It is now the Republicans turn to make their case for their candidate, current President Donald J. Trump. This follows a week full of passionate pleas from Democrats to support his opponent, Joe Biden, in the upcoming U.S. Presidential election. Of course, this will not be a typical convention because of COVID-19, though it will certainly feature many of the trademark Trump practices. Republican insiders have maintained that their convention will focus on positive issues as opposed to what they consider a very negative tone from the Democrats. One thing is for certain, the Republican National Convention (RNC) will be followed by those who support both sides.
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) brought a wide array of speakers who championed both Biden’s character and his policies in something that resembled a telethon. The format was an assortment of videos edited together to highlight particular themes for each night with performances and anecdotes about the candidate and his running mate, Kamala Harris. Other speakers included Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, and many of Biden’s opponents in the primaries as well as local citizens whom had interacted with him in an impactful manner. The convention was to take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but was essentially done virtually because of the pandemic.
Trump and the Republicans took note of this format in anticipation of what they would offer to counter the Democrats and decided on a slightly different format. Trump, after all, did star in a reality television show for more than a decade and is familiar with this medium.
The RNC was initially supposed to be the usual in person event taking place in Charlotte, NC, but that was moved following the coronavirus outbreak to Jacksonville, FL. The convention was moved yet again back to Charlotte, which now serves as the venue where the roll call will occur. Finally, the speakers will advocate for the President’s re-election from Washington D.C. in the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. There will be a live audience but there is no official word on exactly how many people will be in attendance. Significant portions of this convention will be livestreamed instead of recorded like the DNC.
Furthermore, Trump has enlisted some of his contacts from his reality show days to help produce this week long event, including professionals who worked on Trump themed shows like “The Apprentice”, and “The Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump”.
In addition, Trump will break the mold by speaking all four nights of the convention. This is against the normal tradition for the Presidential candidate to briefly appear the first night and then to speak at length on the final night. Trump’s plan is to address the nation at 10 pm EST each evening to close out the ceremonies after a number of other supporters speak on his behalf in the lead up starting at 8:30 pm. President Trump is hoping that with four nights of speeches, he can rebut many of the attacks leveled on him from last week and also to defend his time in office.
Trump has also asserted that there will be an emphasis on the live format and that the DNC was too “dark” without enough actual substance. There will be a decent amount of footage that is pre-taped, however, but the Trump campaign has held off on finalizing many specific details until just the past few days.
It was not until late on Saturday that a few details did come out about what to expect at this year’s RNC. “We’re treating this as breaking news. Once we know who’s speaking where and when, we’ll send cameras,” said Steve Scully, the political editor at C-SPAN. Republicans who were in charge of the convention had voiced their concern with the late planning but are now confident that the RNC will run smoothly.
A few speakers besides Trump have been announced, and they include a significant number of his family members and relatives, in addition to those close to the administration. On Tuesday, First Lady, Melania Trump will speak, while the President’s three eldest children will each defend their father as well. The Senate’s lone Black Republican, Tim Scott and another Black official in the White House, Ja’Ron Smith will both be given significant airtime. Other high ranking government officials like Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will also speak on behalf of the President throughout the week.
There are also a number of American citizens slated to speak on behalf of the President, including Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the couple whom gained notoriety for brandishing their guns at protesters during a Black Lives Matter rally in Missouri. Another non-political figure includes Nicholas Sandmann, whom also rose to fame after he was covered by news outlets during his encounter with a Native American protester. He eventually sued the outlets for their coverage.
Trump will likely have several business associates and conservative celebrities join his family members, government officials, and affected American citizens during the weeklong convention. Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship will speak. The campaign’s goal is to convey to undecided voters that Trump has positively impacted people’s lives who come from many different backgrounds over the past four years.
Much like the DNC’s highlighting of Republicans who have decided to cross the aisle to support Biden, the RNC will feature a “Democrats for Trump” section of the broadcast. No further details are known about this segment, though.
Trump will be speaking directly from the White House and will be accompanied by a fireworks display on the final evening. This has been met with some controversy as some experts have maintained that it violates laws that prohibit the use of public spaces for activities of a political nature. Trump’s aides have argued that the White House is the Commander in Chief’s residence and this does not violate the law.
It remains to be seen whether or not the live taping components of the conference will be to the President’s benefit, but it should definitely provide an alternative look at how to host a national convention during the time of COVID-19.
