RNC DAY 3: Pence, Conway and protest pushback at convention

She spoke on how Americans are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, racial unrest and the collapse of the economy this year.

“I urge people to come together in a civil manner, so we can work and live up to our standard American ideas,” Melania Trump said.

The first lady spoke from the Rose Garden, saying she did not want to focus on attacking Democrats. Instead, she chose to focus on why she believed her husband deserved another four years in office.

“He is not a traditional politician,” Melania Trump said. “He doesn’t just speak words. He demands action. And, he gets results.”

Another headliner was Cissie Graham Lynch, the granddaughter of the late Rev. Billy Graham. She quoted her grandfather, calling for freedom for all Americans.

“In the words of my grandfather Billy Graham ‘Let us stand for political freedom, moral freedom, religious freedom and the rights of all Americans, and let’s never give in to those who would attempt to take it from us,‘” Lynch said.

The RNC continues for a third night Wednesday.

Speakers include Mike Pence and North Carolina congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn

Tuesday: As the RNC moves away from Charlotte, here’s what to expect on Day 2

Tuesday’s program at the Republican National Convention is likely to wade into familiar waters, with a lineup expected to speak on divisive issues like abortion and “cancel culture,” while lambasting Democratic rival Joe Biden and the Democrats’ progressive wing.

Unlike Democrats, who shifted their convention to an all-virtual affair, Republicans kept a scaled-down, in-person gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina. Several hundred delegates gathered there Monday voted to renominate President Donald Trump, but there are no in-person meetings for delegates scheduled the rest of the week.

[ ALSO READ: 7 arrested as protests continue in uptown Charlotte amid RNC ]

Senator Tim Scott delivered the keynote address and many people are commenting on his personal story, his passion and positive outlook.

“We have work to do, but I believe in the goodness of America, the promise that all men and all women are created equal,” Scott said. “And, if you’re watching tonight, I’m betting you do too.”

[RNC Day 2: Melania Trump speaks from Rose Garden; Pompeo from Jerusalem; livestream, live updates]

Monday night’s RNC theme was “The Land of Promise.” Speakers started off painting a bleak picture of America saying the very values of the country are in danger.

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley also spoke. She talked about her time as governor under the Obama-Biden administration.

“When Joe was VP, I was governor of the great state of South Carolina,” Haley said. “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 and his old boss. We cut taxes, they raised them. We slashed red tape, they piled on more mandates.”

The RNC began yesterday in Charlotte, but the city’s portion of the convention has ended. Now, we’re looking ahead to day two of the RNC.

Tuesday night, speakers will include First Lady Melania Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Nicholas Sandmann, the teen seen in a viral video last year during a confrontation with a Native American man outside the Lincoln Memorial.

Monday: Trump, Pence surprise delegates at Convention Center

President Donald Trump has been renominated as the GOP’s presidential candidate. Republicans made it official during a scaled-back roll call vote on Monday at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Charlotte has prepared for years for the Republican National Convention, which lasted about four hours in its scaled-down version because of the coronavirus pandemic.

[ RELATED: Everything you need to know before the RNC kicks off in Charlotte ]

Despite the ongoing pandemic, delegates held an in-person meeting and roll-call vote in the ballroom of the Charlotte Convention Center before attention turns to prime-time programming. Many of the usual trappings were present -- the signs designating each state, the gift bags with Republican swag, expected appearances by the nominees -- but chairs on the ballroom floor were arranged with lots of space between them and masks are supposed to be worn.

It’s a sharp contrast to the approach of Democrats, who created a roll call via video montage from states across the country to avoid a large-scale gathering last week at their virtual convention.

“We are obviously disappointed we could not hold this event in the same way we had originally planned,” RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said as she began the proceedings. But she thanked the city for allowing the convention to move forward in its truncated form.

Standing just outside the secure zone in uptown, Channel 9 could see it was locked down. One of the checkpoints was behind the NASCAR Hall of Fame and there were jersey barriers across several of the roads in the area.

[ Republican National Convention Day 1: Nikki Haley, Trump, Trump Jr. to speak ]

Monday morning, 336 delegates gathered at the Charlotte Convention Center for a roll call where each state’s delegate pledged their votes to the president.

The theme of the convention is “Honoring the Great American Story.”

The White House announced that the president would make a stop in Charlotte on Monday, and Air Force One touched down at the airport just before noon.

Just before Trump’s arrival, Vice President Mike Pence took the stage at the RNC to address the delegates inside the Convention Center.

Pence said reelecting Trump means four more years of support for troops and law enforcement and an economic rebound after the coronavirus. Pence told delegates at the Republican National Convention: “We’re going to make America great again — again.”

[ Trump formally nominated as 2020 Republican presidential candidate ]

He added that it will take at least four more years to “drain that swamp,” which is Washington.

Pence said the U.S. economy and law and order are on the ballot.

He said, “This is the moment for each of us to do everything in our power” to make sure Trump has four more years in the White House and that the choice between the former vice president and Trump has “never been clearer and the stakes have never been higher.”

Earlier, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the convention was expecting some “special guests” before ordering the convention into recess indefinitely.

Trump took the stage a short time after Pence, and championed the stock market, telling delegates that if he’s not reelected, the country will go in a “horrible direction.”

He said that the upcoming presidential election is the most important in the history of the United States.

“Our country can go in a horrible direction or in an even greater direction,” he said inside the Convention Center.

Trump said the U.S. economy was humming along at high levels before the coronavirus pandemic. The President condemned governors who are continuing to keep their states shut down to stem the spread of the virus. It was a jab at his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, who has said that further shutdowns are needed to battle the virus.

He also accused Democrats of using voters’ concerns about COVID-19 to steal the upcoming presidential election. Trump told delegates that the only way Democrats can win is “if this is a rigged election.”

Trump said Americans know how to keep themselves safe from the coronavirus and can go to the polls, eliminating the need to mail in their ballots. He said, without providing evidence, that that creates fraud.

Trump said other votes will be “harvested” by people going door-to-door to collect ballots that voters have not submitted. In addition, he said some states are not verifying signatures on ballots. He did not provide evidence for those claims.

Also on Monday morning, RNC Security tweeted that someone “unlawfully entered the temporary security perimeter near the RNC Convention.” They said the person did not enter an area where delegates were, or impact any planned events. That person, identified as Andrew Haire, was arrested by CMPD and charged with first-degree trespassing and resisting a public officer.

Officials said Haire jumped a 4-foot fence -- a pre-existing fence to prohibit access to the light rail system, closed for the RNC. The fencing is part of an outer security area monitored by law enforcement.

Around 3:30 p.m., CMPD tweeted that the events surrounding the RNC in Charlotte had concluded.

Several delegates inside the Convention Center could be seen not wearing masks on the floor, which drew the ire of Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris.

“I have just shared concern about the lack of mask-wearing and social distancing in the room at the RNC Roll Call Meeting with the RNC Convention staff,” she said. “I have been assured that they are working hard to address these issues. All attendees agreed to comply with the requirements prior to attending and were informed that these requirements would be enforced.”

[ ALSO READ: Trump campaign releases list of RNC speakers ahead of president’s visit to Charlotte ]

While much of the convention will be virtual, delegates from across the country arrived in Charlotte all weekend. Some will miss the energy, but it will still put Charlotte on a world stage.

“You just can’t get that emotion and passion and energy when everyone is together in one location,” Ivan Raiklin from Veterans for Trump said.

“I think it is important that we do showcase Charlotte,” North Carolina delegate Wayne King said. “Charlotte is a beautiful city as you well know and I think that is something we can agree on -- Democrats, Republicans, unaffiliated.”

The Trump Campaign recently released a list of speakers and for Monday night’s main event, we will hear from South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott, former South Carolina governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Another pair of notable speakers will be Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are from St. Louis and were charged after waving guns at protesters outside their home.

Now that delegates have completed the task of formally renominating Trump, much of the remaining convention business will shift to the Washington, D.C., area. Trump is scheduled to deliver his acceptance speech from the White House South Lawn on Thursday evening.

He’s expected to make an appearance every night in the 10 p.m. Eastern hour.

The GOP convention is a crucial moment for Trump, who is trailing in national and battleground state polls and under intense pressure to turn the race around. Aides hope the convention will give them a chance to recast the story of Trump’s presidency and shift the campaign’s thrust from a referendum on him to a choice between his vision for America’s future and the one presented by Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

McDaniel worked to highlight that contrast, accusing Biden of embracing a radical left agenda and pushing back on Democrats’ efforts to demonstrate Biden’s 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, adding that the convention would aim to present “an aspirational, forward-looking vision” for the future.

For both sides, it’s an unconventional convention year.

The parties’ election year gatherings are typically massive events, drawing thousands of delegates, party leaders, donors, journalists and political junkies for a week of speeches, parties and after-parties that inject hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy and deliver a multiday infomercial for the nominee.

But the coronavirus has changed all that, as much as Trump has resisted. Just 336 delegates — six from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories — have been invited to cast proxy votes on behalf of the more than 2,500 regular delegates. And stringent safety measures have been put in place guided by a 42-page health and safety plan developed by a hired doctor.

Attendees were asked to practice enhanced social distancing and get tested prior to travel, fill out a pre-travel health questionnaire and participate in a daily symptom tracker. They’re also being tested onsite, have been asked to maintain a 6-foot (1.8-meter) distance from other people and to use face coverings as a condition of participation — though many attendees were seen openly flouting those rules Monday morning. The RNC has also committed to contacting every participant five, 14 and 21 days after the event to check on potential symptoms.

The event had been met with protests, and police have made several arrests.

After the Charlotte kickoff, most of the GOP convention will take place in Washington, D.C., at and around the White House, as well as by video. It will feature remarks from a long list of well-known Trump supporters, including members of the Trump family, conservative firebrands and everyday Americans who campaign officials say have been helped by Trump’s policies.

First lady Melania Trump will speak Tuesday from the Rose Garden, Vice President Mike Pence will appear from Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Wednesday and Trump will deliver his marquee acceptance speech on Thursday from the South Lawn before a crowd of supporters — blurring the lines between governing and campaigning yet again.

But first comes the “official business” in Charlotte, which the party selected in 2018 to host the convention. The location has been the subject of a dizzying back-and-forth after Trump in June angrily dumped the city because it refused to guarantee the event could be held free from restrictions meant to prevent the spread of the virus, including mask-wearing and social distancing. After a search, party officials chose a new venue, Jacksonville in the crucial state of Florida, which at the time had looser virus restrictions.

But as cases in Florida ballooned, Trump announced unexpectedly last month that he was scrapping those plans, too, and instead would hold most of the festivities in Washington.

“It’s a different world,” Trump told reporters. “To have a big convention is not the right time.”

With the pandemic still raging and the economy in tatters, Trump has a major task at hand. The Democrats’ convention was “masterfully choreographed,” said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University.

“Now the burden is on Republicans to replicate the Democratic effort,” Brinkley said. Besides needing a message that might attract new voters, he said, Republicans must also find a way to draw in viewers because the president is already so over-exposed.

“They’re going to have a hard time garnering attention because we’ve lived with Trump for so long,” Brinkley said. He expressed surprised that Trump hadn’t tried to grab headlines by, for instance, replacing Pence on the ticket. “That would really grab everybody’s attention and shake things up,” he said. Otherwise, “there’s a kind of flatness. ‘Oh, Pence is speaking next week.’”

Besides the formal nomination roll call, the party is also approving a handful of new resolutions, including one that backs Columbus Day as a federal holiday and one that labels the Southern Poverty Law Center, which catalogs the country’s hate groups, as a “radical organization.” Another bemoans “cancel culture,” warning that it “has grown into erasing of history, encouraging lawlessness, muting citizens, and violating free exchange of ideas, thoughts, and speech.”

But they will not vote on a new 2020 platform, after a unanimous vote to forgo one this year.

“RESOLVED, That the Republican Party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President’s America-first agenda,” a resolution instead reads, in part.

(The Associated Press contributed to this article.)