MILWAUKEE — Georgia delegates at the Republican National Convention learned about former President Donald Trump's pick for Vice President shortly after they arrived at the Milwaukee convention center on Monday.
However, before announcing the pick of U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as Trump's running mate, Georgia delegate Bruce LeVell told 11Alive that the decision probably won't have much of an impact politically. LeVell is a longtime friend of the former president and the 2016 director of the Trump campaign's National Diversity Coalition.
"The movement is so strong, any of the folks . . . that have been mentioned are well qualified. So it really doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t," LeVell stated.
When Trump went to the College Football National Championship game in Atlanta in 2018, LeVell sat with him at Mercedes Benz Stadium. When Trump was grazed by a bullet Saturday during an attempted assassination, Levell was among those unnerved.
"It was pretty emotional, just like if any friend, for that matter, going through something as horrific as being shot at," LeVell said Monday morning.
The shooting also highlighted, for Georgia GOP Chairman and convention delegate Josh McKoon, the importance of Trump's pick.
"It was put into more stark relief over the weekend. Because we know that something that can happen in a moment’s notice that can change our world and change our country. So, it's obviously a very important decision," McKoon said.
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However, LeVell said he exchanged text messages with Trump over the weekend after the shooting and said that the former president was in good spirits considering the circumstances.
"The great news is when I talked to him (Sunday), he was in extremely great spirits and was actually cracking jokes," LeVell said. "You know, in a real cheerful way, in a funny way. He was real excited about coming to speak in Milwaukee."
LeVell is among the Georgia delegates who are excited to be in the audience when Trump speaks in Milwaukee. Georgia Republican party chairman Josh McKoon is another.
"I felt that Donald Trump, going into the convention, had the wind at his back. I have counseled my fellow Republicans to be cautiously optimistic. We’ve got a lot more work we have to do," McKoon said.