US's Republican party mistakenly uses HCMC photo to promote Milwaukee convention venue

By Minh Nga June 10, 2024 | 03:11 pm PT

A section on the Republican National Convention (RNC)'s website mistakenly featured a background picture of Ho Chi Minh City instead of Milwaukee, where the RNC will actually be held next month.

The error, which had been present since at least February according to the Internet Archive, was quickly fixed after a screenshot went viral last week.

Each section now correctly displays photos of the host city of Milwaukee in Wisconsin State.

The incorrect image had appeared in a section labeled "News and Updates," accessible only from a lower menu on the main page, as initially spotted by a reporter of Boston Globe last Tuesday.

"Was on the 2024 GOP convention website and saw it used a background image that... does not look like Milwaukee. Which makes sense because it's actually a photo of Ho Chi Minh City," reporter Sam Brodey wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The photo captures the downtown area of HCMC, featuring a section of the Saigon River, and the city’s signature Bitexco Financial Tower.

A screenshot photo of the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC) with a photo of HCMC in the background. The photo has later been replaced.

A screenshot of the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC) with a photo of HCMC in the background. The photo has later been replaced.

An RNC spokesperson said the image did not come from any RNC assets and was placed on the website by a web developer who no longer works for the convention, The Hill reported.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin later posted an edited photo of a T-shirt that read, "I attended 2024 RNC convention Milwaukee, WI, USA," with the location crossed out and replaced with "Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam," on the social media platform X.