[captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from the republican national convention in cleveland, ohio, this is democracy now! >> i-4 malik declared donald j. themp and michael r. pence republican nominees for president and vice president of these united s states. amy: it is official -- donald trump is the repepublican part's presidential nominee.

start results with the largest vote total in the history of the republican party, this is a movement where we have to go all the way. i am so proud to be yoyour nominee. amy: we will speak to the nation's john nichols about trump's nomination, the future of the republican party, and what looks like roger and' dedeparture as head of fox newss a growing sexual harassment scanll engulfs the netwo.. thenwhile donald trump is vowing to build massive llll on theexexicanordeder,ctivisis here iclcleveld arare anningng to build a wall of their own. >> we are going to go to the republican national invention and build a literal wall around it. amy: and as the nra addresses

the republican national convention for the first time, we will look at why codepink delivered tennis balls to the to the rnc.eps they said, ban guns, not balls. all that and more, coming up. amy: welcome to democracy now, democracynow.org, "breaking with convention: war, peace, and the presidency." i'm amy goodman. it's official -- donald trump is the republican party presidential nominee. house speaker paul ryan announced his nomination, following a roll call vovote on the floor of the republican national convention tuesesday. thate chair announces donald j. trump, having received a majority of these votes

entitled to be cast at the convention, has been selected as the republican p party nominee r president of the united states. house speaker paul ryan announcing trump's official party nomination. this comes only one day after delegates from the never trump movement briefly staged a revolt against trump's nomination on monday. the rebellion threw the first day of the convention into chaos, but the effort was quashed by party leadership. some dissenting delegates booed during tuesday's roll call vote. the second day of the rnc was dubbed "make america work again." during the prime time speeches, donald trump, jr., spoke about his father's business records anand negotiation skills. analysis shows donald trump has been involved in nearly 4000 lawsuits over his business career. his son did not mention these. most of the speakers spoke far

more about former secretary of state secretary clinton than about trump's plan to create jobs. dr. ben carson used his medical expertise to criticize potential "theyn voters, saying, are not using their god-given brain to think about what they ." saying new jersey governor chris christie also criticized clinton. >> answer me now, is she guilty or not guilty? chanting -- block her up] inbound that was the audience at "he rnc chanting "lock her up. the arizona senator chose not to thatd, and he tweeted hillary clinton now belongs in prison? come on, we can make the case she should not be elected without jumping the shark, he tweeted. meanwhile, keynote speaker paul

ryan mentioned trump's name only twice during his nearly 1,500-word speech. wisconsin republican senator ron johnson only mentioned trump's name once. arkansas governor asa hutchinson also spoke tuesday night. last year, as governor, he followed the lead of indiana governor and now trump running mate mike pence in supporting the controversial anti-lgbt legislation known as the religious freedom restoration act but ended up refusing to sign it until state legislature amend the bill. this came after his own son signed a move-on petition criticizing the legislation. more on the official nomination with nation magazine journalist john nichols after headlines. meanwhile, controversy continues over melania trump's speech on monday, in which she plagiarized multiple sections of michelle obama's speech at the dnc in 2008. barack and i were raised with so many of thte same values,s, like you workk hd

for what you want in life. mrs. trump: the values that you work hard for what you want in life. mrs. obama: that your word is your bot, thatat youou do whwhau say you are goining to do. is. trump: that your word your bond and you do what youu say and kekeep your r promise. all childrene wantt inin this nationon to know thate only limit to theheeights off your achievement is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them. mrs. trump: because we want our children in this nation to know that the only limits to your achievement is the strengths of your dreams and your willingness to work for them. amy: that is melania trump in her speech monday night at the rnc, and michelle obama in her spspeech at the dnc in 2008. the trump cacampaign has repeatededly denied the accusations of plagiarism. >> look, these are values, republican values, died the way, of hard work, family values,

dedication, respect. this cononcept that michelle oba invention the english language is absurd. amy: that was trump spokeswoman katrina pierson. rnc chief strategist sean spicer, meanwhile, said melania's speech used common phrases and compared lines from her speech to dialogue in the imated tv v series "my little pony." >> melania trump said the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them -- twilight sparkle from my little pony said, this is your dream, anything in your dreams, you can dodo now. amamy: that was rnrnc chief strategist sean spicer speaking on cnn. but journalists and experienced speech writers widely agree melania trump did plagiarize parts of the speech. according to the "new york times," months before the rnc, the trump campaign hired two speechwriters, matthew scully and john mcconnell, to draft melania trump's speech. but melania trump disregarded this draft and instead asked for help from former ballet dancer meredith mciver.

she had helped trump with his book "think like a billionaire." at a protest outside the rnc, activist julia johnson criticized melania trump for plagiarizing michelle obama. >> she stole from a black woman. it is ridiculous how much this country is based off of the exploitations of labor of people of color, oppressed people, of poor people. i am sure she thought nobody would care. amy: proteststs continue in cleveland outside the rnc. on tuesday, twtwo activists scsd a 60-foot flagpole near the rock and roll hall of fame and unveiled a massive flag calling on republicans not to "trump" local communities. the flag also read "ban fracking, , stop climate injustice,e, and tear down the wall." in another protest tuesday, the antiwar group code pink delivered 500 tennis balls to the front steps of the rnc, are

testing the fact you can bring semiautomatic rifles but not tennis balls around the event area. more on that protest later in the broadcast. roger ailes' lawyers have confirmed he's in negotiations to step down as fox news chair after more than a half-dozen women have accused ailes of sexual harassment. former fox gretchen carlson has sued ailes. now, fox's megyn kelly has also accused him of harassment. many are celebrating ailes' anticipated departure, though as feministing founder jessica valenti notes, "removing one lascivious man can't turn around the mess of misogyny that is fox news." carlson's suit also alleges fox news has an overall misogynistic culture. cnn is reporting that a former marine who killed three baton rouge police officers suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and had been prescribed multiple medications. gavin long was honorably discharged in 2010 and had served in iraq. cnn reports long had filled a

prescription for ativan, an anti-anxiety drug, as recently as june. he also had prescriptions for valium and lunesta. in news from britain, recently appointed foreign secretary boris johnson is refusing to apologize for insults he's leveled at various world leaders. johnson has called hillary clinton a "sadistic nurse in a mental hospital" and said after the obama white house moved a bust of winston churchill that it was a "symbol of the part-kenyan president's ancestral dislike of the bririth empire." johnson also wrote a poem about turkish president erdodogan havg sex with a goat. this is boris johnson, speaking at a joint press conference tuesday with secretary of state john kererry. >> i am afraid that there is such a rich the source now i think i have said one way or another, to what alchemy i do not know, somehow misconstrued, that it would take me too long

to engage and a full-blblown apapology to all concerned.. amy: the turkish government has filed a formal request demanding the u.s. extradite turkish cleric fethullah gulen, whom president recep tayyip erdogan accuses of masterminding friday's failed military coup. gulen denies t this. he lives in the poconos in pennsylvania. this comes as turkey continues to purge and arrest thousands of accused coup supporters, ordering more than 1,500 university deans to resign and revoking the licenses of 21,000 teachers. and former yale university dishwasher corey menafee has won back a job at yale after he was fired for smashing a stained-glass window depicting enslaved africans carrying bales of cotton. this is corey menafee speaking on democracy now! male and ated a female, both appear to be african-american, standing in a

crops, it would appear to be caught in, with baskets over their heads, and a believe one of the figures was actually smiling, which is so condescending. looking back on slavery, like, it was not a hapappy time for african-americans. amy: described what you did as you looked up at the stained glass that you had seen for a while. took a, i basically broom handle and destroyed the image. amy: corey menafee was working at the time at yale's residential dorm calhoun college, named after former vice president john c. calhoun, one of the most prominent pro-slavery figures in american history. for years, students have demanded yale change the building's name. on tuesday, menafee told democracy now!, "i am delighted to return toto work." and those are some of the headlines. ,his is democracy now!

democracynow.org, "breaking with convention: war, peace, and the presidency. we are in cleveland, ohio, covering the republican national convention inside and out, from the streets to the convention floor. yes, it's now official - donald trump has become the presidential nominee of the republican party. the announcement was made by house speaker paul ryan after a roll call vote at the convention here in cleveland. >> the chair is prepared to announce the results, the following candidates received the following votes -- 1725 trump. [cheers and applause] cruz. 120 kasich. 11414 rubio. 7 carson. 3 bush.

2 paul. accordingly, the chair announces that donald j. trump, having received the majority of these votes, entitled to be cast at the convention, has been selected as the republican party nominee for president of thehe united states. [cheheers and applause] amy: donald trump is expected to officially accept the nomination on thursday night, but he briefly spoke to delegates via satellite from trump tower. mr. trump: we are going to bring back our jobs. we are going to rebuild our pleaded military and take care veterans.at we're going to have strong borders. we're goingng to get t rid of i, and we're going to restore law and order that we have to restore, and quickly.

law and order. amy: in one of the most animated moments on tuesday, delegates repeatedly broke into chants of "lock her up" during a speech by new jersey governor chris he staged a mock trial of hillary clinton. >> libya today, after hillary clinton's grand strategy, their economy is in ruins. there is death and violence on the streets, and isis is now dominating that country. i ask you this, hillary clinton has a failure for ruining libya and has created a nest for isis, answer me now, is she guilty or not guilty? -- lock heranting up] amy: the audience was chanting up," and up, lock her

"guilty." many putting their hands up across as if she should be handcuffed. another speaker tuesday night, former presidential candidate dr. ben carson, went as far as connecting hillary clinton to lucifer. >> this is a nation where our pledge of allegiance says we are one nation under god. this is a nation -- this is a nation where every coin in our pocket and every bill in our wallet says "in god we trust." so are we willing to elect someone as president who has as their role model somebody who acknowledges lucifer? amy: even though tuesday night marked the official nomination of donald trump, much of the focus was not actually on trump. during his keynote address house , house speaker paul ryan mentioned trump's name just twice. wisconsin senator ron johnson mentioned trump's name only

once. johnson is in a tight race against former senator russ feingold. earlier in the day, politico ran a stunning article about fears within the republican establishment about the future of the party. they revealed former president george w. bush recently told aides, "i worried that i will be am the last republican president." and the convention as one of the most powerful figures in the conservative movement, roger and, may soon be forced out as chairman and ceo of fox news following a sexual harassment lawsuit. joining us now here in cleveland is john nichols, political writer for the nation. his most recent piece is headlined, "trump is officially the gop nominee-but republicans aren't exactly celebrating." john nichols is also co-author of the new book, "people get ready: the fight against a jobless economy and a citizenless democracy." welcome back to democracy now! you are on the floor. i sell you -- i saw you over there at the quicken loans

arena. thousands of trump up supporters and simply republican delegates -- not always the same -- were there. talk about your impression of last night. a historic moment, however you feel. >> you and i have both been to a lot of conventions. i would not necessarily say that this was completely atypical, but it was very different and some fundamental way spirit when the roll call was going on, there was incredible tension on the floor. i was out in the alley with the utah and alaska delegates, and they went to the microphone and that classic sense and give their vote for ted cruz. and then paul ryan, standing up on the stage, announced they had voted for donald trump. this created this bizarre setting, but finally, alaska objected, and then the band played "shake your booty."

republicans danced. suddenly, reince priebus, the chairman of the republican national committee, comes to the stage and says, well, those of the rules, your votes are for trump, and have a nice day. it was a bizarre sort of ritualized nomination without the sort of joy and festivity and positiveness of it. when trump was finally announced as the nominee, it was about a minute or so, and then they went straight into the anti-hillary speeches. the bottom line is this, it is quite clear now that this party is not really united around donald trump. they are united in their absolute disdain for hillary clinton. thatlso, i would suggest something that has not been reported enough and a lot of media, they are uniting around a very big division of the united states, a platform that was

approved outlining concepts for having states order school district to develop bible study programs, the people for the americananay, the riright wing watch, said that after the 2012 convention, they said, you know, this is about as extreme as you could possibly get. this platform is traumatically more extreme on social issues van the republican party has ever been. so that is really what you have here. you have the trump overly much covered by the media, but beneath it, a lot of dissension and a lot of actual anger, as well as this very seo track -- theocratic party line. all up is this anti-clinton think it you can like hillary clinton or dislike hillary clinton, but the senator of arizona summed it up well. you could run a campaign against clinton on the issues. that is not what this is. this is just rural desk visceral

disdain. inbound was not, chris christie, new jersey governor, really, his speech was a prosecution, a mock trial of hillary clinton. >> it was a speech he would have liked to have given as a vice presidential nominee, but he was passed over for mike pence who will get a much milder speech. but chris christie is clearly all-in. it is his desire to be donald dog.'s number one attack inbound tonight, mike pence will address and be nominated formally as the vice president on running mate. i want to turn back to saturday and this unusual announcement when donald trump announced that mike pence would be his running mate. and these were among the first words that mike pence said. people e that know me well know i am a pretty basic

guy, christiti, conservavative, and a republican -- in that order. while i am currentlyly - -- i currentltly have the privivilegf servinthe statee thai love, i am really just a small town boy who grew up in southern indiana with a big emily in a cornfield. iy: so that is mike pence -- am a christian, conservative, a republican, in that order. >> and that is why he is the nominee. donald trump had a real challenge. it has not been covered well because most media does not cover this complex interplay between the religigious right in the republican party. amy: certainly, people do not think of donald trump as a man of god. you can discuss two corinthians with him or whatever. but the bottom line is he needed this. you know he needed pence. what pence brings to him is

absolute allegiance with the religious right. he also brings something else that is perhaps worthy of as much disdain, and that is a long-term relationship with the structural supporters of the modern conservative movement in this country. he has worked for groups that have been funded by some of the richest people in the country, associated with the koch brothers for many years. he speaks their language. he is a down the line social, economic, and foreign policy conservative. he fits the mood of this new conservative establishment. chris christie could throw the messages that go beyond the convention. pence was picked for this convention and for the inside of the modern republican party, which is not a party that particularly likes donald trump. is: let's go to what

happening in parallel. i want to describe the quicken loans arena. it is a times square-like atmosphere, very bright lights everywhere. you have the news organizations that have their spy boxes that can record it. among those, of course, is fox news. i wanted to turn to what is unfolding right now with fox news. lawyers roger confirming he is in negotiations to step down as fox news chair. you have former fox anchor gretchen carlson who has sued him, and now fox anchor megyn kelly has also accused him of harassment. many are celebrating his anticipated departure, but some say it is not just about roger ailes. carlson, who sued, said that the newsroom itself was rife with sexual harassment.

what about the fall of roger ailes is significant within the republican party and andervative party politics what fox news has done? >> there is a very good argument that we probably should not be discussing the republican national convention as much as we are discussing this transition. if we expect that media is now such a dominant force in our politics, the change of command at fox,, an operation conceptualized by roger ailes, is an incredibly big deal toto r people need to know who he is. roger ailes is a tv guy from the 1960's, and richard nixon came ailes and nixon were talking about stuff, and nixon said that you're the kind of guy i think i can work with. ailes left media to go into

politics he was a critical figure in defining the modern ways that we do politics. when people say they hate politics, how cruel it is, how negative it is, that is roger ailes' construct. hehe literally developed t that. and your show will reflect back and remember 1980 eight, a transitional presidential campaign and his country. in that race, roger ailes had the revolving door ad, which showed people convicted of crimes going in and out of a sentence,shing their and coming back, suggesting that michael dukakis, the democratic wasnee, was so soft that he putting criminals on the street. amy: let's go to that ad from 1988. yes, it is arguing that michael the caucus was soft on crime. it shows actors for trying

prisononers are casually walking in and o out of a ison.. govovernor michchael dukass veto mandadatory senentenc for criminals, vetetoed the death ad ot, -- the death penalty. while out, many committed other crimes like kidnapping and rape, and many are still at large. michael dukakis says he wants to do for america what he has done for massachusetts. america cannot afford that risk. amy: that ad produced by political consultant roger ailes, who went on to oversee the creation of fox news. this was the official ad. and the willie horton ad -- >> coming in from a side group. but the clear, nation of messages -- think about where donald trump came from. people say donald trump is building on things that happen

at the republican party. a lot of what happened in the republican party was started by roger ailes. fear-based, suggesting in that ad -- >> he was a consultant to george h.w. bush and to nixon. went intois guy politics and then back into foxa with rupert murdoch at and created what can best be understood as partisan media. people take of fox as a conservative, but fox often mediates from the conservative line. where it gets its real traction is in defining the modern republican party. look at the 20 16th campaign and the interplay of donald trump and fox. sometimes he is in a fight with them, sometimes he is getting along with them. there were negotiations on how fox would cover donald trump.

you have this amazing thing, donald trump r running a a campn that fits into a modern republican party, in many ways defined by robert ailes, negotiatating how he is seen by the network. this guy is now about to depart. i will tell you that it will be impossible to re-create. he is an entity unto himself. but the reality is that he has set in place a way of doing politics and a way of doing media that is so definitional on the right in america and, frankly, well the audit that we have to look at what is developing t there as a a very historic moment. but i would suggest, unfortunately the monopoly moment that will necessarily change our politics. i think roger ailes' imprint is bekeaked in. it is real and our politics and media. amy: you are an activist and author. on thisteresting now

data donald trump is nominated to be the republican party presidential candidate, and we're talking about and that that, whilenetwork they do not particularly support donald trump, they may as well have helped to create him, and we are talking about the future of the republican party, as well as this billion dollar network. >> yeah, this is huge stuff. be careful about trying to divide the stream of media from the stream of politics. the interplay has become so intense. a good example, just a week ago, newt gingrich was being considered as a potential republican vice presidential nominee. he had to drop out of his fox contract to come over and be a potential candidate for a week or so. it was at fox -- amy: john kasich was a fox prince -- personality when he was in between jobs.

then he becomes governor of ohio. he is not attending the convention, which has infuriated donald trump. of course, many people are not attending the convention, republican leaders, from jeff flake in arizona to -- >> ready much the entire bush family. the former nominees for president of the united states, including mitt romney. they are sending powerful signals that they do not like where this partyty is headed, whwhere this candidate is heade. amy: and george w. bush saying, "i fear i i could be the last republican." >> we are in a pretty epic moment in regards to the republican party. amy: ron johnson spoke, but it is very complicated. he is in a tight race with the man he beat, russ feingold, who is now challenging him, mentioned donald trump wants. >> paul ryan, the same way.

even mitch mcconnell. they really were saying how have ately they want to republican majority. that phrase came again and again . they know trump could bring harm to the senate. so they came grudgingly. with ron johnson, there was real debate whether he was even going to come. the fact is, this will not like particularly well for his real action campaign. we are seeing something very much like 1954, where republican candidates, man to man, woman to woman, had to figure out how they would relate to the top of the ticket. with a support it? with a campaign with the candidate? all these complex arrangements. that is challenging. on the humanpiece rights campaign, it has called the rnc platform the most overtly anti-lgbtq platform in history. >> i wrote a lot about the

platform. very bluntly, this is a theater -- a theocratic platform in many sections. platform handed the and process over to the people who wanted it for a long time. they got control of it and wrote a platform that is simply rule in so much of its language that -- that is simply cruel. this platform is so narrowly defined that in many ways it goes against eveven court republican values, let alone broader values. amy: did they plagiarize from any other party? [laughs] no. been whenman who has workrking 50 years to create the party, and she has seen the creation of the party that she wanted, a far right economic party, but also a far, far right social conservative party. inbound john nichols, thank you for being with us, political writer for the nation and

co-author with robert mcchesney of the new book, "people get ready: the fight against a jobless economy and a citizenless democracy." ,his is democracy now! "breaking with convention: war, peace, and the presidency." we are at the rnc all week, and then we will cover the democratic national convention from philadelphia. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "we are the champions" by queen. queen is criticizing donald trump for using the song for his interest -- entrance to the republican national convention stage on monday night, making a dramatic entrance. queen tweeted -- "an

unauthorized used at the republican convention against our wishes." or, freddieing mercury, died of aids. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org -- this is "breaking with convention: war, peace, and the presidency." i'm amy goodman. the first time ever, the chief of the nra spoke at he became the group as a first official to ever speak at the convention. he warned that hillary clinton's presidency would endanger the right to own a gun. >> eight years ago, the supreme court ruled that we have a fundamental individual right to protect ourselves and our families with a firearm and our own homes. they should have ruled it non-two nothing am a but the second amendment survived by just one vote. after justice scalia's death, that vote is gone. in case you're wondering will hill -- where hillary clinton stands, "the supreme court is

wrong on the second amendment." think about that. all the supreme court said was that you have the right to protect your life in your own home, but hillary says they are wrong. it is that simple. a hihillary clinton supremee cot means you're right to own a firearm is gone. in our a lobbyist chris cox spoke inside the convention, addressed the convention tuesday , but anti-gun activists held her own protest just outside the security gates to they were protesting the fact civilians were being allowed to carry military grade weapons and downtown cleveland this week but cannot have items like tennis balls or umbrellas. that is because ohio is an open carry state. group code pink delivered 500 tennis balls to the convention, highlighting the

hypocrisy of republican support for gun laws to permit firearms to be carried nearly anywhere in ohio, while the rnc bans an item as innocuous as tennis balls from their convention. democracy now! was on the scene of the protest. ban open carry, not tennis balls] >> we are saying that it is ridiculous that the rnc has banned tennis balls, but they let open carry continue to happen and these streets. if they are concerned about safety, they should be taking the guns off the streets. strongly disagree with the republican idea that our second amendment rights are more important than the freedom and security of our communities and the streets. balls shouldennis be allowed. >> put them away.

i have asked you nicely. i have given you the opportunity. >> it is silly. how can you be allowed to carry around an assault weapon and not a tennis ball? >> it is prevented. >> but it does not make sense. >> i have given you the opportunity. >> you should be more rational about this. >> you are going to take the walls away? are you going to take away the weapons? what about assault weapons? we are being told that balls will be seized, and we are being threatened with arrest. is a cooperative. we are all in charge. .> this is not a joke [inaudible] >> back up, please. you need to back up some of please. amy: we're in front of the convention arena of the rnc. a group of women from codepink

are holding tennis balls, tossing them around with each other. they say "ban guns, not balls." they have been told by police -- you can see right here that they are picking up the balls. tennis balls are on a ban list, but automatic weapons are not. >> they said this is not a game. the tennis balls could get thrown at them, and it could be very dangerous. inbound the nra will be addressing the convention tonight. your thoughts? >> we think the ni has, unfortunately, been setting the agenda for this entire nation, especially the republican party to over you cannot even get a vote in the congressional houses on issues from banning assault weapons to even the no-fly issue. i think it is unfortunate that the nra has so much power in this country, and that is why we see guns on our streets and people being shot every single

day, every single hour. we here to show the absurdity of it. it ise officer is s right, not funny. it is really dangerous. it i is the guns thahat are dadangerous. it is the nra that is dangerous. it is the nra that is killing our kids, and we have to stop them. inbound the hundreds of tennis balls that the women brought to wereepublican convention confiscated by the cleveland police, and there were many layers of security. first, the police, then riot police moved in, and then the indiana state troopers moved in, and then police on horseback moved in, as well. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org -- this is "breaking with convention: war, peace, and the presidency." i'm amy goodman. when we come back, we will be talking about the rnc and immigration policy. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

by the flying lizards. we are "breaking with convention: war, peace, and the presidency." we are in cleveland, ohio, republican the national convention inside and out, from the streets to the convention floor. the republican party has officially adopted donald trump's proposal to build a wall along the u.s.-mexico border in its official party platform. the new platform states, "the border wall must cover the entirety of the southern border and must be sufficient to stop vehicular and pedestrian traffic." immigration has been a common theme throughout the first two nights of the republican national convention. on monday, speakers included two mothers whose sons were killed by undocumented immigrants. and the moment, we will hear sabine durden, but mary ann first, mendoza. >> my son's life was stolen at

the hands of an illegal alien. it is time we have an administration that cares more about a bear -- about americans than about illegals. is puttinghillary all of our children's lives at risk. it is time for r donald trump. thank you. >> sadly, i have a similar story to share with you. my best friend, my rock, my son dominic, my only child was also killed by an illegal immigrant. i call them illegal aliens. i have been talking about illegal immigration since 2012 them a sense he got killed, and no one listened until donald trump.

donald trump is not only my hero, he is my lifesaver. clinton, or as we know ooked hillary, always talks about what she will do for illegal aliens and what she will do for refugees. donald trump talks about what he will do for america. amy: that is so be -- sabine durden speaking at the republican national convention. we turn now to look at a report by the american immigration council that won't likely be cited by any speakers at this year's republican national convention. the report found immigrants s ae lessss likely than the nativiven to engage inin criminal behavior and that higher immigration is associated with lower crime rates. joining us now is one of the co-authors of the report, walter ewing, a senior researcher at the american immigration council. his most recent piece is

headlined "republican party platform shows little understanding of immigration policy." respond d to what we just heard, walter. talk about what the figures really are in this country. well, at the republican convention, they are exploiting personal tragedy for political gain. for decades, study after study have established that higher immigration is associated with lower crime rate. an example, from 1990 to 2013, the share of the u.s. population moved from 7.1% to 13.1%. at the same time, the undocumented population more than tripled. what happened to crime rates? they went down. fbi data indicates that violent crime dropped by 40% and rates of property crime fell by 41%. what theycounter to

say at the republican national convention. can you talk about what the republican platform is in regard to immigration? >> basically, it is a platform of scapegoating immigrants with many of the nation's social and economic problems. for instance, the wall is a powerful symbol, but it will not work. despite having hundreds of miles of fencing along the border right now, we find that undocumented immigration has not stopped. smuggling organizations have grown stronger. and as long as there is a demand that is not being met by formal arenels of immigration, you seeing the criminal organizations. that is not in any's benefit. it is also noteworthy that you can build a wall as high as you

want, but some and can always build a higher ladder. it has happened already. it will not deal with the problem. is thet of the problem emigration system that is irrational and o out of since wh reality. also joined by marissa frankel, director of mijente, which has helped organize the wall off trump program here at the republican nationalal peace. read the republican national convention. she recently wrote a piece "the , deportation machine obama built for president trump." >> donald trump has campaigned pledging to build this wall. iraq veterans against the war and many other organizations decided to build

the wall here for him. instead of dividing our communities, we wanted to build a wall that protects our imimmunities from hatred, racism and e e xenoobiaia othis campaign hasas fol from cleveland and om a acrs the e untry that have come h help ild d th wall here at it pele-powered. pepeoplere d defding p pd the city today, and it is met to really s sen a clear message. amy: will you be going to the democricic conntioion,s well? >> yes, will beoing tthe decratic cvention. rightow, we wt to higight ththreat of dold trumpnd the polies he is reading, but are also ear th this not anndorseme of senar clinn. a:ith thiseadlin ithe naon, the deportion machi

obambuilt fopresidtrump -- you a indicti both partie >> absutely. as much as donald tru is talking d theepublicaparty is proming parculalar liciciesin fac democra have impmentedhem. e fact is at presintbama has depoed more peoe than any otr presidentn this countr the estion i are you gng to lve that portatio mainine r donaldrump to pi up a hillarylinton, she comes esident,ill she hat recordf dertation? amy: wanted toet both yo commentsere at o of the peop on the flr of the convenon las night 's deena guzder thed joe arpaio about immigration policy. >> illegal immigration policy. i supported him the day he decided to run.

i think he is a great guy. new york is very proud of him. he carried new york, and the country is proud of him, the republblicans, and he will makea great president. >> what about his immigration policy do you support? >> well, i support the majority of his policies. we have to do something about the border. most of the illegals or drug traffic come from mexico. i am concerned about the drug traffic. when he says put up the wall, i would like the wall to get the drugs out of our country. that is the most important thing going on, not the illegal immigration. that is important, but what about all the drugs coming in? it is a violation of the law to come into this country illegally. you must secure your borders speared we have terrorism now. we have cops being killed. i'm not blaming the hispanics for that, because i have had a

white guy shoot my wds. wds.- shoot my but it is important to do that. the country is frustrated. if it was not for him, nobody would be talking about illegal immigration. nobody wanted to talk about it. since he brought it up, talked about the wall, all the politicians are talking abouout it. >> he has also called for a temporary ban on all muslim immigration. do you think that is a good idea? >> i do not think he did that. i think he said you have to keep those who are a threat to our country out, which means more intelligence and keeping them out. yeah. but i do not think he said everybody. ,> do you support mike pence given his position on immigration? i think at one point, he wanted to cut back amnesty. >> you know what, i am going to tell you something. donald trump will be a a very active president.

so i am not concerned about other people. but i know he will listen to him . he will listen to the people. but still, he will make the final decision. that -- arpaio.t is sheriff joe this is a man you know well, coming from phoenix, aririzona. do.nfortunately, i chef arpaio is one of the most terrible violators of civil rights in our time. he might be auditioning for a reality show,'s overly he will retire soon or get voted out. we did a protest locally in phoenix when donald trump came and shut down the highways leading up to the trump rally, but sheriff arpaio represents the same politic that donald trump does, sending our country

backwards, sending us to the back of the bus, back into the closet, and back into the shadows. they are peas in a p pod, sherif arpaio and donald trump. you need a whole slew of credentials to get inside the convention. so so many people come to these conventions but do not have credentials, so they are doing things outside, uninvited guests. we want to talk to them, as well, like you. you were not inside the convention monday night when the parents spoke of those who died at the hands of undocumented immigrants. there is a report that talks about really who commits murder in this country. of them, and one was killed by anti-imimmigrant

vigilalantes. she was shot. amy: where was she? >> arizona. and then there is a very well-known c case, and the man s by bordercold blood patrol. amy: that was actually videotaped,, videos by many people. >> that is right. south asian of people, muslim people, african people, caribbean people am immigrants in this country who have been assaulted, killed, exploited. we could sit here and counter those statistics. the fact is that those are old right-wing talking points. to counter t them with the argument that immigrants commit less cririme is actually not --t has not gotten us anywhere. the fact is that there are people in this country who feel that, because it is immigrants who do not look like them,

regardless of they are bad or good, do not have a right to be able to pursue a better life, do not have a right to be able to live, work, and love where or how they choose. so i think that the immigrant rights movement has contorted itself to be able to try to fit these paradigms ofof good versus badd immigrant, and it has not gotten u us anywhere. want to turn to a person on the streets monday. hundreds protested outside the rnc. attendees included the members of the minnesota action rights committee. >> minnesota immigrant rights foron committee, we work the rights of immigrants in this country. the reason i am here is to stop speecheful and divisive of donald trump. mexico, rightrom

on the border with mcallen, texas. my mother decided to come across the border and to bring the family here. so i have lived in this country undocumented, and i actually cannot go to college because i do not have the proper documentation. not in those years, we do have the movement of being undocumented and not afraid. that is what makes me more engaged in fighting. toit is not the people want migrate to this country out of the blue. people have been displaced because of the free trade agreement. many people have been displaced from their homes. i think we have to inform ourselves a little bit better and understand the reality of migration to this nation. you respond asan we wrap up? ,> the radical latina people

donald trump has targeted part of our community, it is not only important for us to be here because of what he has done to our community and what he has threatened, but what he threatens across all of the country, not just the border wall he proposes. he is threatening to divide us, and this goes e.on and immigratioion issue, beyond late x people, so we hope that this action emboldens and sparks imagination. amy: and we will certain be there covering it. ofisa franco, director mijente, organizer of the wall off trump protest today. she had a piece "the deportation , machine obama built for president trump." i will be doing a report back from the convention on friday, july 29, and on saturday, july 30, on martha's vineyard.

is produced by -- i am amy goodman.

♪ [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from the republican nanational convention in cleveland, ohio, this is democracy now! mr. trump: together, we have received historic results with the largest