Ex-GOP candidate Ben Carson speaks to Nevada convention delegates

CLEVELAND — Nevada delegates heard on Tuesday from a lineup of speakers who included former GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson, a celebrity and a veteran who served in two wars.

The Nevada lunch event featured Carson and other Trump surrogates: actor John Ratzenberger; U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla.; and Amber Smith, a Trump policy adviser and veteran who served as an Army helicopter pilot in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The luncheon at a Cleveland restaurant in a smaller setting offered a contrast to the large arena during the evening convention events. Tuesday was the second day of the convention, when states formally announced their delegate votes on the floor.

Carson said the nation needs locally based solutions to problems and that people with knowledge, not government, are often the answer for creating programs such as those that offer job-training.

“These are things that make sense,” Carson said. “These are things that Donald Trump understands.”

The U.S. government, Carson said, is not a “magic kingdom” with an “unlimited flow of money.”

“That is just stupid,” he said, “and we’re not stupid people.”

Ratzenberger, who starred in the TV sitcom “Cheers” and has been a voice actor for several Pixar film characters, lamented the loss of shop classes in high school. He said youngsters don’t have the opportunity to develop skills and learn to use tools like they once did. He said Trump is a builder who understands the need for a strong foundation.

“Everything starts with a foundation, whether you’re building a building (or) you’re building a sandbox, the foundation is the most important part — same thing with the United States of America,” he said. “We have to get back to that foundation.”

He encouraged the Nevadans to get involved in government at the local level, too.

“Go to your school system and put the pressure on them to bring back shop classes,” he said. “That’s where kids learn common sense.”

Smith spoke of serving in Iraq, where an AK-47 round landed in her helicopter, narrowly missing her. She said she wants a president who will strengthen and rebuild the military.

“I can tell you from someone who has served in the military in two different wars: Your commander in chief matters.”

She added: “I want a commander in chief who is not afraid to say the words ‘radical Islamic terrorism.’”

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Find @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.