought on. it's there. the question that faces this convention and this party this week is can they make it effectively on his behalf. seems like the event that dana thought about about the hostages is something that we have not thought of. makes the point. a fair amount to say about what he's done. >> donna, you know, as i mentioned kim klacik, republicaning running for elijah cummings seat. she said we want to get ahead, not get by. black people do not have to vote for a democrat. they have choices. what do you say to that? >> i'd say to her, i say to anybody, whether you're white, black, brown, all colors, i'd say that we want america as good

as its promised. we want to live our lives. tonight there's a family in wisconsin that is mourning. they're grieving. they're praying for their young child, jacob, to get out of the hospital, shot, point blank seven times. i'd say to anyone that criticized joe, demand justice and equality, don't start marching. don't stop raising your voice. we can do this in a way that everyone will hear us. i love watching republican conventions. it's the only time that i hear from the full array of republicans. i have republicans in my family. i hear from them all the time. mere's what i want to say. you can preach to the choir but you can't reach the congregation unless you know the song. right now they don't know the songs. >> bret: let's listen in to this video. going to set up our next speaker. nikki haley.

>> many of the ideas that we fought for that were considered radical are now mainstream. if implemented, they will make biden the most progressive president ever. >> the radical left has taken over the democratic participate. joe biden is marching lock step with them. biden and the far left are promising to crush middle class families with trillions in new taxes. >> if you're like me, your taxes will be raised, not cut. >> promising amnesty and health care for illegal immigrants. promising to shut down energy exploration and killing jobs and hurting america's economy. >> we're going to end fossil fuel. >> joe biden's america, the radical left gets whatever they want and you get to pay for it. they have already taken over joe biden and the democratic party. don't let them take over

america. >> good evening. i'm nikki haley. great to be back at the republican national convention. i'll start with a little story. it's about an american ambassador to the united nations and about a speech that she gave to this convention. she called for the re-election of the republican president she served. 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 year was ronald reagan. and the words are just as true today. joe biden and the democrats are

still blaming america first. donald trump has always put america first. he has earned four more years as president. it was an honor of a lifetime to serve as the united states ambassador to the united nations. the u.n. is not for the feint of heart. it's a place where dictators, murders and thieves denounce america. and then put their hands out and demand that we pay their bills. 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. 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 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 pride 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 a godsend to everyone that wants america to apologize, abstain and abandon our values. donald trump takes a different approach. he's tough on china. he took on isis and won. and he tells the world what it needs to hear. at home, the president is the

clear choice on jobs and the economy. he's moved america forward while joe biden has held america back. when joe was v.p., i was governor of the great state of south carolina. we had a pretty good run. manufacturers of all kinds flocked to our state from overseas. creating tens of thousands of american jobs. people were referring to south carolina as 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 slashed red tape. they piled on more mandates. when we brought in good paying jobs, biden and obama sued us. i fought back and they gave up. a biden-harris administration would be much, much worse. last time joe's boss was obama.

this time it would be pelosi, sanders and the squad. their vision for america is socialism. 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 fracking and kill many millions of jobs. they want massive tax hikes on working families. joe biden and the socialist left would be a disaster for our economy. president trump is leading a new era of opportunity. before communist china gave us the coronavirus, we were breaking records left and right. the pandemic set us back but not long. president trump brought our economy back before and he will bring it back again. there's one more important area

where our president is right. he knows that political correctness and cancel culture are dangerous. just plain wrong. in much of the democratic party, it's now fashionable to say that america is racist. that is a lie. america is 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 turbine. my mother wore a sorry. i was a brown girl in a black and white world. we faced discrimination and hardship. my parents never gave in to grievance and hate. my mom built a successful business. my dad ought to 30 years at a historically black college. the people of south carolina chose me as their first minority

and first female governor. america is a story that is a work in progress. now is the time to build on that progress and make america even freer, fairer and better for everyone. that is why it's so tragic to see so much of the democratic party turning a blind eye towards riots and rage. the american people know we can do better. of course we value and respect every black life. the black cops that have been shot in the line of duty, they matter. the black small business owners that watch their life's work go up in flames, they matter. the black kids that are gunned down on the playground, their lives matter, too. and their lives are being ruined and stolen by the violence on our streets. it doesn't have to be like this. it wasn't like this in south carolina five years ago.

our state came face to face with evil. a white supremacist walked into mother emanuel church during bible study. 12 african americans pulled up a chair and prayed with him for an hour. then he began to shoot. after that horrific tragedy, we didn't turn against each other. black and white, democrat and republican, we made the hard choices needed to heal and removed a divisive symbol peacefully and respectfully. the principles that we hold dear are perfect. there's one thing that i've learned. it's that even on our worst day, we are blessed to live in america. it 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 america's challenges have to embrace their strengths. we want every child to go to a world class school chosen by their parents. where every family lived in a safe community with good jobs. 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 religions that the best shot at every life. in this election, we must choose the only candidate that has and who will continue to deliver on that vision. president trump and vice

president pence have my support. america has our promise. we will build on the progress of our past and unlock the promise of our future. that future starts when the american people re-elect president donald trump. thank you, good night and may god always bless america. >> good evening, america. i'm donald trump jr. we're here tonight to talk about the great american story. to talk about this country that we all love. this land of promise and opportunity and heros 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 american history. the lowest unemployment rate in nearly 50 years. the lowest unemployment rates ever for black americans, hispanic americans, women, pretty much every demographic group. courtesy of the chinese communist party, the virus struck. the president quickly took action and shut down travel from china. joe biden and his allies called my father a racist and xenophobe for doing so. fortunately as the virus began to spread, the president acted quickly and ensured ventilators got to hospitals that needed them most. delivered ppe to the brave front-line workers and rallied the mighty manufacturing sector

to tackle this challenge. job gains are outpacing what the so-called experts expected. biden's radical left wing policies would stop our economic recovery cold. he's already talking about shutting the country down again. it's madness. democrats claim to be for workers. but they spent the entire pandemic trying to sneak a tax break for millionaires in democratic states. then they attacked my father for suspending the payroll tax for middle class workers. in fact, if you think about it, joe biden's entire economic platform seems designed to crush the working man and woman. he supported the worst trade deals in the history of the planet. he voted for the nafta nightmare. down the tubes went our auto industry. he pushed for tpp. good-bye manufacturing jobs. beijing biden is so weak on

china the intelligence community reassessed that the chinese communist party favors biden. they know he will weaken us economically and on a world stage. biden also wants to bring in more illegal immigrants to take jobs from american citizens. his open border policies would drive wages down for americans at a time when low income workers were getting real wage increases for the first time in modern history. he's pledged to repeal the trump tax cuts, which were the biggest in our country. after eight years of obama and biden's slow growth, trump's 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 loch ness monster of the swamp. the past half century, he's been lurking around in there. he sticks his head up to run for

president and then he disappears and doesn't do much in between. if you're looking for hope, look to the man that did what the failed obama-biden administration has done. president trump will do it again. we will be stronger than ever because when we put our mind to it, there's no obstacle that america can't surmount. except there's 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 other party is attacking the very principles on which our nation was founded. freedom of thought. freedom of speech. freedom of religion. the rules of law. thomas jefferson famously said "i have sworn upon the alter 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 god-given right to think for ourselves. now the left are trying to cancel all of those founders. they don't seem to understand this important principle. in order to improve the future, we have to learn from our past, not erase it. we're not growing to forget the people that built our great nation. instead we learn from our past so we don't repeat mistakes. we'll work tirelessly to improve the lives of all americans. joe biden and the left want to bully us to submission and coming for our free speech. if they get their way, it won't 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 their mind. may the best ideas win. people of faith are under attack. you're not allowed to go to church. but mass chaos in the streets gets a pass. it's almost like this election is shaping up to be church, work and school versus rioting, looting and vandalism. in the words of biden and the democrats, peaceful protesting. anarchists have been flooding the streets and democratic mayors are ordering the police to stand down. small businesses across america, many of them minority owned being torched by mobs. the democrat mayors pretend it's not happening. they called it a summer of love. 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. that's why we must put an end to racism and we must ensure that any police officer who abuses their powers is held accountable. when happened to george floyd is a disgrace. if you know a police officer, you know that they agree with that, too. we cannot lose sight of the fact that our police are american heros. they deserve our deepest appreciation. no matter what the democrats say, you and i both know when we dial 911, we don't want it going to voice mail. so defunding the police is not an option. everything starts with safety and security. you can't have anything else without it. you can't focus on building a better future without the peace of mind that your children can study safely in their classrooms. play safely in their

neighborhoods and sleep safely in their beds. safety is only the beginning. trump's america is a land of opportunity, a place of promise. i was fortunate to go up in a family that could afford the best schools and finest universities. a great education cannot be the exclusive right of the rich and powerful. must be accessible to all. that's why my dad is pro school choice. that is why he's called education access the civil rights issue not just of our time but of all time. it is unacceptable that too many african american and hispanic american children are stuck in bad schools because of their zip code. donald trump will not stand for it. if democrats really wanted to help minorities in underserved communities, instead of bowing to big money union bosses, they would let parents choose what is best for their kids. limit immigration to protect american workers.

support the police that protect our neighborhoods. they would learn how to negotiate trade deals that prioritize america's interest for a change. they would end the endless wars and quit sending our young people to solve problems in foreign lands. cut taxes for families and workers. create opportunity zones that drive investment into inner cities. in other words, if democrats cared for the forgotten men and women of our country, they'd do exactly what president trump is doing. america is the greatest country on earth. my father's entire world view revolves around the idea that we can do 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. you can have it. imagine a world where the evils of communist and radical terrorism are not given a good chance to spread. the good guys win. you can have it. that's the life. that's to country. that is the world that donald trump and the republican party are after. yes, you can have it. because unlike joe biden and the radical left democrats, our party is open to everyone. it start by rejecting radicals that want to drag us into the dark and embracing the man that represents a bright and beautiful future for all. it starts by re-electing donald j. trump, president of the united states. thank you and god bless america. >> donald trump jr., a

passionate defense of his father calling joe biden beijing biden and the loch ness monster of the swamp. >> he had a strong speech in defense of his father. >> bret: on the other side, tim scott from the republican national convention on fox.

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at walmart, target and other fine stores. >> bret: welcome back to our special coverage of the republican national convention. we're moments away from south carolina's tim scott. >> martha: first, katie pavlich on your thought from the nikki haley speech. >> it was interesting to watch her talk about president trump and his leadership on the world stage. she talked about socialism and how she has seen dictators at the u.n. attack america and ask for more money and how the president changed that. then she pivoted to her own experience in south carolina and the white supremacist shooting at emanuel church there. she made the argument that it wasn't act democrats and republicans. it was about americans coming together. strong on foreign policy and

also back here at home. >> bret: chris, she started by saying democrats blame america first harkening back to jean kirkpatrick, 1984. another u.n. ambassador. >> yeah, i remember that speech. i talked to a senior trump campaign official over the weekend who really pushed back on the idea of the stereotype of the trump base. he pushed back on the idea that the base is mostly whites, mostly men, mostly living in the middle or the south of the country, mostly without college degrees. he said it really is quite a lot broader than that. he talked about a particular strength that they feel they're getting among black and hispanic men. we'll see an appeal from that from tim scott and also from nikki haley. we'll hear from tim scott right

here. >> martha: senator tim scott. >> to all of you tuning in and participating in the political process, god bless you. this isn't how i pictured tonight. our country is experiencing something none of us envisioned. from a global pandemic to the deaths of george floyd and breonna taylor. 2020 has tested our nation in ways we haven't seen for decades. 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 that can strengthen it for further generations. because while this election is between donald trump and joe biden, it's not solely ant donald trump and joe biden. its about the promise of america. it's about you and me. our challenges and heart breaks, hopes and dreams. it's 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 negotiations because they wanted the issue more than they want a solution. do we want a society that breeds success or culture that cancels everything it even slightly disagrees with? i know where i stand. i'm living my mother's american dream. my parents divorced when i was 7 years old. we moved in with my grandparents into a two bedroom home with me, my mom and my 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, after seven years in the senate, i know i'm not the only one in congress that failed civics. even while i was failing the ninth grade, my mother always said to me, timmy, if you would just shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll 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, a chick-fil-a operator. john saw something in me that i could not see in myself. 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. creating a 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. started putting the pieces of my life back together. i realized a quality education is the closest thing to magic in america. that is why i fight to this day for school choice. to make sure every child in every neighborhood has a quality education. i don't care if it's a public, private, charter, virtual or a home school. when a parent has a choice, their kid has a better chance. the president has fought alongside me on that. later in life, i started my own small business. that is why i know it's 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 that democrats do not want you to know that. after spending some time in local government, i decided to run for congress in 2010. the district is based in charleston, south carolina where the civil war started. against a son of our legendary senator strom thurmond. you may be asking yourself, how does a poor black kid from a single parent household run and win in a race crowded with republicans against a thurmond? 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 in the bad news.

racially, economically and cultural polarizing news. the truth is, our nation always bends back to fairness. we're not fully where we want to be, but i thank god almighty we're not where we used to be. we're always striving to be better. >> when we stumble, we will. we pick ourselves back up and try again. we don't give in to 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 i believe in the goodness of america, the promise that all american and all women are created equal. if you're watching tonight, i'm betting you do, too. over the past four years, we've made tremendous progress towards that promise.

president trump built the most inclusive economy ever. seven million jobs created pre-covid-19 and 2/3s of them went to women, african americans and hispanics. the first new major effort to tackle poverty in a generation, opportunity zones. we put hard-earned tax dollars back in people's pockets by cutting their taxes especially for single parent households like the one i grew up in. cutting single mother's taxes 70% on average. president trump supported these tax cuts for those single moms and other working families and signed these policies into law. our nation is better off for it. so i'm going to ask you, the american people, not to simply look at what the candidates say, but to look back at what they

have done. this election is about your future. it is critical to paint a full picture of the records of donald trump and joe biden. joe biden said if a black man didn't vote for him, he wasn't truly black. joe biden says black people are a monolithic community. it was joe biden that said poor kids can be just as smart as white kids. while his words are one thing, his actions take it to a whole new level. in 1994, biden led the charge on a crime bill that put millions of black americans behind bars. president trump's criminal justice reform law fixed the disparities that biden created and made our system more fair and just for all americans. joe biden failed our nation's historically black colleges and

universities. heaping blame on them as they fought to ensure our young folks had access to higher education. once again, to clean up joe biden's mess, president trump sign in to 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 pocket books. unless, of course, you're a blue state millionaire. that's one of the 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, past president trump's once in a generation tax reform bill that lowered taxes for single moms, working families and those in need. so when it comes to what joe biden says he will do, look at

his actions. look at his policies. look at what he already did and what he didn't do while he's been in washington for 47 years. ladies and gentlemen, people don't always see those failures. because they think we're having a policy debate on two sides of an issue. that is not what is happening. our side is working on policy while joe biden's radical democrats are trying to permanently transform what it means to be an american. make no mistake, joe biden and kamala harris want to cultural revolution, a fundamentally different america. if we let them, they will turn our country into a socialist utopia. history has taught us that path only leads to pain and misery,

especially for hard-working people hoping to rise. instead, we must focus on the promise of the american journey. i know that journey well. my grandfather's 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 third grader to pick cotton. he never learned to read or write. yet he lived long enough to see his grandson become the first african american 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. that is why i believe the next american century can be better

than the last. there's millions of families just like mine all across this nation full of potential seeking to live the american dream. i'm 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. >> bret: senator tim scott with a powerful speech. his personal journey, an american journey from cotton to congress. he said -- he really hit amazing lines with humor. probably the best speech of the night, martha. >> i would say so. we thought two bright stars from south carolina, one a woman who is of indian dissent who game the governor of south carolina

and tim scott who just told and extraordinary story about his grandfather who had to leave school in third great to pick cotton but lived long enough to see his grandson to become the first member of congress and senate. and he went after joe biden the way that tim scott can. a powerful speech. >> saying he's been there 47 years. he said we're always driving to be better but we don't give in to the cancel culture. he said things are better but still have work to do. quick final thoughts. a powerful end to the night. >> yeah, and his presence and his life is a message. his discussion of biden and his record is important because biden has been there a long time. he has a very long record. there's a reason why former

defense secretary bob gates who didn't -- doesn't dislike biden personally but said he was wrong about every major foreign policy issue of his time. a good case for that. a long record. quite vulnerable. it was well-protected last week. it will get a thorough airing this week. i suspect this convention will be a lot about reminding people of that. >> juan, a strong rebuke of joe biden. he said joe biden said if a black man didn't vote for him, he was not truly black. he said joe biden says black people are a monolithic community and poor kids can be just as smart as white kids. reminding people of some things that joe biden said that he probably would rather forget. >> i think that what we've seen tonight is beginning with herschel walker who spoke

stories about his friendship with donald trump. but then going on to that woman who is running for congress, kim klacik in maryland and then coming to nikki haley who speak about growing up as a little brown girl, and immigrant indian child and now tim scott and race and the rebutting the notion that president trump is race it's is clearly on the mind of the donald trump republican convention. earlier i said to you, martha, part of this is about keeping down the very strong black opposition to trump. as i watched, i thought this is a message to suburban white women, to suburban white voters that heard that trump is racist, experienced the black lives matter movement, the shooting that took place this weekend that you heard about from donna. there's still racial healing to be done.

a big effort by the trump campaign to the women say look again. >> bret: karl rove, moving the black vote to one, two, three points. >> ohio 2000-2004. the push went from 8% of the african american vote to 16% and went from a narrow victory in 2000 to a big victory in 2004. a republican getting a greater share of the african american vote is worth two votes. one taken out of the democratic column and one added into the republican column. so i think juan is right. a smart appeal to younger black men and suburbanites that have a choice of a candidate that is making an outreached to all americans. >> martha: dana, your thoughts. >> in the first hour of the convention, they hit so many

policy areas. more policy areas in the first hour than you saw detailed in the democratic convention over four days. a lot to show about president's record. senator tim scott is a national treasure. his story is incredible. also, he's able to show the contrast between the republicans and the democrats with a smile. and there's something to be said for that. >> bret: chris wallace, he's one of the founders and pushing factors of opportunity zones and that is something that the trump campaign wants to tout from the heavens here. >> exactly. one of the powerful points of tim scott's speech. he said so of the so-called conservative ideas are better ideas that he argues for minorities like opportunity zones like school choice, like the tax cuts that were passed that he said have gone to a lot of working people. i thought that the twin speeches, the real strength was

nikki haley talking about the terrible shooting in charleston and how south carolina came together and then tim scott's final speech of the night. basically saying to a lot of people out there, whether they're minorities, suburban women, may be a stereotype to this trump base, look again. >> martha: i thought it was interesting. he thought about being judged by the content of his character, not the clear of his skin, a quick thought, donna. we've heard a lot about racial issues and coming back down to martin luther king's message there. >> as you well-know, dr. king's message is universal. doesn't apply to me or you. it applies to every american. that's what we all strive for. donald trump asked for four years. what the hell do you have to lose? we've lost a lot. which is why democrats will be sticking with joe biden. >> bret: well, we'll see, this is night one.

we have more more nights to come from the white house closing up thursday night with the president. thanks for watching. i'm back tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. i'm be here with the story. good night, everybody from washington. laura: the first night of the rnc just wrapped and what a first week very dour affair. i know it made me in so many of you proud to be an american. in moments, we are going to show you exactly how before reaction from mollie hemingway, tom bevins, texas live i, governor n patrick. two of the night's most speakers, former nfl speaker and star herschel walker, andrew