Monday's live program was a mix of interviews and live cut-ins from the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. With the night's convention theme being 'Make America Safe Again,' The Factor spoke with Charles Krauthammer about the recent spate of police shootings and the radical group Black Lives Matter. "I don't think the group is intrinsically violent or racist," Krauthammer opined, "but the young people running it have no discipline and large parts of the organization are really unacceptable. This is not Martin Luther King, who instilled a belief in non-violence." The Factor suggested that Black Lives Matter is at least partly responsible for the recent violence: "If you trace the roots of Black Lives Matter, they're Marxist and they want reparations. This is a real radical crew that has been mainstreamed by the mainstream media." But Kirsten Powers insisted that the group and its leaders can not be held responsible for the actions of a few violent killers. "I don't think that because one or two people do something horrific means that a majority of people in the Black Lives Matter think it's okay to shoot a cop. It's like saying that because there are some bad apples in the police department, then all police are harming people."

For another view of Black Lives Matter, The Factor turned to political analyst Brit Hume. "These recent atrocities against the police are an issue and will continue to be," Hume said. "Donald Trump is saying, like no one since 1968, that he is the 'law and order candidate.'" Hume theorized that Trump's harsh criticism of Black Lives Matter may accrue to his electoral advantage. "For any African Americans who sympathize with the Black Lives Matter movement, Donald Trump's chance of getting their vote is pretty remote. On the other hand, there may be people in the African American community who are disgusted with Black Lives Matter. From a coldly political standpoint, criticizing Black Lives Matter may be the right play." But Charles Krauthammer warned that racial politics can be the third rail of politics. "Race is a completely unique issue in American culture, it is incendiary and you don't play with it loosely for electoral advantage. You don't use this for political advantage because we are already in a tinder box. But if you can produce direct evidence that there is a connection between Black Lives Matter and a police shooting, that's a different story." The Factor concluded, "If there are a few more police shootings this will become the dominant campaign theme, it will override the economy and terrorism."

The Factor spoke live with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who spoke to the recent violence against cops in America. "It's a big issue, it's a horrible issue," he declared, "and it's called law and order. It's going to be one of my big issues and it always has been. You see Black Lives Matter calling for death to the police and that is not acceptable! I think we'll have to look into that, especially in the light of these maniacs killing our police. When you see something like that, it's really a threat and we are going to have to be watching it. Everybody is free to say what they want up to a point, but when they are calling for death to the police that's a real problem." The Factor warned Trump, "The far left media will again start to say that you're a racist." But Trump insisted that his economic policies will win over minorities. "Jobs have been stripped and whether you are talking about African Americans or Hispanics or Asians or anyone, we are going to bring jobs back." Trump also took aim at his vanquished primary opponent Ohio Governor John Kasich, who will apparently not show up at the convention being held in his own state. "This was a contentious primary but he signed a pledge. From a standpoint of honor, I think he should show up. I wanted the convention to be in Ohio, this is a tremendous economic event. He should at least show up!" Finally, Trump gave a brief preview of his acceptance speech. "One theme will be law and order, which I feel more and more strongly about. We have to demand law and order from our politicians. I'll be speaking strongly about borders and security as a way to stop crime and help the economy. We'll be doing a major tax cut, we're going to get rid of ObamaCare, we're going to help our veterans, so this will be a pretty large speech."

The Factor brought back Brit Hume and Kirsten Powers, who had vastly different reactions to the just-concluded interview with Donald Trump. "He sounded calm and confident," Hume said, "and it's interesting that he would choose to do an interview tonight. For better or worse, this convention and campaign are about him." But Powers took Trump to task for his warnings to Black Lives Matter. "Some of the things he said were pretty troubling, and the things he said about Black Lives Matter were kind of authoritarian. What Black Lives Matter is doing is protected speech and it is very dangerous for Donald Trump to talk about going after protesters. I have long been concerned about his views on free speech."

The Factor wrapped up Monday's show with some off-the-cuff remarks about the convention and the GOP's challenge:

"The Republican theme this week will be that America is a broken society on a lot of different levels, that we are broken economically and on the terror front we are not neutralizing the threats against America in an effective way. And now a more recent thing is the attacks on American police officers, which brings most Americans together. You can't have that because once it starts it becomes a breakdown of law and order. The Republicans and Donald Trump have seized upon that. That is a fascinating part of how the Republican Party will present itself, and it will be interesting to see what Donald Trump says on Thursday night. The presentation is shifting away from economics and terrorism into this terrible situation with the racial division that is leading to violence. If Donald Trump needed a wedge issue, he has it now. But it's a shame that this is happening in America."