GOP midterm convention live updates: Vance hits on cultural war issues in speech

Vice President JD Vance was momentarily caught off guard while speaking at the GOP convention by a protestor who unfurled what appeared to be Palestinian and Mexican flags.

He quickly recovered, turning the incident into an ad-libbed applause line.

"We just had a protestor interrupting us and waving the Mexican flag. Well, my friend, if you love Mexico so much, get your ass over there, I'll buy you the plane ticket."

Vance's center-stage speech focused on painting Democrats as extreme, out-of-touch activists, and he used the outburst to hammer home his message.

"I had, ladies and gentlemen, a whole speech written, but I think we got to change it because we just discovered the symbol of the far left: an idiot waving an American — or a Mexican flag, at a protest when he should be waving an American flag."

"Our flag waving friend over there is actually the new congressional delegate for New York 14," he joked.

-ABC News’ Ben Siegel

Donald Trump, Jr., appealed to Republican voters to turn out in the midterm elections, proclaiming “the stakes in this election couldn't be higher” as he worked to draw a contrast between “two competing visions battling for the soul of America.”

“It's common sense versus extremism,” he said during his remarks before Vance’s speech Thursday night.

The president’s son blamed the left for stoking violence that led to the assassination attempt on his father in Butler, the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, as well as the killing of Charlie Kirk one year ago.

“We've reached a dangerous place in our culture where these extremists don't just excuse political violence; they actually glorify it,” Donald Trump Jr., argued.

Trump called on Republicans to “stay in the game” and turn out in the midterms - stressing the election will determine whether the “Trump mandate” moves forward.

“Communism is on the march, and it's up to us to stop it in its tracks,” he said. “It's all hands on deck,” he said.

-ABC News’ John Parkinson

In prepared remarks released ahead of his keynote speech at the convention Thursday, Vance will call Democrats the "party of hatred," citing a comment he said Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed made about whether Vance's grandfather would love his Indian American wife Usha Vance.

He also makes a plea to Republicans who are disappointed in the Trump administration in the remarks, saying, "I'm not asking you to agree with every policy of our administration. I'm asking you to recognize the contrast with the radicals, and the achievements of the last 18 months.

Vance also pays homage to his friend Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10, 2025, according to the remarks.

And he touts the accomplishments of the Trump administration -- on crime, immigration, drug prices and jobs.

Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt encouraged Republicans to get out and vote in the midterms and attacked Democrats on affordability, crime and immigration.

"The Democrats claim to care about affordability, but every single one of them voted against cutting your taxes, against Trump investment accounts for your kids and against expanding the child tax credit. The Democrats' false economic promises may sound nice on paper, but in practice they will only result in empty opportunities in broken communities," Leavitt said.

"We cannot be safe in an America run by Democrats who want to open our borders, defund our police, and abolish prisons," she added.

She also invoked the name of Charlie Kirk, the conservative podcaster who was assassinated last year during a campus appearance in Utah.

"But as mothers, as parents, as Americans, we are called to pair our prayer with action," Leavitt said. "Nobody did this better than our dear friend Charlie Kirk, who spent his life encouraging us to respectfully debate and actively participate in our democracy."

-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr