Impact2020: August 24, 2020
It’s the first day of the Republican National Convention. In this edition of the Impact2020 newsletter, we take a look at what to expect from the week’s events in Charlotte, Washington, and elsewhere, what GOP delegates think President Donald Trump needs to do to win a second term, and why Mike Pompeo’s convention speech is drawing scrutiny
On the Ground
The Trump show
It’s not exactly what the party had originally envisioned, but the Republican National Convention kicks off this week. McClatchy’s Michael Wilner and Francesca Chambers write: “After changing cities twice and pining for a crowd, in the end, President Donald Trump may get a convention “that works to his advantage: A controlled, scripted show that is all about him.”
The four-day event “will aim for the appearance of a thoroughly unified party, rallying behind its divisive standard-bearer as he trails” Joe Biden in the polls. “The Republican Party under Donald Trump is not a cast of many, it’s a show of one, so it will all be about Trump, not the future,” said Ryan Williams, a GOP strategist and former Mitt Romney aide.
Credit: David T. Foster III, The Charlotte Observer
While much of the official business of the convention is taking place in Charlotte, N.C., the original host city, the primetime speeches will take place remotely. A senior advisor to the Trump campaign, Lara Trump said in an interview that the video components will also allow the campaign to “tell a story and to draw people in maybe in a bit more of an emotional way.”
She also said that in his acceptance speech from the South Lawn of the White House, the president “will give some very specific mentions as to what he plans to do his second term in office, and I don’t think that he’s really, kind of cohesively put that all together before.”
Wilner and Chambers also report that “Vice President Mike Pence will deliver his speech from Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Md. All of Trump’s adult children and Lara Trump, the wife of his son Eric, and Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of his eldest son Donald, will be featured speakers” throughout the week.
Republicans formally renominated Trump and Pence in Charlotte today. The Charlotte Observer’s Jim Morrill, Austin Weinstein and Tim Funk report that in a 53-minute speech, Trump touted his record on the economy and the coronavirus pandemic while warning that Democrats will “take away” guns and “steal” the election with mail-in voting. And Pence dismissed Biden’s assertion that “democracy is on the ballot” in November. “The economy is on the ballot,” he said, “law and order is on the ballot.”
Weinstein also has a full recap of today’s events in Charlotte.
Feeling bullish
The Charlotte Observer interviewed 14 delegates from eight states ahead of the GOP convention about what Trump and the RNC need to accomplish this week to put the party on a path to victory this fall. The Observer’s Funk, Morrill and Weinstein found that delegates remain confident that Trump will be reelected despite his current deficit in the polls.
Florida delegate Peter Feaman said the polls didn’t give Trump much of a chance four years ago either. “So if 2016 is any indication,” he said, “I don’t put a lot of credibility in polls.”
While some RNC delegates want to see Trump lean into attacking Biden this week, North Carolina GOP chairman Michael Whatley said the president should focus on himself.
“I think the rest of the convention can really focus on Joe and the radical agenda that he’s adopted, that he’s going to be pushing forward,” Whatley said. “But I really think that the president needs to focus on … his accomplishments and his vision going forward.”
Still, Trump and the Republicans are likely to brand Democrats as eager to raise taxes throughout the week’s events. McClatchy’s David Lightman digs into the attacks.
Convention speech controversy
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s decision to deliver a GOP convention speech while on official travel to the Middle East was cleared by lawyers, but is raising concerns in Washington and Jerusalem, McClatchy’s Michael Wilner reports.
The address “is an uncommon event,” notes Wilner. And two Israeli officials told McClatchy “that the event could aggravate a growing political divide over Israel in the United States.”
One source said Trump personally requested that Pompeo make the speech, which is “all being paid by his campaign and the Republican National Committee.”
Longtime diplomat Wendy Sherman, who served as under secretary of State for political affairs in Barack Obama’s administration, said that the decision was a “shameful” political play for evangelical voters who had cheered Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Trail Mix
Battleground state watch
Former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona headlined a group of Republicans that endorsed Biden ahead of the GOP convention, Ronald J. Hansen reports for the Arizona Republic.
The Texas Republican Party’s new slogan echoes a conspiracy group, but Chairman Allen West says there’s no connection, the Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek writes.
Conservative state lawmakers in Ohio want to impeach GOP Gov. Mike DeWine over his response to the coronavirus pandemic, Jessie Balmert reports for the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Battle for Congress
Bryan Lowry and Kelsey Landis write for the Kansas City Star that St. Louis Democrat and Black Lives Matter activist Cori Bush is poised to reshape the Missouri congressional delegation.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican in a competitive re-election fight, was not at the RNC roll call vote on Monday, Austin Weinstein reports for the Charlotte Observer.
Election disruption
Absentee ballot applications are “pouring into Ohio boards of elections at an unprecedented rate more than two months before Election Day,” the Columbus Dispatch’s Rick Rouan reports.
Election officials in Madison and Milwaukee are expanding the use of absentee ballot drop boxes this fall, Patrick Marley and Alison Dirr report for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Florida activists said voters in Broward County were turned away from the polls during the August primary, and warned that bigger problems lie ahead for November if the issues with ballot access go unaddressed, report Alex Daugherty and Samantha J. Gross for the Miami Herald.
Listen Up
Before tonight’s RNC events get underway, make sure to check out the latest episode of the Beyond the Bubble podcast wrapping up last week’s Democratic convention. And keep an eye out for a recap of the Republican convention this Friday. Download and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts
Number of the Day
70%
College students prefer Biden over Trump by a 70% to 18% margin, according to a new Knight Foundation poll.
On RNC eve...
Credit: Jeff Siner, The Charlotte Observer
Things got heated as demonstrators marched in Charlotte, N.C., for a third night to protest the Republican National Convention.
For Planning Purposes
Aug. 24
President Donald Trump visits North Carolina and South Carolina
Vice President Mike Pence visits North Carolina
Donald Trump Jr., Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley are among the speakers at the RNC
Aug. 25
First Lady Melania Trump, Eric and Tiffany Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky are among the speakers at the RNC
Aug. 26
Vice President Mike Pence, Second Lady Karen Pence, Lara Trump and Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa are among the speakers at the RNC
Kamala Harris holds a virtual event focused on mobilizing Black voters in Detroit
Aug. 27
President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas are among the speakers at the RNC
Aug. 28
President Donald Trump delivers a speech in Manchester N.H.
Aug. 29
Vice President Mike Pence travels Franklin, Wis.
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This story was originally published August 24, 2020 at 1:01 PM.