WASHINGTON
(AP) — Republicans will aim to recast the story of Donald Trump’s
presidency when they hold their national convention, featuring speakers
drawn from everyday life as well as cable news and the White House while
drawing a stark contrast with Democratic presidential nominee Joe
Biden.
Trump is
looking to shift his campaign away from being a referendum on a
presidency ravaged by a pandemic and economic collapse and toward a
choice between vastly different visions of America’s future. Reshaping
the national conversation around the race has taken on greater urgency
for Trump, who trails in public and private surveys as the coronavirus
continues to ravage the nation’s economy and his reelection chances.
The
four-day event is themed “Honoring the Great American Story,” according
to four Trump campaign officials involved with the planning process but
not authorized to discuss it by name. The convention will feature
prominently a number of well-known Trump supporters, including members
of the Trump family, but also those whom the GOP say are members of the
“silent majority” of Americans who have been aided by Trump’s policies.
Some have been “silenced” by a “cancel culture” pushed by Democrats, the
campaign officials said.
Where
Democrats highlighted Republicans who crossed party lines to back Biden
as an indictment of Trump’s leadership, the GOP lineup will primarily
feature figures on the conservative media circuit with the hope that
they can deliver red meat for the president’s loyal supporters — though
planners say they will feature some people who did not vote for Trump in
2016.
Planners
insist they will put forward a more “positive” convention than
Democrats’ roasting of Trump. Yet the president also appears intent on
trying to seize on the nation’s cultural divides, particularly around
issues of racial injustice and policing, drawing on grievances to
motivate his base.
The
officials outlined the campaign plans to The Associates Press on the
condition of anonymity to discuss the emerging schedule.
The
opening night Monday will highlight the “Land of Promise,” aiming to
show how Trump helped renew the American dream. Featured speakers
include South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who will deliver the coveted
closing speech of the televised prime-time block; former Ambassador to
the U.N. Nikki Haley; presidential son Donald Trump, Jr.; staunch
congressional defenders Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Jim Jordan of
Ohio; and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
Tanya
Weinreis, a Montana coffee shop owner who received federal loans to pay
her employees during the coronavirus, will also speak, as will Andrew
Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was among those killed in the 2018 school
shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Tuesday’s
theme is “Land of Opportunity,” which is expected to cast Biden’s plans
as “socialist” and “radical left.” Speakers will highlight Trump’s
actions on trade, abortion and the nation’s opioid crisis. Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo will address Trump’s foreign policy record, an unusual
foray into domestic politics by the nation’s top diplomat, and Trump
children Eric and Tiffany Trump will also speak.
Another
speaker will be Nicholas Sandmann, who as a student at a Catholic high
school in Kentucky gained national attention last year for his
interaction with a Native American man during demonstrations in
Washington. Media commentary in the aftermath of the viral video from
the interaction depicted the students as racially insensitive. Sandmann
and the Native American man, Nathan Phillips, later said they were both
trying to defuse tensions among conflicting groups that converged at the
Lincoln Memorial.
First lady Melania Trump will deliver the marquee address of the night from a newly renovated White House Rose Garden.
Wednesday,
themed “Land of Heroes,” will feature a raft of conservative
personalities including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, White House
counselor Kellyanne Conway, former acting Director of National
Intelligence Richard Grenell, Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York and
presidential daughter-in-law Lara Trump.
Clarence
Henderson, a civil rights figure from the 1960s, is also on deck to
address the “true meaning of peaceful protest,” planners said, as Trump
plans to highlight police officers amid a nationwide call for policing
reform after the May death of George Floyd in police custody.
Vice
President Mike Pence will deliver the keynote Wednesday from
Baltimore’s Fort McHenry, which inspired “The Star-Spangled Banner” in
1814, to highlight Trump’s opposition to professional athletes who
protest racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem.
Speakers
on the final night, themed “Land of Greatness, will include Alice
Johnson, the criminal justice advocate whose sentence on drug crimes was
commuted by Trump at the urging of celebrity Kim Kardashian; Carl and
Marsha Mueller, the parents of human rights activist Kayla Mueller, who
died while being held by the Islamic State group in Syria; and
evangelist Rev. Franklin Graham.
Trump’s
personal attorney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose attempts
to dig up dirt in Ukraine on Biden’s family were at the center of the
president’s impeachment last year, will also address the final night of
the convention. Republican congressional leaders Sen. Mitch McConnell of
Kentucky and Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California and Democrat turned
Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey are to deliver remarks, as
will Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White.
Trump
will close out the convention during an unprecedented address from the
White House South Lawn. He and Ivanka Trump, his daughter and senior
adviser who is set to introduce him, will speak from an elaborate stage
in front of the Executive Mansion. The move has drawn criticism from
Democrats and ethics groups, who argue that Trump is violating the
spirit, if not the letter, of federal law by using the White House
grounds to stage his convention.
While
the president is not covered by the Hatch Act, his aides cannot appear
at the convention in their official capacities and staffers are
extremely limited in what they may do to help pull off the convention.
Planners insist they are following all ethics rules.
Plans
for the GOP event have rapidly come together over the last six weeks,
since it became apparent to the party that Trump could not hold an
in-person convention at his backup site of Jacksonville, Florida. Trump
was forced to move most of the convention out of Charlotte, North
Carolina, the original host city, because of restrictive state
coronavirus precautions.
Republicans
— and Trump himself — closely watched last week’s Democratic convention
for cues on what worked and what didn’t in the virtual format, hoping
that will provide an advantage in putting together their week of events.
One
major difference, Republicans said, will be the emphasis on live rather
than taped events — and holding events with crowds to the greatest
extent practicable. Trump repeatedly criticized Democrats’ reliance on
pre-taped videos, rather than live addresses, saying Tuesday, “Live, by
the way, is always much more exciting.”
A
small crowd was expected for Melania Trump’s speech in the Rose Garden,
with a larger cohort watching in person when Pence speaks Wednesday
from Fort McHenry. More than 1,000 guests are anticipated on the South
Lawn when Trump delivers his acceptance speech Thursday night. The RNC
has requested approval to launch fireworks from the National Mall after
Trump’s speech.
Unlike
Democrats, Republicans are not expected to feature a roll call of
states to formally renominate the president — traditionally one of the
most dramatic moments of a convention. The actual voting will be taking
place in truncated format Monday morning in Charlotte with a condensed
recap expected to air later during the evening.
