Who are the 'everyday Americans' speaking at the RNC? A billionaire, Trump golf pro and more

Who are the ‘everyday Americans’ speaking at the RNC? A billionaire, Trump golf pro and more

Posted by Admin July 18, 2024 Golf

One glance at the speaker schedule for the Republican National Convention this week shows that former President Donald Trump is trying hard to court “everyday Americans.”

Each night of the GOP convention has featured speeches from voters who say they’re fed up with the status-quo and plan to support Trump in the fall. They’re billed by the Trump campaign as “everyday Americans.” And their messages are meant to resonate with the handful of undecided American voters in key swing states who Trump believes are key to winning the election.

But what makes for an everyday American, according to the former president?

The list of speakers who earned the label on Thursday included billionaires, his own workers and those volunteering for his campaign.

Here’s a closer look at some of the “everyday Americans,” set to speak on the last night of the RNC.

Diane Hendricks

Diane Hendricks, the co-founder of ABC Supply, the largest wholesale distributor of roofing supplies and a major distributor of siding and windows in North America. She is among the richest people in Wisconsin, with a net worth valued at $20.9 billion according to the National Roofers Contractors Association.

The 77-year-old businesswoman topped the 2024 Forbes list of the richest self-made women in America for the seventh year in a row. She was also among the top 100 richest people in the world in 2024, according to Forbes.

The median net worth of the average American was less than $200,000 in 2022, according to the Federal Reserve.

John Nieporte

John Nieporte is the head pro at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla and son of professional golfer Tom Nieporte.

A press release announcing Thursday’s RNC speakers said Nieporte rose to his current role after working as Trump’s golf caddie. Nieporte “has tried to qualify for the U.S. Open “more than 20 times,” and it started with his boss, Trump, pushing him to concentrate on his game and follow his golf dreams,” the release reads.

The “everyday American” qualified for the U.S. Open in 2013. He won the New York State Open championship in 2001. His father, Tom, played in 13 U.S. Opens, according to NBC Sports.

Carrie Ruiz

Golf – and prior work experience with Trump – are mini-themes in Thursday’s lineup of RNC speakers. The golf general manager at Trump’s club in Miami, Carrie Ruiz, is also slated to speak at the event.

Ruiz has worked for Trump for more than 10 years, rising in 2014 from a position as director of golf and travel industry sales to become general manager of golf. Prior to joining the Trump’s club, she worked for the Trump Hotel collection for close to 15 years as director of Golf, spa and leisure sales, according to her LinkedIn profile.

During her time with the Trump organization Ruiz “witnessed firsthand how the Trump family and its patriarch put hundreds of millions of dollars along with their sweat and tears into the Doral property,” according to a release announcing Ruiz as an RNC speaker.

Diane Evans

Diane Evans is a New Jersey native but has lived in Delray Beach, Fla. She serves as president of Ocean West Property Management & Real Estate, which manages vacation and yearly rentals.

Evans is also a captain of the former president’s grassroots reelection effort, called Trump Force 47, made up of an “official army of volunteer neighborhood organizers working together to defeat Joe Biden,” and the Trumpettes – a group of women organizing to put Trump back in the White House.

According to a bio of Evans on the Trumpettes website, she got involved with Trump’s campaign in 2019 and “got ‘the bug’ to stay involved.”

Annette Albright

Rounding out the list of “everyday American” speakers set to take the stage at the RNC on Thursday is Annette Albright, a former North Carolina corrections officer.

Albright, who hails from Charlotte, N.C., served as a state probation and parole officer for thirteen years, before working for a local county land use and environmental services agency, according to her LinkedIn profile. While working as a behavioral technician at a high school in 2016, Albright was attacked by a group of students and was left with a concusion.

The RNC release announcing speakers said Albright has seen a “decline in her community,” and believes Democrats have failed Black Americans.

Contributing: Mary Spicuzza and Maia Pandey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel