Guests spoke nostalgically about prospering through hard work in earlier times but said that is increasingly difficult in the current economic climate.
MILWAUKEE—Republicans touted the value of personal responsibility, legal immigration, and hard work on the first night of their national convention, capping a day dedicated to messaging on the economy.
A stream of elected officials, business leaders, and ordinary Americans delivered speeches alternating between heartfelt personal recollections of achieving the American dream and stories making the case that self-made prosperity is a vanishing dream for most Americans.
Nearly every speaker blamed President Joe Biden’s economic and border policies for the financial woes of Americans, especially the working class.
“Biden and [Vice President Kamala] Harris outsourced our energy supply, driving electricity prices up over 29 percent,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. “The day Joe and Kamala walked into office, gas was $2.40 a gallon. Today it is $3.54.”
The Republican economic message contrasted sharply with President Biden’s statements that the economy is improving.
Stories of Self-Made Success
Several GOP speakers spoke of their humble origins, to illustrate the idea that success is—or should be—achievable through hard work and personal responsibility.
Vanessa Faura, an immigrant from Peru, told the audience of her family’s struggle out of poverty. “When we arrived in the Bronx, we lived on the sixth floor of a graffiti-painted building. Both of my parents worked two jobs,” she said.
Rep. John James of Michigan recounted how his father had grown up in poverty amid the racism of the Jim Crow era. “He refused to let vulnerability become victimhood,” Mr. James said. “He paid his way through college, served honorably in Vietnam, and started a trucking company with one truck, one trailer and no excuses.”
African American Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas told of his family’s refusal to be defined by race. “I’m the great, great grandson of a slave. I’m the son of a retired Lieutenant Colonel. I’m the product of West Point, along with my other two siblings,” he said.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin emphasized the value of hard work. “My mom was a nurse, and she was my hero,“ she said. ”She pulled our family together after my dad lost his job. At 15, washing dishes and flipping eggs, I learned that there is dignity in work.”
Barriers to Achievement
Other speakers cast doubt on the achievability of the American dream in the current economic climate.
Linda Fornos, who immigrated from Nicaragua 60 years ago, said she had found success but it was difficult to recover after losing her home in a fire in 2022. “Life is too hard right now,” Ms. Fornos said. “One of my sons has three jobs, and the other holds down two. That makes six jobs for three people, just to survive.”
Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida recounted how his mother sacrificed to give him a private school education as a child, but was later forced to accept public assistance due to the loss of a job.
“My mom and my grandma sacrificed to ensure that I could build a successful future through a commitment to academic achievement and hard work,” Mr. Donalds said. But for many children today, “that dream has slipped away.”
Benjamin Joseph, a home remodeling contractor from Michigan, recounted the difficulty in operating his business given recent price increases. “Many clients are tightening their belts, closing their wallets, and cutting back on their home remodeling projects,” Mr. Joseph said. “To keep work coming in, I’ve had to lower my margins, and I mean, lower them. I’m now barely making payroll.”
President Biden has repeatedly made the counterclaim that it’s Republican policies that are undermining the success of working Americans.
“The economy has grown more since I took office than at this point in any presidential term in the last 25 years,” he said, pointing to the 3 percent annual growth in gross domestic product in the first quarter of this year with unemployment below 4 percent.
Even so, the president acknowledged that costs remained too high for many families. “I’m fighting to lower them,” he said.
The president said on July 5 that Republican policies hurt working families by benefiting billionaires and increasing inflation. “They’ll impose high consumer tariffs that will cost middle-class families thousands of dollars each year, give a giant tax cut to the wealthy, repeal the Affordable Care Act,” he said.
Attention briefly deviated from the Republican economic message when former President Donald Trump, who was formally nominated as the party’s candidate for president earlier in the day, made his first public appearance since he was wounded in an assassination attempt two days earlier.
The former president entered Fiserv Forum to a standing ovation, then took a seat in the auditorium flanked by vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance, political commentator Tucker Carlson, and members of the Trump family, but did not address the crowd.
