Common man celebrated at RNC as Gold Star families, Trump's granddaughter, Vance's mom steal the show

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Day three of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was a rousing success, highlighting not only a softer side of former President Donald Trump but the colorful patriotism of middle America. From Gold Star families to gun-totin' grandmas, on Wednesday night, Republicans made the pitch that they are the party of America's heartland.

Gold Star families

The main speeches began on a solemn note, as family members representing 13 fallen U.S. Marines, soldiers, and sailors took the stage to share the heartbreak they have endured since Joe Biden hastily withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan on August 26, 2021. "They were just kind of left there, hung out to dry," Cheryl Juels said of her niece Sgt. Nicole Gee and the other 12 servicemen and women who perished during the evacuation.

'Donald Trump knew all of our children’s names. He knew all of their stories.'

Not only are the family members still grieving, they believe that the Biden administration has never honored their lost loved ones appropriately. They mentioned Biden checking his watch as their loved ones' bodies were brought to Dover Air Force Base and his apparent indifference to their sacrifice.

"To this day, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have never mentioned these fallen soldiers' names," said the narrator of a video featuring the Gold Star families.

Those names are Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, Sgt. Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, Cpl. Daegan W. Page, Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, and Cpl. Hunter Lopez.

Biden's alleged callousness has prompted the families to support Trump. "While Joe Biden has refused to recognize their sacrifice, Donald Trump spent six hours in Bedminster [New Jersey] with us," said Gee's mother, Christy Shamblin. "Donald Trump knew all of our children’s names. He knew all of their stories."

A WWII veteran

After the Gold Star families returned to their seats, another man who served his country took the stage in endearing fashion. Sgt. William "Bill" Pekrul, a 99-year-old proud Wisconsinite who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day in June 1944, spoke of his enduring love for his country.

"America is still worth fighting for," he insisted.

He also expressed admiration for Trump's leadership while in office and claimed that, should duty call once again, he'd happily re-enlist. "I would storm whatever beach ... my country needs me to," he said.

A member of the next Trump generation

Another speaker who stole the hearts and minds of viewers is a member of a much younger generation. Kai Trump, the 17-year-old daughter of Donald Trump Jr., gave the world a glimpse of a different side of former President Trump, a man she lovingly calls Grandpa.

'We love you, Grandpa. Never stop fighting!'

"To me, he's just a normal grandpa. He gives us candy and soda when our parents aren't looking. He always wants to know how we're doing in school," she explained.

Kai made mention of her and her grandfather's shared love of golf and their affectionate rivalry when playing against one another. "He tries to get in my head," she said with a smile.

Despite her youth, Kai is very much aware of the forces at work trying to thwart her grandfather's re-election efforts. "A lot of people have put my grandpa through hell," she claimed, adding that he has always managed to persevere.

"We love you, Grandpa. Never stop fighting!"

JD Vance pays homage to his family

The night closed with a strong, focused speech from Trump's vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). And while he advocated strongly for policies that he believes will best uplift the "forgotten communities" of Appalachia and the Rust Belt, the area of the country that Vance calls home, his fond description of his wife, his mother, and his late grandmother stole the show.

'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.'

Many in the audience were likely already familiar with these women since Vance discussed all three at length in his 2016 best-selling memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," a story that director Ron Howard then turned into a major film four years later.

Though Vance grew up in a troubled family, marred by poverty and addiction, he shared humorous anecdotes about his loved ones, including his late grandmother Bonnie Vance, whom he called Mamaw, a "guardian angel" who was "tough as nails."

According to Vance, in addition to her fierce love of her family, Mamaw loved "the Lord," "the F-word," and guns. Following Mamaw's death in 2005, the family "found 19 loaded handguns" in her house, Vance claimed.

"They were stashed all over her house — under her bed, in her closet, in the silverware drawer. ... 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."

During his speech, Vance also paid tribute to his mother, Beverly Aikins, whose struggles with addiction shaped much of Vance's childhood. Now nearly 10 years sober, Aikins attended the convention and beamed with pride as Vance gestured to her, seated near Trump.

"That's my boy," she repeated as the audience chanted, "JD's mom!"

"I love you, Mom," Vance added.

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'Beyond ticked off, disrespected': Gold Star families blast Biden over debate lie that no US troops died under his watch

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Gold Star families are furious over a lie President Joe Biden delivered during Thursday's presidential debate. Biden lied when he proclaimed that no U.S. troops had died under his watch as president – a lie that has caused families of the slain soldiers to be "'beyond ticked off" and feel "disrespected."

During the first presidential debate against former President Donald Trump, Biden attempted to tout the success of his foreign policy.

"The truth is, I'm the only president this century, that doesn't have any – this decade – that doesn't have any troops dying anywhere in the world, like he did," Biden falsely claimed.

The statement is a proven lie.

There have been 16 U.S. troops killed in overseas attacks since Biden has been in the White House.

Biden attempted to whitewash his disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal – where 13 American soldiers died in Kabul on Aug. 26, 2021.

In January, three U.S. troops were killed in an attack in Jordan.

"Did he not remember checking his watch over and over and over again?"

Gold Star families skewered Biden for lying or forgetting about the deaths of their loved ones who were killed overseas in the line of duty serving their country.

Mark Schmitz – whose son Marine Cpl. Jared Schmitz was killed in the deadly Afghanistan withdrawal – told the New York Post, "My phone blew up for probably 20 minutes after that came through, and everybody was just in utter shock. And my poor kids were in the next room – let's just say I ultimately ended up having to apologize to them for my language. It took all self-restraint not to put my fist right through my TV."

Schmitz added, "I was beyond ticked off, disrespected. That’s all we’ve ever gotten out of this president."

Steve Nikoui – the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui also died in Kabul – said of Biden, "I did see that, and I was just as shocked as anyone else, but I wasn’t surprised, I'm glad that the rest of America is able to see what we’ve been dealing with for the last three years."

Christy Shamblin – the mother-in-law of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee murdered at the Kabul Airport – said of President Biden, "His leadership has been reckless and weak and will continue to produce results of dead Americans. The fact the entire administration turns their backs with him while being promoted and rewarded for their silence is just as shocking."

Darin Hoover – whose son Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover died in Kabul – said of Biden's lie during the debate, "When Biden said that not one person in the military was killed under his watch, I yelled at what I was hearing. I knew that I'd heard what I did, but couldn't believe he had the audacity to say it. Had he forgotten our 13 kids?"

Hover told the Daily Mail, "Did he not remember standing on the tarmac at the dignified transfer? Did he not remember checking his watch over and over and over again? We've called him out several times for it!"

Many Gold Star families who lost loved ones in the botched Afghanistan withdrawal have harbored ill feelings toward Biden because of his behavior during the dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in 2021.

Jiennah McCollum — the widow of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum — reportedly said Biden shifted attention from her husband's murder to talking about the service of his veteran son – Beau Biden – and his death from brain cancer.

McCollum's sister stated, "It struck the family as scripted and shallow, a conversation that lasted only a couple of minutes in total disregard to the loss of our Marine."

Biden was also seen looking down at his watch during the dignified transfer ceremony, which also enraged Gold Star family members.

In February, Biden attended the dignified transfer of the three American troops who were killed in Jordan.

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Gold Star family member gives CNN anchor rude awakening about Biden, leading to awkward silence: 'He has not reached out'

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CNN anchor Abby Phillip ran into a rhetorical buzzsaw on Wednesday in the form of a Gold Star mother.

That Gold Star mom, Christy Shamblin, is attending the State of the Union address on Thursday. Shamblin's daughter-in-law, Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, was one of 13 U.S. service members who was murdered when a suicide bomber detonated himself outside the Abby Gate at the Kabul airport in 2021. Gee was supporting Afghanistan evacuation efforts made necessary by President Joe Biden's disastrous withdrawal from the country.

During their interview, Phillip tried to defend Biden as a sympathetic president. But she was left shocked when Shamblin revealed that she has never heard from the president.

"President Biden, he's often called the consoler in chief," Phillip claimed. "He does talk to families who've lost loved ones because of his own experiences. Have you experienced that from him as you've been coping with the death of Nicole?"

"No," Shamblin said.

What followed was several seconds of awkward silence — dead air that Phillip eventually broke.

"Have you spoken to him?" the CNN anchor followed up.

"No, he has not reached out to our family," Shamblin confirmed. "We've actually reached out to the White House and have never heard back. We asked to meet with them to kind of understand where their thinking was in calling this a success, and we've not received a response. It's been months. No, that's not been our experience at all."

"Sorry to hear that," Phillip responded.

CNN anchor left STUNNED when gold star mom says that Biden has NEVER reached out to her family about her daughter-in-law's death.

CNN: "He's often called the 'Consoler in Chief.' He does talk to families who've lost loved ones...Have you experienced that from him?"

Christy… pic.twitter.com/apPQiMyMSd
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 7, 2024

Shamblin has not hidden her criticism of President Biden or his administration.

Last year, she spoke at a congressional forum with other Gold Star families who lost loved ones during the Afghanistan withdrawal, slamming the administration for describing the withdrawal as a "success."

Then last September, Shamblin, along with two other Gold Star moms, told ABC News how they felt disrespected by the president during the dignified transfer ceremony for their loved ones at Dover Air Force Base.

"The administration didn't seem to know our story," Shamblin said. "They didn't seem to know Nicole's name, our names. People from the military certainly knew our story, Nicole's name, our names. And that was expressed to us in a way that felt very genuine and loving. But when it came to the people in suits, it felt disingenuous and hollow."

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