The Trump campaign announced Saturday that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and all three of his final vice presidential candidates will speak at the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin.
The campaign has released a list of family members, lawmakers, celebrities and special guests who will speak at next week’s convention in Milwaukee. Conspicuously absent from the list is former first lady Melania Trump, who plans to attend but apparently will not speak.
Here are some of the most prominent figures who will speak on stage before President Trump formally accepts the Republican nomination on Thursday night.
According to allies and people close to former President Trump, the front-runners for vice presidential nominations at this time are Republican Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Republican Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio and Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.
Government Officials
The convention will feature more than 50 elected officials, including numerous senators, several state governors and several former senior Trump administration officials.
Florida Governor DeSantis, who was a fierce rival of Trump during the primary elections, is also scheduled to speak. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (Republican) is also scheduled to speak. Noem was considered a potential vice presidential candidate, but a series of bad news, including a new book about shooting her dog, has led to a number of controversies and a loss of her chances of winning.
The four senators scheduled to speak are Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (R-North Dakota), all of whom have been named by Trump as potential running mates for vice president.
Also speaking are Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-Virginia), who some lawmakers have called on Trump to consider as a running mate, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Republican Sen. Katie Britt (R-Alabama), Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana).
Republican Senate candidates Kali Lake (Arizona), Jim Banks (Indiana), Mike Rogers (Michigan), Tim Sheehy (Montana), David McCormick (Pennsylvania), Bernie Moreno (Ohio), Eric Hovde (Wisconsin), Sam Brown (Nevada), Hung Kao (Virginia) and Jim Justice (West Virginia) are also scheduled to speak, according to their campaigns.
Among the former White House officials scheduled to speak is Peter Navarro, a former trade adviser to President Trump, who is scheduled to speak just hours after being released from prison where he is serving a four-month sentence for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Tucker Carlson speaks at the Turning Point Action conference in West Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, July 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Lynn Sladky, File)
Media
The Trump campaign boasted about a list of more than a dozen “celebrities” and industry leaders who would speak.
Perhaps the most well-known name is former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who was booted from the network in April 2023, just days after settling a massive defamation lawsuit.
Reports that surfaced a few weeks after his departure suggested that one of the factors in Fox’s decision to take him off the air was the content of certain text messages he sent to network colleagues around the time of the 2020 election, in which he criticized the leadership, made critical comments about Trump, and made other controversial statements.
Trump did not attend the first Republican primary debate last August, but instead gave an interview to Carlson.
Other media members and celebrities scheduled to speak include “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood, Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks, UFC CEO Dana White, former presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswami, Yammer CEO David Sacks and Trump campaign adviser and lawyer Alina Hubba.
Donald Trump Jr. sits in court before a continuing hearing in his civil business fraud trial, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in New York State Supreme Court in New York. (Pool Photo by Michael M. Santiago // Associated Press)
The Trump Family
Four members of the Trump family are listed as speakers this week.
Donald Trump Jr. is scheduled to speak Wednesday before the introduction of President Trump’s running mate, the timing of which has sparked speculation that Vance, a close friend of Trump Jr., could be the running mate.
Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, is also scheduled to speak. Guilfoyle made headlines at the 2020 convention for some particularly harsh comments she made, ending the event by screaming into the microphone.
Eric Trump and his wife, Lara Trump, who is co-chair of the Republican National Committee, are scheduled to speak.
Neither former first ladies Melania Trump nor Ivanka Trump will be speaking. Although they spoke at the 2020 and 2016 conventions, Ivanka did. Introducing the Father At both events.
Barron Trump, 18, was originally selected as a delegate to the convention from Florida, but Melania Trump’s office later said he would not be able to attend due to scheduling conflicts.
Other speakers
The Fiserv Forum is built in Milwaukee on June 27, 2024. The Wisconsin city is set to host the 2024 Republican National Convention. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
The Trump campaign also released a list of about a dozen Americans who will speak at the convention to highlight aspects of the former president’s policies.
Among the guests was Michael Morin, whose sister, Rachel Morin, was murdered after leaving for work in Maryland, and an illegal immigrant is suspected in her murder.
Two of Trump’s business staffers are also scheduled to speak: Carrie Lewis, golf general manager at Trump National Doral, a former president-owned property, and John Nieport, head golf pro at Trump International in West Palm Beach.
Also scheduled to speak will be members of a sorority at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that made headlines after flying an American flag during a campus protest against Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
Others scheduled to speak include an Arizona rancher, the mother of a fentanyl addiction victim, several military veterans, an oil engineer and a pastor.
