Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 22nd.
Photographer: Logan cyrus / AFP via Getty Images
Photographer: Logan cyrus / AFP via Getty Images
When Donald Trump stands up for this week’s Republican convention, one thing’s clear: recorded speeches, empty halls, and fireworks in the parking lot will not cut it.
“I find it pretty boring when you do ties,” Trump said of his keynote address during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. “I’m going live.”
Trump is looking to overcome the Democrats’ most virtual convention with live speeches and at least a small group of supporters to engage speakers. He places the promise of a few surprises as well.
But creating a festive atmosphere will be particularly difficult in the midst of the continuing stream of stupid news that has hammered Trump’s campaign. He has been pursuing Democratic challenger Joe Biden for months in polls as public opinion on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and national unrest revolved around racial inequality. The tone of the convention, for a president who spoke of ‘American carnage’ at his inauguration and who accused Biden of attempting to destroy American suburbs, is likely for the most part negative.
And last week, Trump drew criticism from his own party for embracing the QAnon coalition movement, a tension that could happen again at an event intended to demonstrate Republican unity.
In his August 27 speech, which re-accepted the nomination for the presidency, Trump said he would demand credit for overseeing the successes of his administration, in hopes of reversing the opinion of voters.
“We have done a great job,” Trump said Friday in comments to the National Policy Council, a conservative group. “We are not recognized for what we have done. We did a great job. ”
The convention, which begins Monday, represents one of Trump’s last chances to make that case and address his sputtering campaign. And with the pandemic that supports the leg supporters who have fueled its meetings in the past, he beats the power of American symbolism to deliver that emotion.
Trump will deliver his acceptance speech on the grounds of the White House, after Vice President Mike Pence warned supporters with a speech the night before of historic Fort McHenry in Baltimore, the site of an 1812 Battle inspired by Francis Scott Key to write “The Star Spangled Banner.” The theme of the convention is “Honoring the Great American Story,” according to a person familiar with the planning.
‘Uplifting, progressive’
Party strategists want Trump to focus all week on the pandemic and the economy, the top concern of voters, to counter widespread public rejection of his handling of the outbreak.
But the convention comes at a time when Trump has grown vocal in making baseless accusations. He accused Biden of being part of the most corrupt
administration in history and has repeatedly claimed that voting by mail is tantamount to election rigging.
“He needs to take on the issues that are above the electorate,” said Republican strategist Matt Gorman.
Trump last week traveled to swinging states – including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona and Pennsylvania – to address gatherings of hundreds of people at the stops. Officials have been considering putting the president and other speakers out for similarly restricted crowds during the convention.
There will be a mix of live and pre-taped performances from Washington and around the country, and planners are trying to keep a traditional format, believing it will be more exaggerated than the presentation of the Democrats, who are celebrities and musical performances presented by pop stars including Billie Eilish. Republicans plan moments that shake viewers, anger opponents and air the president’s grievances against Democrats and the media.
White House Councilwoman Kellyanne Conway called the Democratic convention a ‘Hollywood-produced’ and ‘expensive and sour’ event, and said the Republican convention would have in opposition “people whose lives are affected and measurable and changed as a result of the efforts and President Trump’s policies. “
Speakers include Nick Sandmann, a Kentucky man who spoke out in the media for slander over coverage of his role in a confrontation with a Native American man in 2019, when he was a high school student; and Mark and Patricia McCloskey, a St. Louis couple who pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief for firing on a sculpture with a shotgun, according to Black Lives Matter. People who once lived under socialist governments in Cuba and Venezuela are also invited to speak, according to a person familiar with planning.
Share the spotlight
The event will also roll with potential candidates for the 2024 Republican ticket seeking to set the stage for their turnout. That group includes former U.S. ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, U.S. senators Tim Scott, Joni Ernst and Tom Cotton, and South Dakota governor Kristi Noem.
But officials say Trump will probably not shine the spotlight for long. He plans to appear every night of the four-day affair, including one event where he will honor frontline workers who respond to the pandemic.
The 2016 Trump Convention was full of distractions, including quarrels between Trump supporters and other Republicans and the candidate’s own behavior. At one point, he called a prime-time Fox News talk show during conventional programming.
Read more: The 10 Most Jaw-Droping Moments of the Republican Convention
Its 2020 convention could be more disciplined simply by the limitation caused by the pandemic. But keeping the president on message can prove a challenge; Trump is routinely immersed in issues that increase the risk of a substantial segment of the party.
Most recently, the president embraced supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory, which – without any basis in reality – states that Trump is secretly fighting a powerful cabal of Satan-worshiping Democratic pedophiles.
At a White House news conference, Trump said QAnon believers are “people who like me very much.” He also mentioned a fan of QAnon who won a house primarily in Georgia as a rising GOP star.
“This is just another example in a long-running attempt by him to reach out to these groups for his own political advantage,” said Joseph Uscinski, a professor of political science at the University of Miami who studies conspiracy theories. “He has no incentive to work against conspiracy theories. He used them, he armed them. This is his sketch card. ”
Yet Trump’s embrace has moved the move angrily on some Republicans ahead of a convention intended to promote party unity.
“QAnon is notes – and real leaders call collusion theories collusion theories,” said Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse.
“If Democrats take the Senate,” he added, “soup like this will be a big part of why they won.”
– With the help of Mario Parker
.
