Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt's remarks came before the personal stories of everyday Americans adversely affected by the Biden-Harris administration's open borders and soft-on-crime tactics. To highlight Tuesday's Night 2 theme, "Make America Safe Again," Schmitt's remarks cut right to the heart of why Americans no longer feel safe, and how safety can be restored. 

Schmitt opened with thanksgiving and gratitude for his proud heritage and his blue-collar roots. Schmitt also was proud that the Republican Party was the party that supported the working man and woman. 

Hello, Milwaukee. Hello, America.

It's not lost on me, how unlikely my presence is on this stage. As the grandson of a butcher, the son of a man who worked seven days a week and the midnight shift, my blue-collar roots run deep, and I'm proud that the Republican Party is the party of working families.

Schmitt then hearkened to the names of Missouri towns representing the fierce independence of the people.

Missouri is home to cities named Liberty and Independence, and towns called Freedom and Defiance. So it should come as no surprise that we are sick and tired of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. And I am here with a simple message: Enough is enough. We're ready to take our country back.

Schmitt outlined the multitude of ways that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have made Missouri — and the nation — unsafe.

Under Joe Biden, the rule of law has disintegrated. Crime is rampant, our communities are under siege, and our brave law enforcement officers are constantly being vilified. He stood idly by as liberal DAs and mayors pushed a defund the police agenda and empowered criminals, all while endangering law abiding citizens. Kamala Harris shares in these failures. She campaigned as a progressive prosecutor and even called for us to reimagine public safety.

Schmitt further laid out how Biden's open-border policies continue to foster fear and death.

Americans don't need to reimagine safety, we know exactly what safe communities look like. But the weakness and the wokeness of the Biden-Harris administration has made us less safe. Biden and Harris opened our border to terrorists, to criminals. They allowed drug cartels to flood our communities with Chinese fentanyl that's killing more than 200 Americans each and every day.

But Schmitt brought the room back to hope, pulling from his experience as the former Missouri attorney general.

It doesn't have to be this way. As Missouri's former attorney general, I went toe-to-toe with the radical defund the police crowd and had the backs of our men and women in blue. When Soros-backed officials refused to prosecute violent criminals, I stepped in and put those dangerous felons behind bars. And I know President Trump will do the same. He'll restore law and order. He'll unapologetically back the blue. and President Trump will secure the border once and for all.

Schmitt magnified the hope and wrapped it in optimism.

I believe in an America where our best days are ahead of us. I believe in an America where Moms and Dads can raise their kids in safe communities. And I believe in an America where we defend the police, not defund the police. President Trump will make that dream a reality. And that's why we need him back in the White House. 

A vote for President Trump is a vote to Make America Safe Again.

.@Eric_Schmitt: Donald Trump will RESTORE law and order, back the blue & SECURE THE BORDER.#RNCinMKE pic.twitter.com/CZvIQibLqB

— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) July 17, 2024