Meet Navajo Nation VP And RNC Speaker Myron Lizer
He's a longtime Trump supporter.
Youtube The Republican National Convention is kicking off this week, and while it will be mostly virtual, there is still going to be a long list of speakers for the event. A lot of the names on the list are very familiar — six of the featured speakers have the last name Trump — but there are a few lesser-known Republican figures who will be taking to the socially-distant stage this week. One such speaker is Myron Lizer, the Vice President of the Navajo Nation.
Lizer is a business owner from Arizona who has been serving in tribal government since 2019. Lately, he has been very involved in securing and allocating funding for Covid-19 relief efforts to the Najavo Nation. We don't yet know what he plans to say at the Republican National Convention this week, but given his past support for the Trump administration, it's safe to say it will be a supportive speech.
Who is Myron Lizer?
Myron Lizer serves as the elected Vice President of the Navajo Nation.
The Navajo Nation, which is a sovereign government in the southwestern United States has a president and vice president who are elected every four years. Lizer serves as the vice president under President Jonathan Nez. Nez selected Lizer as his running mate in 2018 and they took office in 2019. Unlike the kind of President and Veep pairings we see in United States politics, Lizer and Nez are more bi-partisan. Nez is a Democrat who was supportive of Hillary Clinton in 2016 and is a Joe Biden supporter this year. In fact, Nez spoke at last week's Democratic National Convention. Lizer is a Republican and has carved out a role for himself as the liaison between the Nation and the White House.
Lizer and his wife in 2020.
Myron Lizer is a business owner.
Lizer didn't start out in politics. He actually comes from the world of business, specifically retail. He owns a chain of hardware stores and lumberyards in New Mexico. He is a major proponent of empowering other Najavo tribal members to become more entrepreneurial and has developed courses in financial literacy and helped others write business plans and secure funding to get their businesses off the ground.
Lizer is quite religious.
Although he doesn't talk about his faith in his official bio, there was apparently some consternation about him being "a controversial Baptist preacher” when Nez first picked him as his running mate. Lizer doesn't seem to suggest that he is an ordained member of the ministry but he does have ties to a conservative Christian school in New Mexico. He has served as president of the board of Rehoboth Christian School, something which requires him to "profess [his] Christian faith." His personal Twitter account is populated with uplifting messages about religion as well.
Lizer recently got in hot water for going to a Trump event.
Lizer is supportive of the Trump administration and attended a Students for Trump rally in Phoenix a few weeks ago. He got some blowback for going to the event. It wasn't the politics that bothered members of his constituency, however. They were upset he was breaking social distancing rules that the Navajo Nation had been trying to enforce. The Nation has a curfew for residents and asks them all to be back home during certain hours and to observe safety precautions to limit the spread of coronavirus. In fact, Lizer's own mantra has been "Stay home, stay safe, save lives." He defended the outing to the rally by saying it was an opportunity to talk to other leaders in Arizona, including the governor. He returned home before curfew and says he wore two masks for extra safety.
Myron Lizer has met Donald Trump before.
Last fall, Lizer was able to attend a meet and greet with Trump at an Air Force Base in Albuquerque. He has also been to the White Housse to the singing of an executive order establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. Lizer has been the one to handle most interactions with the Republican White House since he took office last year. President Nez is a Democrat and it apparently is comfortable letting his second in command handle those matters.
Lizer will be speaking Tuesday evening.
Like most nominating conventions, the Republican National Convention will be highlighting supporters from across the country and of many backgrounds. Lizer is one of about half a dozen people with Arizona ties who will be showcasing support from that state. Lizer is expected to speak on Tuesday, though his remarks haven't be released in advance. He has been working closely with the administration to secure and distribute emergency funds for Covid-19 relief so it would reasonable to expect him to touch on that topic. He was also reportedly a big supporter of Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court in 2017, though that would have taken place before Lizer himself was in Navajo Nation leadership so he wouldn't have made any official endorsements at that time.
The Republican Convention begins on August 24, 2020.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. She is the creator of the blog FeminXer and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.