MILWAUKEE – Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who made national headlines last year when he announced he was leaving the Democratic Party and becoming a Republican, tore into his former party while addressing the Republican National Convention. 

He said Democrats wanted to defund police and criticized him for being weak on crime. 

“On matters of public safety, the Democrats were never there for me, Dallas families, or the American people,” Johnson said. “The heart of today’s woke Democratic Party is with the criminals, not with their victims.”

While the city of Dallas is non-partisan and run by a city manager, it is the largest in the U.S. with a Republican mayor.

Johnson praised Dallas for reducing violent crime for three years. 

“Let’s make our cities safe again by supporting Republicans who will stand up and fight for our safety,” Johnson said.

His comments came during the second night of the convention which had the theme of “Make America Safe Again.”

Sen.Ted Cruz, who ran against Mr. Trump in 2016, told the convention crowd that he was relieved the former president survived the assassination attempt three days earlier. 

“God bless Donald J. Trump,” Cruz said. “Let me start by giving thanks to God almighty for protecting President Trump and for turning his head on Saturday when the shot was fired.”

Cruz is up for reelection this year against Democratic Congressman Colin Allred. He criticized President Biden and his policies saying the U.S. is facing an invasion at the southern border.

The senator blamed the president for the record numbers of people who’ve crossed into the U.S. illegally. 

“As a result of Joe Biden’s presidency, your family is less safe, your children are less safe, the country is less safe,” Cruz said. “But here’s the good news: We can fix it and when Donald Trump is President, we will fix it.”

Former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who stayed in the Republican presidential primary longer than any other Republican besides former President Trump, also addressed the convention.

She wasn’t originally scheduled to speak, but she told the crowd that changed after the assassination attempt Saturday. 

“President Trump asked me to speak to this convention in the name of unity,” Haley said. “I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement. Period.”

She told her supporters that even if they don’t agree with Mr. Trump on every issue, they should still vote for him.

Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to speak Wednesday night.

The main headliner will be the vice-presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio.

This will be the first chance most Americans will see him speak and hear his message.

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MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Dallas mayor Eric Johnson will speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday night, according to sources familiar with the event.

Johnson, who announced he switched parties from a Democrat to a Republican in September of last year, is the only Republican mayor of the country’s 10 largest cities.

The party widely embraced him after making the switch and is now the head of the newly-formed Republican Mayors Association.

Johnson will speak as part of the second night of the RNC, which comes with the theme Make America Safe Again.

Overall violent crime in the City of Dallas dropped for the third straight year in 2023, according to the Dallas Police Department, but murders in the city rose.

Johnson has served as the mayor of Dallas since 2019.

Prior to being elected as mayor, Johnson represented Dallas in the Texas Legislature for nine years as a Democrat.

You can watch the second night Republican National Convention above.

The Charlotte Hornets love themselves some former Dallas Mavericks. At last season’s trade deadline, the Hornets sent P.J. Washington to his hometown Mavericks in exchange for two Charlotte natives, Grant Williams and Seth Curry. Curry was waived in the offseason, but there was optimism he would return to Charlotte later in the offseason.

That optimism has become a reality, as the Hornets announced they have re-signed Seth Curry on a one-year deal. While the terms of the deal weren’t announced, he was waived from a $4 million contract, so it would be reasonable to assume he’s on a minimum contract now.

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Charlotte is a young team and Curry can provide a veteran presence in that locker room. They went just 21-61 last season, missing the playoffs for the 8th straight season. With young players like LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, Charlotte is hopeful the team can live up to their potential soon.

Curry joins Grant Williams and Josh Green as former Mavericks now in Charlotte. They had Davis Bertans after a trade with Oklahoma City last season but waived his partially guaranteed deal this offseason. Green was acquired as part of the sign-and-trade that allowed the Dallas Mavericks to sign Klay Thompson from the Golden State Warriors.

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