Two speakers with ties to the University were featured at last week’s Republican National Convention.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who taught a class on dystopian visions in fall 2017, spoke Tuesday night during the convention, while Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to President Donald Trump who received her Juris Doctor from GW in 1992, spoke Wednesday. Paul and Conway joined dozens who spoke in support of Trump and Vice President Mike Pence’s re-election campaign.

Conway spoke about women’s empowerment, referencing the ratification of the 19th Amendment a century ago.

“President Trump helped me shatter a barrier in the world of politics by empowering me to manage his campaign to its successful conclusion,” Conway said. “With the help of millions of Americans, our team defied the critics, the naysayers, the conventional wisdom, and we won.”

She also spoke of Trump’s actions in response to the opioid crisis.

“I have seen firsthand many times the president comforting and encouraging a child who has lost a parent – a parent who has lost a child, a worker who lost his job, an adolescent who lost her way to drugs,” Conway said. “‘Don’t lose hope,’ he has told them, assuring them that they are not alone and that they matter.”

Paul said he first met Trump while planning a medical mission trip to Guatemala to support charity eye surgeries, which Trump helped fund.

“Donald Trump and I met many years ago, before he was running for anything,” Paul said. “When I first met him, I recall being struck by how down to Earth he was. He seemed like just a normal guy. OK, a normal guy with his own plane and helicopter.”

Paul said he sometimes disagrees with Trump, but the disagreements are “outweighed” by what they agree on, adding that the president is “committed” to ending war.

“But more important than simple agreement is accomplishment,” he said. “President Donald Trump gets things done.”

Five speakers also with ties to GW spoke at the Democratic National Convention late last month.