Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie put Hillary Clinton on trial, and the delegates heard from some of Donald Trump's children, as well as House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Quinnipiac University Political Science Professor Scott McLean is in Cleveland with eight Quinnipiac students who are participating in the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars' Republican National Convention Seminar. This week, the students are working as interns at the convention.
McLean said that while the first night of the convention was hampered by logistical problems, the second night struggled with messaging.
"Last night's theme was supposed to be Make America Work Again, but I think everyone would agree that the most memorable parts of the evening were the really rough attacks on Hilary Clinton's honesty," McLean said.
He had praise for Christie's speech, which he said whipped the delegates into a frenzy.
But it was in stark contrast to Ryan's speech.
"It was almost as if Ryan wanted to bring the convention back to a positive focus on republican ideas," McLean said. "He didn't focus that much on Donald Trump, but more on ideas. It was a low-key kind of speech."
McLean has been to seven Republican national conventions. One of his favorite events is the nomination roll call vote.
"I love hearing the speeches delegates give as they are giving their vote count," he said. "Connecticut's was 'Connecticut: home of the WWE [World Wrestling Entertainment], where men are strong and women are champions,' a reference to the UConn Huskies Women's basketball team."
McLean said that one of the Quinnipiac students interning at the convention, Margaret Halper of Stratford, was on the convention floor with the Connecticut delegation during the roll call vote. He said she has been impressed with friendliness of the police in and around the Quicken Loan Arena.
"I think this is a great thing for her, and I think all of the students are having this sort of magical experience of seeing something like this unfold," McLean said.
I'll check in with Scott each day of the Republican National Convention during All Things Considered. Be sure to catch live coverage of the convention this week on both WNPR and CPTV, beginning at 8:00 pm.
