“He wears a mask and cancels the convention,” said Mark McKinnon, who was in charge of advertising for President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign. “That’s a setback for a man who hates being wrong, hates going back. and worst of all, he hates being perceived as weak. “
The cancellation of the Florida convention would seem, for now, to be playing for Democrats as well. Biden and his assistants no longer have to worry that their shortened virtual acceptance speech looks small and silly alongside a full Trump speech, as Republicans had once hoped.
And Democrats scaled down their convention methodically and without drama and with little attention, gauging at the worsening pandemic and the warnings of medical professionals against large gatherings. Rather, Trump and his party stumbled over this decision, a lengthy and messy process that included a last-minute change from the convention to Florida from North Carolina.
The chaos surrounding convention planning reflected the chaos surrounding decision-making on many issues in the White House, including Covid-19. Trump announced the cancellation at the start of his coronavirus briefing on Thursday, with no real plan on what, if anything, Republicans would do instead.
“Republicans now have one month to host a remote convention and Democrats had a three-month lead,” said Fowler. “And they have wasted a lot of money. In a way, it reinforces the competition issues that this administration has been dealing with. ”
Trump, who has long been a master of imaging, had hoped to contrast with Biden, downplaying the severity of the virus as he pushed to open cities, hold large protests, and gather for conventions like the one he wanted. in Jacksonville His stance recalled the long history of Republicans who portrayed themselves as inflexible, resilient, and self-sufficient: the supposed party of force. (He also recalled the arrogance with which Mr. Trump approached his real estate businesses when he was a developer in New York.)
“Trump’s strategy was to campaign like the strong man,” said McKinnon. While Mr. Biden was hiding “in a mask in a basement, he would be walking unmasked toward the crowds they adored at a crowded convention.”
