OAK CREEK, Wis. — The morning after going face-to-face with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on the floor of the Republican National Convention, a leading Illinois Republican on Wednesday called the far-right GOP congressman “a loser.”
Illinois National Republican Committeeman Richard Porter’s Tuesday night interaction with Gaetz made the rounds in a social media video that showed him berate the scandal-plagued Gaetz for trying to embarrass former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a television interview.
“Shut up, Gaetz. you don’t have to be an a------,” Porter said on the floor.
Gaetz, a frequent punchline on late-night TV talk shows, responded: “I don’t know who you are.”
“It doesn’t f------ matter who I am,” Porter responded, his face inches from Gaetz’s. “Don’t be an a------.”

At the Illinois RNC delegation’s Wednesday breakfast, Porter said Gaetz’s display “was just for show. It was obnoxious, it was not consistent with what we’re here for.”
Gaetz “has flashes of brilliance, but he has no discipline,” Porter said during the morning at the delegation’s suburban Milwaukee hotel. “I’m sure the people in his district can do better than he is.”
On the other hand, “he’s still better than AOC,” Porter continued, referencing hyper-progressive U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., a frequent target of Republican ire. “But it’s not the right kind of representation for our party.”
Porter said he went back up to Gaetz about 40 minutes later to ask, “‘You good?’ He looked at me… He didn’t say anything.”
As for his viral moment, Porter said, “Everything else I stand by. Just the F-word. I should have left that out.”
EXCLUSIVE: Congressman Matt Gaetz interrupts Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s interview on the floor of the RNC. Gaetz had to be physically held back by security and said “You’d get boo’ed off the stage if you were to speak” pic.twitter.com/unuY7kMib5
— Armstrong Williams 🇺🇸 (@Arightside) July 16, 2024
—Mitchell Armentrout
Trump campaign won’t commit to VP debate, name-drop Pritzker
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign on Wednesday name-dropped Gov. J.B. Pritzker in a statement saying they wouldn’t commit to a vice presidential debate because “we don’t know who the Democrat nominee for Vice President is going to be.”
The dig came after CBS offered and Harris accepted a debate on either July 23 or Aug. 13. Harris and Trump’s VP pick JD Vance spoke on the phone on Tuesday.
“...We can’t lock in a date before the convention,” Trump adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement. “To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate.”
Democrats are pushing for a virtual roll call ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19. The Democratic National Committee plans to meet on Friday to discuss rules — and timing — of the roll call. The earlier nomination would come as the Biden campaign tries to stave off calls for President Joe Biden to drop out.
Newsom and Whitmer have ruled out being the presidential nominee should Biden drop out. Pritzker wouldn’t definitively rule out a presidential run, when asked earlier this month. But Whitmer last week said “never say never” when asked whether she’d serve as vice president should Harris be the pick.
Reached for comment, Pritzker spokeswoman Christina Amestoy called the statement “a weird way to say ‘I’m scared of Kamala Harris.’”
—Tina Sfondeles
GOP will ‘bring balance back to Illinois,’ lawmaker vows
OAK CREEK, Wis. — Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, on Wednesday said that Donald Trump might make it “challenging” for the state’s beleaguered Republican Party to energize voters in November, but that she doesn’t think the polarizing former president will drag down the GOP ticket.
“The top of the ticket is — for Democrats and Republicans — it’s challenging this year all around the nation,” McCombie told reporters in Milwaukee after addressing the Illinois delegation to the Republican National Convention.
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That was in response to a question about whether Trump will drag down the ticket in former Republican strongholds of suburban Chicago where Trump remains unpopular. She concluded, “No, I don’t think so.”
The Republican leader told Illinois delegates she’ll work to flip up to five seats in the Illinois House, where Democrats currently hold 78 seats to the Republicans’ 40.
“We are going to make some change in Illinois this year. We’re going to bring balance back to Illinois,” McCombie said. “We’re going to flip some seats in the House and we are going to bring things back to Illinois.”
McCombie later singled out five Illinois House districts: the northwest suburban 45th District, 76th District, which includes Ottawa, in north-central Illinois; and three others farther downstate.
McCombie has typically steered clear of criticizing — or lauding — Trump. Last year at the Illinois State Fair’s Republican Day in Springfield, she deflected questions about the former president’s criminal indictments.
“I’m always so curious as to why is it always about Donald Trump?” McCombie asked. “Here we are in Illinois. Let’s talk about Illinois.”
In her address to Illinois delegates on Wednesday, she mentioned Trump once — and implored Republicans to unite and “take the energy from this week” to the polls.
Combie said the GOP can’t overcome “the worst partisan gerrymandered map in the nation” drawn by Democrats “unless we as Republicans who have never voted before, unite, get out and vote, and this year, with President Trump, smash the vote.”
McCombie acknowledged the financial headwinds raking the state party as conservative mega-donors like Ken Griffin and former GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner have left the state.
“Selling hope in Illinois is extremely hard,” she said. “After we win some elections, some of those donors will come back.”
—Tina Sfondeles, Mitchell Armentrout
Make America grate again?
That Illinois delegates’ breakfast on Wednesday got off to a cheesy start.
Besides the usual lineup of party officials, the morning gathering at a hotel near the Milwaukee airport featured a side dish with curd appeal — a likeness of Donald Trump, carved from a a giant block of cheddar.
It showed the former president silhouette in front of the outline of state of Illinois — some of Illinois, at least. Trump covered a lot of the southern half of the state, just as he does on the electoral map.
—Mitchell Armentrout

Security is focus of third convention day
The third day of the Republican National Convention kicks off Wednesday with Republicans — led by the newly nominated Donald Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio — turning to issues of national security and foreign policy.
Republicans are expected to focus on Democratic President Joe Biden’s handling of the ongoing crises in Europe and the Middle East. Former Trump administration officials are also expected to take the stage to outline what foreign policy would look like if he returns to the White House for a second term.
Vance will also introduce himself to a national audience Wednesday evening when he delivers his first speech as the Republican vice-presidential nominee.
—Lynn Sweet
Fresh from prison, Navarro expected to speak at RNC, AP source says
Former White House official Peter Navarro was released Wednesday from prison and was expected to speak just hours later at the Republican National Convention, according to a person familiar with the schedule who spoke on condition of anonymity before its official release.
Navarro was released from custody after completing his four-month sentence for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.
—Lynn Sweet
House Dems’ campaign committee fundraising sets record
The House Democrats’ campaign committee says it raised a record $44 million this past quarter.
Despite the turmoil roiling the party over Biden’s reelection, strategists have said donors are stepping up to give to congressional Democrats as a firewall against a potential second Trump White House.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Wednesday the total includes $19.7 million raised in June. Biden’s halting debate against Trump was at the end of that month.
Democrats also are trying to offer political counterprogramming to the RNC, announcing $15 million to fund campaign operations in seven key swing states — even as some in the party have urged President Joe Biden to bow out of November’s election.
And the Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday that it is investing $15 million in state parties, meant to help them open more field offices and bolster staffing. The funding will let them add to the 217 existing coordinated campaign offices working jointly for Biden’s reelection bid and state parties that already employ 1,100-plus staffers in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the DNC said.
—Lynn Sweet
Armed security boats patrol Milwaukee River during GOP convention
MILWAUKEE — Instead of kayakers and tour boats, the summertime scene on the Milwaukee River has taken on a solemn tone this week during the Republican National Convention: Around-the-clock patrol boats, some with heavily armed officers.
Security planners have had to contend with the winding waterways through Milwaukee near the Fiserv Center, site of the convention, along with securing downtown streets. Roughly half a dozen police departments, along with state and federal agencies, have boats patrolling the river 24-hours-a-day until the convention ends this week.
“They’re committed to working those long shifts, throughout the days and nights,” U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Joe Neff said. “They’ve been all on board for making sure public safety is priority.”
Associated Press journalists were allowed on board a 29-foot U.S. Coast Guard boat Wednesday to observe. The boat, typically used for search-and-rescue operations, traveled near the secure zone of the convention site via Lake Michigan and the river that empties into it.
A large section of the river has been shut down to commercial and recreational traffic this week, with very few exceptions, like residents who live on the river. Within an hour, the Coast Guard boat had passed vessels from Milwaukee police, state conservation wardens and a heavily armed specialty Coast Guard tactical force in camouflage gear.
The patrols are part of a massive security plan that Milwaukee police, the U.S. Secret Service and others have been detailing for more than a year. Security around former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has been especially tight in the wake of last weekend’s apparent assassination attempt.
So far, no major incidents have been reported on the water during the convention, according to the Coast Guard.
As the Coast Guard vessel traveled near the downtown security zone, the crew spotted something mysterious floating in the water. They turned the boat around and fished it out, discovering the object was only a red and gray nylon tarp that had been rolled up and posed no threat.
— Associated Press