Watch Republican National Convention 2016 Day 1 here
Democrats are offering plenty of counter-programming this week while Republican leaders gather in Cleveland to nominate Donald Trump for president during the party’s widely televised convention.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani holds the most positive ratings with the overall electorate of any prominent GOP figure tested, 49% have a favorable impression, 28% unfavorable.
A rising star in the party, freshman Arkansas Sen. Melania Trump, who emigrated to the US from Slovenia, “worked hard, she came into the country, she gained legal status and she’s a terrific person”, Trump said. “It is a remarkable thing”.
Perhaps most noticeably, past Republican presidents and nominees are taking a hard pass. Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush will not attend and are not supporting Trump - not surprising since Trump viciously attacked Jeb, their son and brother respectively, during the primary. The killing of three police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, early Sunday added to the sense of a nation on edge.
The red-white-and-blue veneer of balloons, bunting, and bluster for the latest quadrennial crowning of the GOP pick for president will seek to divert attention from the party leaders’ uneasiness with Donald Trump.
“We had no intel in Turkey, he said”.
Democrats were more positive.
The first day goes to the heart of Republican criticism of the Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton.
He also picked Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to run with him, a disciplined and a strict conservative and appeared to be consolidating support from some traditional Republican voters.
The 2016 Republican National Convention, kicking off Monday, will be like no other.
This week will belong to Trump - his chance to stand at the pinnacle of American politics in a triumph that few could have imagined when the NY billionaire entered the race a year ago. The absence of so many leading Republicans in Cleveland may give others a chance to shine.
His team and national Republicans also tamped down changes that would have made convention rules less friendly toward Trump. He says that speech from almost 50 years ago is largely in line with numerous issues facing the country today.
At his rallies, Trump often spoke of a “winners’ evening” featuring “some of the great sports people I know”.
Mitt Romney, the 2012 nominee, isn’t coming either.
Manafort spoke at a Bloomberg breakfast, repeating an earlier comment in which he said Kasich is, “embarrassing” Ohio.
Joni Ernst, a National Guard lieutenant colonel who led a combat combat support battalion in Iraq, and Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, a 22-year Navy SEAL who led special operations personnel in Iraq, will deliver prime time speeches Monday touting their credentials and praising Trump’s plans to rebuild the military. Thus, Monday’s theme, “Make America Safe Again”, is particularly timely. Trump’s wife, Melania, will also speak, possibly joined by her husband on stage.
Manafort also drew Ohio Republican Sen. There will certainly be organized demonstrations outside the convention hall by interest groups opposed to some of the planks as well.
Though rumors abounded that Tim Tebow would speak at the RNC, on Thursday the football star denied the reports in an Instagram video. Jamiel Shaw, whose son was killed by a man living in the USA illegally, will also speak. While he was disappointed in getting passed over for the supporting role, Christie praised Pence and said he was pleased that Trump chose a governor for running mate.
For the past week, Trump’s team has worked to beat back opposition to the party’s presumptive nominee for the November 8 election.
“Anything can happen at a convention, especially when you have an outsider like Trump as the presumptive nominee”, said Greg Mueller, a Republican strategist who worked with the “Never Trump” operation during the primaries. To do it, the RNC chairman suggests that for this week, the infamously freewheeling Trump would do well to follow the script.
Trump arrives with 1,543 delegates, according to the Associated Press count.