Republican National Convention 2020: Day 4

President Donald Trump — speaking to a crowd of more than 1,000 supporters on the White House South Lawn that wasn’t socially distancing and many were not wearing masks — said Thursday night that unlike Joe Biden, his administration focuses “on the science, the facts and the data” to handle the coronavirus pandemic.

“If we had listened to Joe, hundreds of thousands more Americans would have died. … The cost of the Biden shutdown would be measured in increased drug overdoses, depression, alcohol addiction, suicides, heart attacks, economic devastation, job loss and much more. Joe Biden's plan is not a solution to the virus, but rather it’s a surrender to the virus,” Trump said during his Republican convention speech Thursday night.

“My administration has a very different approach. To save as many lives as possible, we are focusing on the science, the facts and the data. We are aggressively sheltering those at highest risk – especially the elderly – while allowing lower-risk Americans to safely return to work and to school," he continued.

 The President delivered his speech to a group of more than 1,000 people on the South Lawn of the White House. Many did not wear face masks and were seated close together.

According to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, “some” of the people in the audience were expected to be tested for coronavirus, but some attendees, like Sen. Lindsey Graham, told CNN they were not.

CNN reported earlier Thursday that the White House coronavirus task force was not consulted about convention plans for Trump's speech on the South Lawn, according to a senior administration official. Health experts on the task force, like National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, have been advising Americans to avoid large crowds during the pandemic.

And as CNN previously reported, in a shift that perplexed doctors, a former CDC director and a growing number of public health organizations, the CDC has changed its Covid-19 testing guidelines to say some people without symptoms may not need to be tested, even if they've been in close contact with someone known to have the virus.

A senior federal health official close to the process told CNN the sudden change in CDC Covid-19 testing guidance was the result of pressure from the Trump administration. 

Watch:

President Trump claimed NATO members had agreed to pay $130 billion more a year.

Facts First: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg explained during a meeting with Trump on December 3, 2019, that by the end of 2020 non-US NATO members would have added a total of $130 billion to their defense budgets since 2016, not $130 billion per year. And this figure, does not take into account the possible impact of the current pandemic, NATO spokeswoman Peggy Beauplet noted in an email to CNN on Thursday morning. 

You can read more about Trump’s claims on NATO spending here

President Trump claimed, “We have already built 300 miles of border wall.”

Facts First: This needs context. As of August 7, some 275 miles of barriers had been constructed on the US border with Mexico -- but just 5 of those miles were erected in places where no barriers had existed before, according to official statistics provided to CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez by US Customs and Border Protection. Of the remainder, 245 miles were erected in place of old barriers, while 25 miles of new “secondary wall” were erected to fortify primary barriers. 

The Trump-era replacement barriers are often much larger than the older ones they are replacing. But still, it’s worth noting that Trump has not erected 300 miles of wall where no barriers existed before.

Rudy Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, claimed that failure by Congress to enact a police reform bill was to deny Trump a victory during an election year.

“It seemed for a few brief shining moments, Democrat and Republican leaders would come together with a unified proposal to reduce police misconduct. This possibility was very dangerous to the left. They had a President to beat and a country to destroy. And although an agreement on action against police brutality would be very valuable for the country, it would also make President Trump appear to be an effective leader. They could have none of that.” 

Facts First: There is no indication Congress’ failure to agree on a police reform bill or demonstrators’ decisions to protest was motivated by concerns that was Trump looking too "effective."

Amid nationwide protests and civil unrest in response to high-profile episodes of police misconduct, there was bipartisan consensus in Congress earlier this summer that federal legislative action was necessary.

But hopes of a prompt police reform bill were dashed in June when Senate Democrats blocked their chamber’s bill after criticizing it as an inadequate response to nationwide calls for action to address police misconduct and racial injustice, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell taking a noncommittal stance on bringing up police reform legislation following the Democrats’ block.

The next day, the House passed policing legislation that is not expected to be and has not been taken up in the Senate. Despite several states passing new laws regulating their police forces, Congress has failed to advance national police reform legislation since then.

President Donald Trump paid respect to medical professionals fighting the coronavirus pandemic with a standing ovation during the Republican National Convention.

Trump said he has "sadly lost friends and cherished loved ones to this horrible disease."

"As one nation, we mourn, we grieve and we hold in our hearts forever the lives that have been so tragically taken, so unnecessary. In their honor, we will unite and in their memory we will overcome," the President added.

The state of the pandemic in the US: An ensemble forecast published by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now projects more than 200,000 coronavirus deaths in the US by September 19.

The new projections, published Thursday, forecast 200,292 deaths by September 19, with a possible range of 195,824 to 207,269 deaths.

Watch:

In his speech on the final night of the Republican National Convention, President Donald Trump attacked Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for pointing out racial and economic disparities in the United States.

“At the Democrat National Convention, Joe Biden and his party repeatedly assailed America as a land of racial, economic and social injustice. So tonight, I ask you a simple question: How can the Democrat Party ask to lead our country when it spends so much time tearing down our country?” Trump said.

“In the left's backward view, they do not see America as the most free, just and exceptional nation on Earth. Instead, they see a wicked nation that must be punished for its sins. Our opponents say that redemption for you can only come from giving power to them. This is a tired anthem spoken by every repressive movement throughout history,” he added.

In his renewed vocal remarks in support for the law enforcement, he drew the distinction between himself and Biden for voters.

Trump also argued that Biden would not advocate for American jobs and the American way of life.

“Joe Biden is not a savior of America’s soul, he is the destroyer of America’s jobs, and if given the chance, he will be the destroyer of American greatness,” he said.

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President Donald Trump took a moment to remember his late brother Robert Trump who died this month in New York.

"I know my brother Robert is looking down on us right now from heaven," the President said. "He was a great brother and was very proud of the job we are all doing. Thank you. We love you, Robert."

A funeral service for Robert Trump, 71, was held at the White House on August 21.

Trump had said he wanted to hold a service for his younger brother at the White House, telling reporters, "I think he'd be greatly honored. He loves our country. He loved our country so much. He was so proud of what we were doing and what we are doing for our country."

Details of his illness have not been released, but a person familiar with knowledge of the matter told CNN that he had been sick for several months.

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President Donald Trump opened his Republican National Convention speech by remarking on Hurricane Laura that devastated communities as it swept through Louisiana and Texas.

"We begin this evening, our thoughts are with the wonderful people who have just come through the wrath of hurricane Laura," he said. "We are working closely with state and local officials in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, sparing no effort to save lives."

Trump praised law enforcement, local and state officials and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for their efforts to prepare for the storm.

The President said he will to visit the region this weekend.

About the storm: The storm left six people dead in Louisiana, including at least four from falling trees. Laura came ashore as a Category 4 storm early Thursday near the Texas border, tearing off roofs and knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of people.

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Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani claimed that violent crime has been increasing at percentages unheard of in the past.  

"New York City once described as America’s crime capital, had become by the mid-1990s, America’s safest large city," Giuliani said, blaming current New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Murders, shootings, and violent crime are increasing at percentages unheard of in the past. We’re seeing the return of rioting and looting.”

Facts First: While there have been significant increases in the rates of murder, shootings, robberies and grand larceny of automobiles in New York to date in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, violent crime rates in every major crime category tracked by NYPD are down significantly since Giuliani was mayor.

According to the NYPD's stats, the rates of seven major felony offenses have dropped 290 percent since Giuliani was in office.  

 There's been 259 murders in New York in 2020 so far this year.  In the last two years -- of Giuliani's mayorship (2000 and 2001) there were 673 and 649 respectively.

Giuliani saw significant rates of crime drop during his time as mayor, but those drops have largely continued since he left office and remain significantly lower than when Giuliani was in office.