After a lengthy and contentious primary race, the 2016 Republican National Convention finally kicks off this Monday, July 18 in Cleveland, Ohio. The convention will be held at Quicken Loans Arena and runs from Monday through Thursday, July 21.
The RNC will feature days of speeches from politicians, celebrities, and presumptive nominee Donald Trump’s family. In addition, delegates of the U.S. Republican Party will use to convention to eventually choose the party's presidential and vice-presidential nominees, as well as ratify the party’s official platform.
Since anti-Trump delegates’ last-ditch attempt to deny Donald Trump failed last week, the Republican delegates are set to nominate the real-estate mogul and reality-TV star as their presidential nominee, along with his recently announced pick for vice president, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
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The convention officially begins at 1 p.m. ET on Monday.
The RNC's first-day theme will be “Make America Safe Again,” emphasizing immigration, national defense, and counterterrorism policy.
The night will kick off with remarks from Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, U.S. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, actor Scott Baio, and survivors of the Benghazi attacks Mark Geist and John Tiegen. Attendees will also hear from Pat Smith, the mother of the Benghazi victim Sean Smith.
Also set to speak on the first night: soap-opera actor Antonio Sabato, Jr.; Jamiel Shaw, the father of 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw Jr., who was shot and killed by an undocumented immigrant in Los Angeles; U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Sean Duffy (R-WI), and Ryan Zinke (R-MT).
Milwaukee County sheriff and Fox News regular David Clarke will also make an appearance, as will Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), and Joni Ernst (R-IA). Other headliners for the evening: former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, and Trump’s wife Melania Trump.
All major cable-news and broadcast news networks will cover the proceedings. If you don’t have a television, Twitter and CBS News are partnering to live-stream CBSN's coverage of the event. Those with streaming services like Apple TV and Roku can view coverage of the convention via apps like CNNGo, ABC Live, etc.
