WASHINGTON, D.C. — As one of President Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan is known for going to bat for the president in hearings.

What You Need To Know

  • Rep. Jim Jordan got a primetime speaking slot in first night of RNC

  • Jordan criticized Democrats in first half of speech

  • He then shared story of Trump comforting his family after a loss

But during his primetime speech at the Republican National Convention on Monday night, Jordan (R, 4th Congressional District) closed with a solemn story about Trump comforting his family over the phone two years ago when Jordan’s nephew, Eli, was killed in a car accident.

“For the next five minutes, family and friends sat in complete silence as the president of the United States took time to talk to a dad who was hurting,” Jordan said in a taped speech from Urbana. “That’s the president I’ve gotten to know the last four years.”

It was a sign that the Trump campaign is looking to use this convention as a time to soften the president’s image.

But in the first half of his speech, Jordan echoed the more divisive rhetoric we usually hear on the campaign trail.

“Democrats won’t let you go to church, but they’ll let you protest,” Jordan claimed. “Democrats won’t let you go to work, but they’ll let you riot. Democrats won’t let you go to school, but they’ll let you go loot. President Trump has fought against each of their crazy ideas.”

Jordan’s presence in primetime is a reminder of how the Republican Party has shifted to being entirely pro-Trump. On Saturday, Jordan told me it’s obvious why that has happened.

“There’s enthusiasm and excitement for President Trump because people in Ohio, people across the country know that this president has done what he said,” Jordan said.

He told me the Trump campaign motto of “Promises Made - Promises Kept” is celebrated everywhere he goes.

But I did ask Jordan if he feels the president has to do more to reach out to voters who aren’t already part of his base.

“This president has done what he said he was going to do,” Jordan said. "He produced one of the greatest economies we’ve ever had. I think Americans appreciate that. So that’s just not conservatives or whoever Trump’s base is, to use the term you used, no, that’s every American.”

Jordan is the only member of Ohio’s congressional delegation scheduled to speak at the RNC.