RNC Day 2 report from 18-year-old

Tanner Goldsmith, an 18-year-old Columbus resident, is helping to represent Georgia at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland as an alternate delegate. Here is his report about Tuesday’s activities, the second of the four-day event.

The highlight Tuesday was the roll-call vote that resulted in the nomination of billionaire businessman Donald Trump for president.

“Witnessing some of the roll-call votes from the floor was unbelievable,” Goldsmith wrote Wednesday in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer. “I watched Georgia’s vote from the stands but was able to watch the final five votes from the floor. The excitement was nothing short of unbelievable. As I walked to get on the floor, I passed Ivanka Trump, Don King, and Fox News reporter Shannon Bream.”

No speech he heard Tuesday night, Goldsmith said, was more impressive than the one from Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr.

“It is extremely apparent that all of Trump’s children, especially Donald Jr., have an immense level of respect for their father,” he wrote. “His blasting of Hillary Clinton played extremely well with those around me. As his speech came to an end, all of the delegates and alternates thunderously applauded, and many around me remarked about Trump Jr.’s incredible poise.”

Goldsmith also has enjoyed festivities away from the convention arena.

“Before I arrived in Cleveland, I had no idea how massive and diverse the RNC is,” he wrote. “Although politics is the major purpose of the convention, various parties and concerts are planned around the convention in order to make sure that delegates enjoy themselves. I have had the opportunity to watch Lynyrd Skynyrd and Toby Keith front row. The Georgia delegation even had the opportunity to attend a Southern-football-inspired party at the Cleveland Browns’ stadium.”

Click here for his Day 1 report, when he opined about the Melania Trump controversy.

The Ledger-Enquirer previously reported about the path Goldsmith took to reach this point, as well as Columbus High classmate David Smith, 18, who will be a delegate at the Democratic National Convention next week in Philadelphia.

This story was originally published July 20, 2016 at 7:03 PM with the headline "RNC Day 2 report from 18-year-old."