The Republican National Convention made a notable mistake by displaying a photo of Ho Chi Minh City instead of Milwaukee on its website.
This error was identified by a Boston Globe reporter, who pointed out the discrepancy on the social media platform X, leading to significant attention online.
Reporter Discovers the Mistake
Sam Brodey, a national politics reporter for the Boston Globe, brought the issue to light with his post on X, formerly Twitter, saying, “Was on the 2024 GOP convention website and saw it used a background image that… does not look like Milwaukee. Which makes sense because it’s actually a photo of Ho Chi Minh City.”
This post quickly garnered over 560,000 views.
Rapid Correction by the RNC
After the mistake was highlighted, the Republican National Convention acted quickly to correct the photo on their website.
The image of Ho Chi Minh City was replaced with the correct image of Milwaukee, where the convention is scheduled to be held.
Democratic National Committee’s Response
The error prompted a response from the Democratic National Committee’s rapid response director, Alex Floyd, who criticized the Republican’s knowledge of American geography.
“Maybe if Donald Trump and the RNC actually bothered to have a real campaign operation in Wisconsin, they could tell the difference between Milwaukee and Ho Chi Minh City,” Floyd stated.
Local Political Reaction
The chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Ben Wikler, commented on the situation by sharing an image of a T-shirt that humorously addressed the error.
The T-shirt read, “I attended the 2024 RNC convention in Milwaukee, WI, USA,” with “Milwaukee” crossed out and “Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam,” written underneath.
Social Media Commentary
The incident spurred various political commentators and critics to react.
Among them, Ron Filipkowski and Bill McKibben used the opportunity to make broader critiques about the Republican Party, with McKibben joking about getting ahead “with the dictatorship thing.”
Viral Slogan Emerges
Amidst the flurry of comments, Tina Nguyen, a national correspondent at Puck News, coined the phrase “MAKE AMERICA VIETNAM AGAIN.”
This captured the absurdity of the situation and went viral on social media platforms.
Not an Isolated Incident
The Virginia Young Democrats highlighted that this was not the first geographical error by the GOP.
They recalled a video released by Spirit of Virginia PAC that mistakenly featured an Italian Air Force aircraft while promoting “American Values.”
Past Missteps with Imagery
This incident adds to a series of past mistakes where inappropriate or incorrect images were used by the GOP.
Previously, an advertisement for Donald Trump’s reelection campaign mistakenly used a stock image of Ukraine to depict American distress.
Upcoming RNC Event
Despite the embarrassing mix-up, the Republican National Convention is moving forward with its plans.
The convention is set to nominate Donald Trump as the presidential candidate, which is scheduled to occur shortly after his legal proceedings in New York.
Trump’s Legal Challenges
Donald Trump faces a sentencing hearing in New York for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, just days before the convention.
The legal developments add a complex backdrop to the upcoming political event.
Trump’s Potential Appearance at RNC
As the convention approaches, there is speculation about whether Donald Trump will attend in person, given his legal circumstances and the recent public relations issues faced by the RNC.
This situation remains a point of interest as the event draws nearer.
