McCarthy and Scott: RNC won't be 'cynical' like Dem convention, focus on 'celebrating America'

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Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Calif., outlined on Sunday their party’s plans for the upcoming Republican National Convention – arguing that the event will be about “celebrating America” and won’t be “cynical” like last week’s Democratic National Convention.

“We’re going to be celebrating America,” McCarthy said during an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “The difference is [the RNC is] not going to be cynical, like the Democrats; we're excited about our convention.”

McCarthy continued: “We know America is exceptional and we're going to have people on the stage that understand America's exceptional, understand America is one nation under God, understand that everybody, that this nation is conceived in liberty and dedicated, that everyone is equal.”

Much like the DNC, however, the GOP’s convention also will be a heavily virtual affair as the country still struggles to get a handle on the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 176,000 Americans and sickened over 5.6 million.

THE 2020 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION: WHAT TO KNOW

The public health crisis threw the RNC – originally scheduled to take place in Charlotte, N.C. - into flux earlier this year after the state’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper made the decision to not guarantee the RNC a full-fledged convention with an arena packed full of party officials, delegates and activists as desired by Trump because of fears of the coronavirus.

The RNC in June chose Jacksonville to host major portions of the convention, after largely abandoning Charlotte, but President Trump in July announced that he was canceling the portions of the convention set to take place in Florida.

Unlike the DNC, there will still be some in-person events in Charlotte this week, with Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel saying that they will not pose public health risks.

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“We tested everybody before they came to Charlotte, we tested everybody onsite,” McDaniel said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “We are doing things that allow people to live their lives, have a convention and do it in a healthy and safe way, which most Americans are doing.”

The Trump campaign announced the full roster of speakers for the convention on Sunday and noted that the president will be appearing every night during the convention.

The list shows that other members of the Trump family will appear each night, including first lady Melania Trump, the president's children: Ivanka, Tiffany, Donald Jr., and Eric -- and Eric's wife Lara Trump. Other speakers will include Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., former Ambassador Nikki Haley, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and UFC president Dana White.

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Scott, who is speaking on Monday night, said that his speech will mostly focus “on growth, hope and opportunity.”

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“I'll focus on growth, hope and opportunity. You looked at last week's Democratic convention. You left shaking your head. What do they believe in?” Scott said. “If President Trump is reelected and he will be, we can expect more growth, hope.”

Here is the full list provided by the Trump campaign.

Monday

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio
Former Ambassador Nikki Haley
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel
Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones
Amy Johnson Ford
Kimberly Guilfoyle
Natalie Harp
Charlie Kirk
Kim Klacik
Mark and Patricia McCloskey
Sean Parnell
Andrew Pollack
Donald Trump, Jr.
Tanya Weinreis

Tuesday

First Lady Melania Trump
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds
Florida Lieutenant Gov. Jeanette Nuñez
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi
Abby Johnson
Jason Joyce
Myron Lizer
Mary Ann Mendoza
Megan Pauley
Cris Peterson
John Peterson
Nicholas Sandmann
Eric Trump
Tiffany Trump

Wednesday

Vice President Mike Pence
Second Lady Karen Pence
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. 
Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y.
Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell
Kellyanne Conway
Keith Kellogg
Jack Brewer
Sister Dede Byrne
Madison Cawthorn
Scott Dane
Clarence Henderson
Ryan Holets
Michael McHale
Burgess Owens
Lara Trump

Thursday

President Donald J. Trump
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J.
Ivanka Trump
Ja'Ron Smith
Ann Dorn
Debbie Flood
Rudy Giuliani
Franklin Graham
Alice Johnson
Wade Mayfield
Carl and Marsha Mueller
Dana White

Fox News’ Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.