RNC Buzz: Babydog and ear bandages bring comic relief to second day of convention

MILWAUKEE – At the Republican National Convention Tuesday certain delegates honored former President Donald Trump for taking a bullet for the MAGA movement by sporting ear bandages. 

Trump, who survived an assassination attempt Saturday, has been wearing a white bandage over his right ear as it recovers from the gunshot wound. 

Also Tuesday, a famous bulldog sat pretty upon the convention stage, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) impersonated Trump, and Texas delegates were asked to be on their best behavior. 

Here are some sights and tidbits from the second day of the convention in Milwaukee as spotted by the Washington Examiner staff.

Jim Justice’s Babydog stole the spotlight at the GOP convention 

Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV), who is campaigning for West Virginia’s Senate seat this November, was accompanied by a special guest during his speech Tuesday night: his pet.

Justice’s bulldog, Babydog, made a grand entrance Tuesday at Fiserv Forum, trotting on stage and sitting alongside Justice on stage in a separate chair and stealing the show. 

Justice is seeking to replace Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) in the Senate, who announced last year that he was retiring from the chamber, though he had been considering a presidential bid.

Delegates asked not to boo Nikki Haley 

The Texas GOP delegation was warned Tuesday morning not to boo Nikki Haley when she addressed the convention later that evening. Dr. Robin Armstrong, a Texas Republican National Committeeman, implored the delegation during their breakfast meeting which saw Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) address the group. 

“Nikki Haley is going to speak tonight,” Armstrong said during the breakfast which brought out some applause. “We don’t want to have any boos tonight. No boos at all. It’s really important. We got to show up. We got to show complete unity going into it.”

Later in the day, Haley did indeed receive a largely warm welcome at the convention where she gave a forceful endorsement of Trump.

Republicans get their best Trump impressions in

Inside a Pennsylvania delegation breakfast on Tuesday, attendees were surprised with two speakers who whipped out their impression skills: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law. 

Johnson, while speaking about Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA), claimed that Trump said he loved Meuser, and that during a trip to Mar-a-Lago a few weeks ago, Trump called them both on stage.

“Look at this guy,” Johnson said while impersonating Trump. “Look at this guy, he’s so great at numbers, you know he was the treasurer of Pennsylvania for a long time, yeah.”

Lara Trump recalled the moment her father-in-law asked her to accept a position as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee: “Honey, you’re the perfect person. It’s got to be you. No pressure if you don’t want to do it — everybody wants you to — but if you don’t want to.” 

The impressions were met with laughs and cheers from the crowd as both Lara Trump and Johnson lauded Pennsylvania as a key battleground state to help Republicans win the White House in November. 

Prominent conservatives spotted at Capital Grille

Several conservatives were seen chatting and grabbing dinner at the Capital Grille Tuesday evening, including Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Arizona congressional candidate and venture capitalist Blake Masters, and My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell. 

Lee was heard praising Trump’s vice presidential pick Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) to guests on his way out and chatted with Republican strategists. Lindell was immediately swamped with photo requests as he was escorted to his table as was Lee who took photos with supporters. A waiter at the Capital Grille told the Washington Examiner that business has not decreased for the restaurant despite being located outside of the Fiserv Forum security perimeter. At most, it was the regular customers who were put out by the GOP convention. 

Trump’s ear bandage becomes latest GOP fashion statement

A handful of attendees at the convention were seen with white coverings over their ears in a nod to former President Donald Trump’s bandage after being pierced in the upper right ear in an assassination attempt over the weekend. 

Milwaukee restaurant doesn’t see business boom planned by RNC

DOC’s Commerce Smokehouse was prepared to double or even triple its normal business as thousands of convention attendees descended onto downtown Milwaukee. But on Tuesday afternoon, the BBQ restaurant was roughly a third filled with customers for lunch.

The security perimeter around the convention arena changed from the initial plan, according to one restaurant employee, so the restaurant was no longer included in the secure zone – a possible result of Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

Delegates have to exit the Secret Service secured fencing, then backtrack toward the restaurant and go through a new, but less rigorous bag screening, just to arrive back at the restaurant location. The inconvenience of it all has hurt business, according to the employee. 

“It’s really unfortunate. My heart really goes out to restaurant owners who were really banking on making some money,” the Smokehouse employee said. 

The barbecue restaurant had geared up for welcoming the RNC.

The big ticket item on the menu is “The Donald” that sells for $100 and includes one pound of pulled pork, one pound of smoked brisket, four hot links, a half rack of ribs, and two pints of sides. A slightly smaller feast of meat called the “Don Jr.” is $65.

MAGA goes high fashion

Fashion Designer Andre Soriano, known among Trump fans for making MAGA evening gowns, was at the convention and had a model in Idaho delegate Tammy Nichols. 

“It’s a fun dress. Andre did a great job on it,” Nichols, a state senator, said, while donning the white gown and attracting plenty of photographers’ attention. 

The white dress read “Make America Great Again” and was adorned with blue stars.