THE NOMINEE: Trump Secures Republican Nomination For Second Term As Crowd Chants ‘Twelve More Years!’

CHARLOTTE — President Donald Trump on Monday surpassed the necessary number of votes needed to secure his party’s nomination for re-election during day one of the Republican National Convention.

As the totals were announced, the president smiled as a crowd chanted, “twelve more years.”

After thanking his supporters, the president launched into a new attack at those calling for mail in voting to combat the Coronavirus pandemic.

“This is the greatest scam in the history of politics, I think, and I’m talking about beyond our nation. They act like they are aggrieved by saying this, saying such a horrible thing, we are not patriotic by saying this. No,” Trump said. “We voted during World War I. We voted at the voting booth during World War II. The pandemic we are doing very well — and people know how to handle it — look at the crowds. They are doing very well. It’s very safe.”

Earlier Monday, the convention renominated Vice President Mike Pence, who also delegates in person.

“The choice in this election has never been clearer and the stakes have never been higher,” Pence said. “We’re going to make American great again. Again.”

Despite the scaled back theme of the convention, enthusiasm was high amongst the president’s supporters.

With just 336 delegates participating in a roll-call vote from a Charlotte Convention Center ballroom, Party Chair Ronna McDaniel commented on the social distanced style of the convention before she began the proceedings: “We are obviously disappointed we could not hold this event in the same way we had originally planned,” but thanked Charlotte city officials for allowing the convention to move forward.

During her speech, McDaniel accused the president’s Democratic rival, Joe Biden, of embracing a radical left agenda and scoffed at the DNC’s efforts to present Biden as the nominee of empathy and kindness.

“The truth is there’s only one person who has empathized with everyday Americans and actually been fighting for them every single day over the past four years, and that’s President Donald J. Trump,” she said.

After the initial Charlotte festivities are over, most of the GOP convention will move to Washington, D.C. where celebrity Trump supporters and members of the Trump family will rally around the president and shift focus to the president’s accomplishments during his first term in office.

The convention will also include everyday Americans who campaign officials say have helped implement and who’s lives have been positively impacted by the president’s policies.