Mock Convention Speaker Summaries

Thirteen voices from across the Republican Party spoke over the weekend at Washington and Lee University

Session 1: February 9 (afternoon)

Kristen Anderson:

Kristen Anderson, Republican pollster and television personality, was the first speaker at the 2024 Mock Convention. She was interviewed by Foster Harris ‘24, and their conversation was geared towards generational information that she has gleaned from being a pollster.

According to Anderson, millennials remain center left even as they grow older, and they are relatively disillusioned with contemporary politics. Gen Z is also heavily progressive, but a large portion of these voters disapprove of President Joe Biden. Moreover, young voters are the most likely of all demographic groups to support neither Republicans nor Democrats, Anderson said. 

On the topic of Republican leadership, Anderson predicted that Donald Trump would win the GOP nomination and select either Tim Scott or Elise Stefanik as his running mate. She said that, despite his shortcomings in this cycle, “DeSantis still has a bright future in the party.” She claimed that, although he is often portrayed by voters as awkward, he is the very opposite of awkward when he speaks with the media. 

She contrasted DeSantis’ performance against Nikki Haley in the GOP debate with his interview with Anderson Cooper after the debate. The Desantis in the post-debate interview was far better than the DeSantis in the debate, Anderson claimed, and as voters see more of this side of DeSantis, she predicts the future could hold bright things for the Florida governor. 

Anderson also commented that, in 2020, Biden’s age was a hidden advantage. An old, seasoned politician represents order and stability to the voter, and after 4 years under Trump, many people simply wanted a return to the status-quo. 

In 2024, with voters faced with a choice between two very old men (both of whom have already been President), both will be running under the campaign of a return to order. Biden will promise to continue to do what he’s been doing, and Trump will promise to return America to the state it was 4 years ago.

In closing, Anderson spoke of the importance of lessening the vitriol in our current political climate. She practiced what she preached by telling the Mock Con crowd about her golden retriever, Wally.

Candace Owens:

Candace Owens, host of the “Candace Owen’s Show” and founder of the BLEXIT Foundation, gave a speech during the first session of Mock Con focused on propaganda and the effect of narratives. During her talk, Owens mentioned many topics including modern feminism, BLM, gender ideology, education, and climate change.

She began her talk by commenting on the power of media narratives, mentioning the recent Tucker Carlson interview with Vladimir Putin, especially the negative media attitudes surrounding it. Other examples included violent pushback against her presence when coming to speak on campuses. “We had to have a full police force just to be able to speak on a college campus,” she said.

She then discussed how the media is used in social movements, such as climate activism, to drive policy change. Owens views cultural Marxism as the root of many modern social movements that attack “the family unit.”

Some students criticized her speech for being “too unfocused” or for “jumping between way too many topics,” especially towards the end of her speech. Others doubted the credibility of statistics she quoted, including her statistic about the state of public education in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

Although Owen’s earlier remarks seemed to paint a dour picture, she ended on a hopeful note by sharing how her grandfather overcame racism through the American Dream.

Session 2: February 9 (evening)

Mike Pompeo:

Mike Pompeo, the former director of the CIA and Trump-appointed Secretary of State, opened his remarks by stating that he overcame challenges through “faith, family, and hard work.” He even cracked a joke about his former boss and president.

Calculated risks were the greatest accomplishment of the Trump administration’s foreign policy, according to Pompeo. He cited summits with North Korea, the Abraham Accords, and the killing of Iranian general and terrorist-sponsor Qasem Soleimani. 

On Biden’s foreign policy, Pompeo disagreed with what he described as Secretary Blinken’s soft attitude towards the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks committed by Hamas. He also bemoaned the current administration’s failure to take decisive action in the Russo-Ukrainian war. In order to improve, Pompeo thinks that the Biden administration needs to unleash the American economy, using it as a weapon in addition to our “kinetic military.” 

On the southern border, Pompeo remarked that the situation “is pretty simple. If there were 300,000 people a month [at the border under Trump,] I would have been made former Secretary of State.” Pompeo impersonated Trump to explain how in 2019, Trump said to him, “Mike, fix this,” referring to the caravans that made their way north in that year.  

Pompeo continued by reflecting on his time under Trump. “We still had a lot to do when we left,” he said. But Pompeo was also grateful for triumphs like “the God-driven story” of getting back three hostages from North Korea. He admitted that he was “two years too late” in adopting his policy on China, and he failed to affect the culture of the State Department. 

Pompeo demonstrated Trump administration work experience with several anecdotes. 

On one occasion, Trump and Pompeo had a disagreement. Trump asked him: “How many electoral votes did you receive?”

“Zero, sir,” Pompeo responded.“Exactly,” Pompeo recalls Trump replying. Trump was “a great boss,” Pompeo said, adding that “I would defer to him, and he would let me do my job.” 

Pompeo closed by thanking the audience and providing encouragement.“We’re gonna win,” he said. “America is decent, and good, and noble.”

Mike Allen:

Co-founder of Axios Mike Allen, ‘86, reflected on his time at W&L and the events that led him to study politics and journalism. He expressed the importance of writing succinctly, referencing his book, Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less. 

Allen spoke of his involvement in the 1984 Mock Convention as Southern Regional Chairman, and lauded the accuracy of Mock Con.

He acknowledged that while there was “no drama on the nominee” for this cycle of Mock Con, the drama could be found in the circumstances of this year. 

“Almost everything about this year has never happened, has never been tried or tested in our democracy,” Allen said. 

He believed that 2024 could possibly be more eventful than 1968, the year in which John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. were both assassinated. Should the race be between Trump and Biden, the presidential candidates would be the oldest in history. And Trump could be sitting on trial, he noted.

He considered what “Team Biden” and “Team Trump” were thinking about: the state of the economy, the Israel-Palestine war, and the border.

Allen’s talk was one of two that featured an audience Q&A. When asked about Politico and Axios in the context of changing journalism, Allen explained that when he grew up, there was no choice of news networks. But technology and media outlets have changed this today, he said.

He also touched on the role of AI in the future of journalism, believing that it would replace journalists who are not “passionate and expert.”

“Democracy is fragile,” Allen concluded. “America is fragile. We can screw it up, but I believe in you, and I believe you won’t.”

Jonathan Haidt:

Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business, focused his talk on higher education, “the social media epidemic,” and how he believes Gen Z can improve their mental health and ideological tolerance.

Haidt began by discussing what he believes is “the most fundamental question in life” — whether to approach or avoid. He also called this the “discover” or “defend” mode.

Although students were typically in “discover” mode when entering college, Haidt said, “in 2014, something changed all across America” to put students in “defend” mode. The result, he continued, set students towards “anxiety, fear, and withdrawal.”

Haidt defended this claim with a series of graphs and studies which show a rise in depression and anxiety among Gen Z since 2012. “The big difference between Gen Z and Millenials is that Gen Z has three times the rate of psychological disorders, and it happened very suddenly,” Haidt said.

“Why is this happening,” he asked? As psychological disorders have increased, so has social media become more prevalent. While Haidt said the creation of the internet in the 1990s “improved mental health,” the “second wave” from 2010-2015 negatively “rewir[ed] childhood from play-based to phone-based.”

Haidt connected this increased social media use to the rise of campus-wide protests and “identitarianism” since 2014. He argued that students are “putting group identity first” and morally assessing those identities as either good or bad. Thus, everyone stays in defend mode.

For current adolescents, Haidt urged that the solution is “rolling back the phone-based childhood and bringing back the play-based childhood.” 

For teenagers and college students, Haidt offered three tips to exit defend mode: reclaim your attention by turning off most phone notifications and reducing social media use; be less moralistic and avoid simple “good vs. evil” mentalities; and seek viewpoint diversity.

Chris Miller:

Friday’s sessions concluded with former acting-Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, who worked under President Trump from Nov. 9, 2020, until Jan. 20, 2021. Before his post at the head of the Department of Defense, Miller was director of the National Counterterrorism Center and served as a Green Beret in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Miller focused on how he believes the United States should cut its military budget in half. The future of defense and war in the United States should revolve around small, inexpensive, and mass produced weapon systems, he said.

For example, an F-35 costs $180 million. But a small, effective drone capable of delivering explosions is worth just $10,000.

Miller noted that the “machine” in Washington D.C. is not interested in making the shift; if the U.S. maintains course, the country will not be in a position to deter or defeat a major great power soon, he said.

Miller maintained a humorous tone throughout his interview. After entering the stage he joked about the diminishing crowd by saying “the lone survivors are here at Mock Con. We’re going to the bitter end.”

Robert Mish, ‘25, part of Mock Convention’s political department, thought that “the interview with Miller was entertaining.”

“It seems like Miller wants our military to become more efficient and for there to be more accountability for those at the top levels of the Pentagon. It was interesting to hear an inside perspective on the upper-level military leadership,” Mish said.

Session 3: February 10 (morning)

Glenn Youngkin: 

Considered by many as an early contender for the 2028 Republican nomination for president, Glenn Youngkin possessed a stage presence unparalleled at the Convention. The 6-foot-7 Governor of Virginia delivered his speech with enthusiasm and vigor.

Youngkin first spoke on the history of Mock Convention, from raising over $1 million for the current iteration, to infamous moments such as the death of Vice President Alben Barkley on stage in 1956. He also jabbed at the Convention’s failed prediction in 2020, stating that “I’m really glad that you missed Bernie Sanders. Although I’m quite sure that we are no better off with Joe Biden.”

The Governor then turned to discussing the important issues that Americans face today, such as warmongers in the East, an open border in the south, and the suppression of free speech on college campuses.

Today’s Democratic Party, Youngkin asserts, has no plan to solve these problems, and instead seeks “to abandon the very foundations that have made America exceptional.”

He expressed his desire for the nation to return to a hegemony with a thriving economy, energy independence, and secure borders. Youngkin wants “an America with moral clarity, to lead, and preserve the blessings of liberty and freedom.”

When it is time again for the United States to choose who will be president for the next four years, it will be full of opportunities to restore our nation to greatness, he explained. Youngkin then asked the audience whether we want to be “a nation with no rivals.”

Youngkin also touched on his Virginian pride, expressing admiration for the values that other statesmen, such as Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and George Washington, fought to include in our nation’s founding: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Continuing his emphasis on the history of Virginia, Youngkin also told the story of the Bedford Boys: the 37 men from Bedford, Virginia who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. 

He also noted a combat hero from W&L, James Howard Monroe, ‘66. Monroe died in combat after throwing himself on a grenade and saving the lives of the soldiers around him, Youngkin said.

Monroe’s name is engraved on a plaque originally placed in Lee Chapel in 1967. The plaque was removed in 2021 and reinstalled on the university’s Memorial Gateway in 2022.

Governor Youngkin concluded his speech by asking the same question he presented earlier: “Are we a nation with no rivals? Unconditionally… yes.”

Donald Trump, Jr.:

Donald Trump Jr. began his speech by criticizing President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden for the crimes he alleged they have committed but have yet to be charged for. 

“The president of the United States committed a crime but he won’t be prosecuted because he’s too old and mentally unfit to stand trial,” Trump said in reference to Biden’s mishandled documents case. 

In addition, he criticized Hunter Biden for his alleged refusal to pay child support, his drug addiction, and the billion dollars Trump alleges Hunter Biden received from China, which he has not been prosecuted for. 

Trump went on to express his concern that Biden, whom he deems mentally unfit, is holding the “nuclear football” against one of the world’s leading nuclear powers: Russia. 

He believes that President Biden would not stand a chance against Putin. 

Trump also spoke about the charges against his father and his opinion that they are untrue several times throughout his speech. One specific charge he mentioned was in regard to the events of January 6, 2021. 

“It was literally the first unarmed insurrection in the history of the world,” he claimed.

He referred to capitol police as armed “tour guides” and was critical of how some people at the riot were sentenced to seventeen years in prison for — as Trump called it — “shaking a fence” on January 6 while many were “not prosecuted” during the “2020 Summer of Love.”

Trump criticized the Democratic Party’s platform several times, including their prioritization of undocumented immigrants and spreading gender ideology. He also criticized their “steam rolling” of Republican initiatives and their “unequal” treatment of Republicans. 

Trump ended his speech with a call to action: “We must be unafraid. We must step out from the shadows. We must realize that there is some consequence but it doesn’t matter because the consequences of inaction are far, far more draconian than the consequences of speaking up.”

Wesley Hunt:

U.S. Congressman Wesley Hunt (R-TX) provided an intense and energetic presence in his Saturday appearance. Hunt, a 2004 graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, repeatedly referenced his and his family’s military careers to stress public service.

Hunt’s father and sister both served in the United States Army, and his brother served in the United States Navy. Collectively, they have over 60 years of military service. Hunt served eight years on active duty.

Hunt stressed that he and his family epitomized the American Dream. He noted how he holds multiple master’s degrees from Cornell University and serves in Congress, even though his father was born in the Jim Crow South and his great-great-grandfather faced harassment from the Klu Klux Klan. 

Hunt promoted colorblind meritocracy in a meeting with students following his speech. “I don’t care what you look like. I don’t care what your race, religion, color, or creed is,” he said. Hunt listed traits he sees as key to success: grit, hard work, and determination, values he believes are tied to meritocracy rather than any specific background or identity.

Hunt discussed policy issues more in-depth in his later meeting. He railed against U.S. budget deficits as “insanity.” Hunt said that “it doesn’t make sense” to even discuss aid to Ukraine given the ballooning deficit.

Hunt argued for a foreign policy of “peace through strength,” which he felt the Trump administration embodied. According to Hunt, “peace through strength” would prevent the financial burden of new wars. He argued that, by repudiating “peace through strength,” the Biden administration opened the door to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Hunt steadfastly supported Donald Trump, both in his speech and privately afterward, calling himself a “huge fan” of the former president. Describing the Biden administration as incompetent, he urged conservatives with reservations about Trump to overcome their feelings and recognize whom, in his view, is their true ideological enemy: President Biden. 

Brian Kemp:

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp spoke during the third Mock Convention session on Saturday morning. Following Congressman Wesley Hunt (R-TX), Kemp offered a not-so-subtle rebuke to the current state of the 2024 general race as well as a vision for the Republican Party.

Addressing the young crowd, Kemp expressed a need for “fresh perspectives.” Like most speakers at the 28th Mock Convention, Kemp was critical of the Biden administration. He said that Biden has governed toward “gridlock and partisanship.”

More broadly, Kemp warned that the 2024 race should not be a “race to the bottom,” citing the advanced age of candidates as well as dynamics in both parties where leaders are “unwilling to stand up to the fringe elements of their own party.”

Kemp and Trump traded blows following the 2020 election. In Kemp’s opinion, 2024 voters are tired of hearing about 2020, a subject not yet abandoned by Trump.

As a model for effective leadership, Kemp touted the successes of Republican governors like himself and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Among other accomplishments, Kemp reiterated that Georgia was the “first state to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic” and passed the “strongest election integrity act” in the country. He trumpeted Georgia’s “anti-hate crimes legislation” and a recent “antisemitism law.”

As to the future of the Republican Party, Kemp said that “as Republicans, our commitment to voters should first and foremost be to restore the American Dream.”

Session 4: February 10 (afternoon)

Asa Hutchinson:

Former Arkansas Governor and Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson took the stage to discuss the future of the Republican Party and his advocacy for traditional conservatism, despite the dominance of Donald Trump’s populist politics.

Hutchinson was not always opposed to Trump. In 2016 and 2020, he supported Trump’s election bids and actively worked with Trump’s campaign. This changed, according to Hutchinson, because of “the extraordinary disappointment that I saw in our president who refused to acknowledge the peaceful transfer of power.”

Hutchinson is not ruling out a Trump endorsement later this year but is currently looking toward Nikky Haley as an alternative.

“In this year we’ve got to determine whether we are going to be a pro-Putin Republican Party or a pro-freedom Republican Party,” Hutchinson told students. “We’ve gotta determine whether we’re gonna be a rule of law Republican party or a party that’s attacking our system of justice constantly.”

Hutchinson also criticized policies proposed by Trump, such as a universal 10 percent tariff aimed at increasing domestic manufacturing. “We can’t isolate the United States of America,” he said.

Hutchinson called 2024 the “most unpredictable political year in my lifetime” and stated that delegates were trying to “predict the unpredictable,” differing from the general consensus that Trump is all but certain to receive the backing of the party. 

“Sometimes a fight is necessary, and I believe it’s a fight worthwhile,” he said.

Charlie Kirk:

Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk headlined his speech by stating that there are “some serious problems” facing Generation Z, and that despite many common sentiments, “everything’s not just fine.” He noted how becoming a homeowner, living the life of one’s parents, and passing down a “stable and meaningful” country to the next generation are all now harder than ever. 

On foreign policy, he said that we should question sending $250 billion to Ukraine when Gen Z is “the most suicidal alcohol-addicted generation in history [and] we have a wide open border.”

He also commented on former President Donald Trump’s foreign policy successes, stating that “even if you hate Donald Trump in this audience, you have to acknowledge that he was the first president of your lifetimes that did not get you into a new war.” He bashed President Joe Biden’s foreign policy, stating that he “has us closer to three current wars than any other president in modern history.”

On immigration, Kirk claimed that “we are in the midst of an invasion” with “1,500 people coming across the border every day, not to mention the guns, the fentanyl … the young ladies being sex trafficked.” He further criticized the current presidency, stating that “The Biden Administration is not only doing nothing, they are co-sponsoring and facilitating the invasion.”

He maintained that the Republican Party is changing to believe simultaneously that while legal immigration is an asset, no illegal immigration should be allowed. 

On trade, Kirk puts Americans, including college graduates, first. He called for a “revitalization of American manufacturing.” Kirk lamented the shuttering of factories and lost jobs to China, criticizing “neoliberalism” which encourages “importing unlimited amounts of people … [and] stuff and declares as many wars as possible because that makes us ‘safer’.”  

In concluding, Kirk bemoaned what he sees as a “shadow government that calls the shots.”

“I hope our best days are ahead this November. God willing we’ll elect Donald Trump,” he said

(Kirk was scheduled to speak in the first session, but due to a family emergency addressed the convention via Skype the following day.)

The Ruthless Podcast:

The hosts of the conservative podcast Ruthless took the stage to conclude Mock Con’s series of invited speakers. They wanted to end a day of political speeches with a dose of humor and fun.

“Actually, conservatives have more fun than anyone and we endeavor to make that clear,” said Comfortably Smug, one of the podcasters.

Comfortably Smug and his co-hosts — Josh Holmes, John Ashbrook, and Michael Duncan — spent their slot quipping about a variety of topics including Biden’s acuity, Donald Trump’s political strength, and the political outlook for 2024.

The veteran political strategists also played a game called “Dem of Journo”: the panelists, and the audience, were asked to guess which of four social media posts had been made by a Democratic politician. The remaining three posts were pulled from the personal accounts of professional journalists.

According to the Mock Convention website, Ruthless has reached 3 million unique listeners and often ranks as the best rated political podcast in the United States.

Trump is Nominated and Billy Ray Cyrus Sings

Donald Trump received Mock Convention’s nomination by a nearly 97% majority of the delegates. Earlier that day, Trump had recorded a message to Washington and Lee University students, thanking them for their interest and saying that he hoped to get Mock Con’s nomination.

Thirty minutes later, Billy Ray Cyrus and his wife, Firerose Cyrus, took the stage and performed multiple songs, including Achy Breaky Heart and Old Town Road.

[Margaret Alexander, Caden Brousseau, Veronica Cargill, Evan Cecchini, James Eustis, Nathan Gilbert, Henry Haden, Alex Kagan, Kamron Spivey, Row Sterne, Andrew L. Thompson, and Dominic Vogelbacher contributed to this article.]