While such counter-programming is nothing new to Democrats and Republicans in the weeks leading up to their respective conventions, Trump has taken the scheme for his new presidency to a new level.
During the Democratic primary debates earlier this year, the president often scheduled meetings and speeches that threw red meat lines to his base – and to CNN roundtables. Last year, Trump planned a North Carolina rally for the same day that Robert Mueller was set to testify on Capitol Hill – although the former special council later retracted his appearance. For each of the last three years, the president has bought tradition and skipped the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to hold meetings in competing states instead. And during the 2016 campaign, the president jumped the GOP debate ahead of the Iowa caucuses to hold his own campaign event.
“In the old days, you lay low during your opponent’s convention,” said Chris Ruddy, CEO of the conservative Newsmax media outlet and a Trump friend. “But in these new ‘Trump days,’ you let nothing go before you fall back on time.”
The primetime network slots during the presidential nominating conventions are generally a rating voucher.
In 2016, Trump and Clinton, respectively, attracted 34.9 and 33.7 million viewers across all stations during their speeches, according to Nielsen tracking. But this year, with the usual drama of the convention floor replaced by virtual speeches because of the coronavirus, it is unclear how much attention the events will receive.
Democrats are relying on a lineup of names of marquee parties, such as Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.), as well as the star power of Hollywood celebrities such as Jennifer Hudson and John Leginde. Still, Trump’s campaign hopes he’s making a dent in spots critical of the 2020 political map by using the power of the presidency and the pump and circumstances of traveling via Air Force One.
“Trump will talk about his plate in places where they haven’t seen Biden in a long time,” said an official of the Trump campaign, referring to Biden’s decision to restrict travel, in accordance with pandemic guidelines. The Scranton stop, the official said, was orchestrated to “focus on how bad Joe Biden has been on the economy, jobs and how he has left the people of his birthplace.”
The campaign also creates an aggressive play in the DNC host state of Wisconsin, which took Trump prisoner in 2016, but is considered a swing state this year. Trump family members such as son Eric Trump and Vice President Mike Pence plan to make stops there next week. The campaign’s rapid reaction team is planning to treat the Democrats’ convention like a debate night, and the joint campaign operation of the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee has placed events across key states, according to an RNC official. .
“While Joe Biden spends his time hiding from voters and the media, President Trump will see people face-to-face, including in Wisconsin,” said Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign. “We have the best counter-programming weapon there is – the President of the United States.”
Such credible assessments are not universally shared, not even by those in Trump’s own party.
“[Counterprogramming the conventions] is ultimately a showcase for moderates and the self-employed, “said Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s former communications director who turned critics, referring to Obama’s appearance on Fox News'” The O’Reilly Factor “during the 2008 RNC. Reaching people is something they cannot do. “
And the Biden campaign dismissed the stops as fleeting made-for-TV appearances, not reflecting an actual connection to an area.
“While this side-show, flying airport, may protect Trump from seeing the damage he has done to communities across the country, they will only underline why we should win this battle for our souls. nation, “said Andrew Bates, a Biden campaign spokesman.
Trump, once the showman, has spent years distracting people. Sometimes it plays to the advantage of the president, other times it generates backlash, negative headlines and eyerolls from his own party and supporters. But it always realizes one thing: putting the spotlight back on Trump.
Trump may even oppose his own programming.
For example, in 2017, the White House launched ‘Infrastructure Week’, intended to mark proposals to update the country’s infrastructure, while at the same time diverting former FBI Director James Comey’s potentially devastating testimony from the Senate.
But the president quickly took the oxygen, accusing Comey of swearing in, went to London Mayor Sadiq Khan after a terrorist attack in the city and sparked controversy over his travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries. Soon, “Infrastructure Week” became a punchline for Trump aides and journalists alike, for moments when the president was trying to divert attention from emerging headlines.
Nevertheless, Trump’s allies are convinced that next week will play well for Trump.
“Going to states like Wisconsin while Biden stays in Delaware is a huge advantage for the president,” said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump adviser. “Because even if it does not expel national media, it will receive massive amounts of local, deserving media in those targeted states.”
