RNC Day 3: Mike Pence to headline ‘Land of Heroes’ as Hurricane Laura threatens to make landfall

Vice President Mike Pence was supposed to be enjoying the ultimate star-spangled night in the spotlight at the Republican National Convention Wednesday -- but Hurricane Laura may rain on the GOP party.

The loyal Trump lieutenant and potential 2024 presidential hopeful was still expected to give a rousing endorsement of the president in a speech set against the backdrop of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry, the patriotic inspiration for the National Anthem.

But raging Hurricane Laura is expected to make a devastating landfall as a Category 4 storm within a few hours of Pence’s speech, taking the focus of the nation away from politics just as the GOP needs voters to tune in the most.

Unlike other speakers, Pence is likely to speak directly about coronavirus and take credit along with Trump for blunting the pandemic even as the shocking death toll soars towards 180,000 Americans, insiders say.

As the face of the coronavirus task force, Pence has won relatively good marks for managing the crisis given that Trump has repeatedly made the task impossible by botching key aspects of the fight.

Governors from both parties praise him for taking a non-partisan approach, unlike Trump who consistently threatens to cut off aid to states with Democratic governors who did not thank him profusely enough.

Pence is sure to also make a key appeal to evangelical Christian conservatives, a key pillar of the Trump base. The born-again former Indiana governor is likely to speak in Biblical tones about his push to reopen churches along with schools and businesses amid the pandemic.

Second lady Karen Pence, an evangelical leader in her own right, will also speak as well as Kellyanne Conway, who managed Trump’s 2016 campaign into the final home stretch and went on to become a senior counselor to the president, coining the phrase “alternative facts” in a media appearance.

The first woman to successfully steer a White House bid, Conway is stepping away to spend more time with her family at the end of this month.

The rest of the lineup for Day 3 of the RNC offers some space for rising GOP stars, like Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, who famously hosted Trump at Mount Rushmore and 25-year-old Madison Cawthorn, a wheelchair-bound GOP candidate for a North Carolina congressional seat.

Presidential daughter-in-law Lara Trump will also continue the parade of Trump’s relatives and even in-laws who have been given plum speaking roles at the convention, even as the two most recent past GOP presidential nominees are banished over their feuds with the president.

Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin (D-N.Y.) will also be rewarded for his steadfast backing of Trump with a speaking slot.

Trump himself was also expected to appear but it was not exactly clear what his role would be. The president has broken with political tradition and conventional wisdom by showing up every single night of the convention, although he did not seek to overshadow the speech of First Lady Melania Trump on Tuesday.

Trump was trailing badly in polls to Democrat Joe Biden coming into the two week period including both conventions, meaning he badly needs a bounce from the RNC heading into the final two month home stretch before the Nov. 3 election.

The biggest blow to GOP hopes could come from a most unlikely source: Mother Nature and Hurricane Laura.

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