American Samoa’s Republican delegates fully support Trump

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — American Samoa’s delegates to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin cast their 9 votes for former President Donald Trump on Monday, July 15, 2024.

On the first day of the RNC, Trump announced his pick for vice-president running mate, JD Vance, who is 39-years old, and a U.S senator. Vance, who served in Iraq as a Marine and is the author of the memoir “ Hillbilly Elegy,” was once a caustic critic of Trump, but became a fierce ally during his 2022 Senate race, landing Trump’s crucial endorsement in the final weeks of a crowded GOP primary.

He is a vocal opponent of aid to Ukraine, arguing that the U.S. doesn’t have the money or the manufacturing capacity to help Ukraine enough to win the war, according to the AP.

Vance also denies that Trump tried to overturn the election in 2020 and is said to doubt that then VP Pence was ever in danger during the Jan. 6th violence at the capitol in Washington D.C.

In the meantime, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) is slated for Aug. 19- 22; and, Chairman of the American Samoa Democratic Party, Patrick Ti'a Reid, says his party firmly supports Biden as the nominee. (Kamala Harris is Biden’s vice-president.)

He said the Biden administration has poured funding into the territory. "We've had hundreds of millions of dollars come into our territory to support our Government," said Reid.

"The bi-partisan infrastructure law, the inflation reduction act, as well as the American rescue plan... we're seeing these changes in real time.

"I see the convention being one where all democrats across the country will come to support our nominee, which is Joe Biden."