Actor Scott Baio beats drum for Trump

Actor Scott Baio, a former US Navy SEAL and the star of the TV show Duck Dynasty have sung Donald Trump's praises at the Republican convention.

US actor and producer Scott Baio speaks during the first day of the 2016 Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio

US actor and producer Scott Baio speaks during the first day of the 2016 Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio Source: AAP

The first night session of the Republican National Convention is under way in Cleveland.

The headliner is Melania Trump, the wife of presumptive nominee Donald Trump.

The evening session was called to order around 8pm on Monday and began with a presentation of colours, the Pledge of Allegiance, the national anthem and a prayer.

It comes after a raucous afternoon session that rang in the proceedings at the Quicken Loans Arena.

Anti-Trump delegates wanted a state-by-state roll call vote on the convention's rules. That would have meant a drawn-out process and could have exposed party divisions. But the rules were passed on the second attempt on a voice vote over the shouts of those anti-Trump delegates.

Television actor Scott Baio was the most prominent of the early speakers. He told the Republican National Convention that "our country is in a very bad spot" and that "we need Donald Trump to fix this".

Baio is the former star of Charles in Charge and Happy Days.

He said Trump isn't "a messiah", but he said Trump was someone he'd "trust with the lives of our family and the health of country".

Baio bashed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for feeling "entitled" to the presidency.

Retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, who is at the heart of the book and movie Lone Survivor drew cheers and shouts of "thank you" from the crowd when he took the stage after Baio.

Luttrell spoke about the need for the government to take better care of veterans when they return to the United States.

Luttrell praised Donald Trump's commitment to the military. Luttrell also somewhat touched on the recent violence against police officers - telling delegates that the nation's "next war is here".

And in a reference to the Black Lives Matter movement, Luttrell said: "In order for any life to matter, we all have to matter."

Earlier, the first speaker, star of the TV show Duck Dynasty Willie Robertson, said America needed "a president who would have our back".

He told the crowd of more than 2000 delegates that Trump was the candidate running for president who would best support the military and the nation's police officers.

Robertson joked he and Trump had three things in common: they were successful businessmen, had hit television shows and had wives "more attractive than we are".


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Source: AAP


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