But the four-day convention in Milwaukee, which begins Monday, will also showcase a party more inseparable than ever from Trump’s MAGA movement, elements of his polarizing vision for a second term, and a party machine that has silenced nearly all dissent. State delegations will be filled with activists who have defended Trump’s claims that he has been indicted on four politically motivated charges and, in some instances, are themselves accused of illegally trying to overturn their 2020 defeats. Trump’s dark message is reflected in promotional materials for the rally, which calls American cities “hollowed-out dystopian nightmares.”
The list of speakers will be a mix of ordinary Americans, celebrities and politicians, according to Republicans familiar with the planning. They, like several others, spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private arrangements. But organizers did not offer speaking slots to Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump often praises them, sometimes opening rallies with them singing the national anthem at their prisons. The convention is expected to vote on a party platform that softens the GOP’s official stance on abortion, despite protests from social conservatives.
The quadrennial convention will test Republicans’ ability to tailor their case to a popular audience at a time of tumultuous presidential elections. Biden has faced calls from some leading Democrats to end his campaign after a disastrous debate in which he repeatedly appeared to lose his train of thought. Trump was the first former president to be convicted of a felony after being convicted in a hush-money case earlier this year and faces a host of other charges.
“Some polls have shown that even though people think Biden is doing a bad job, they’re going to vote for him. We want to give the American people a reason to vote,” Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said in an interview. “We have a better communicator, a better message, and we want to put that on the table next week.”
Whatley said he won’t be discussing Jan. 6, 2021, or the party’s “election integrity” efforts at the convention. Abortion is also not expected to be a major topic, according to party officials.
Instead of seeing a candidate who owes nearly $500 million in New York courts for civil judgments on business fraud and sexual assault charges, who has been convicted of 34 felonies and who highlights nearly all of his children, voters want to see a cheery family man who positions him as stronger than Biden on national security instead of a man accused of trying to overturn the election results, illegally removing classified materials and obstructing investigations for returns.
At least, that’s the plan: Trump is notoriously unpredictable, and with thousands of delegates and activists gathering from across the country, the convention doesn’t always go according to plan.
“Republicans are united in their opposition to Joe Biden, but not all is well when it comes to expectations for Donald Trump,” said former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, one of Trump’s fiercest opponents in the primaries. He said the challenge heading into the convention will be whether the message can inspire Republicans but also attract independents.
Among the speakers were a New York woman whose husband, a police officer, was murdered; They denounced crimes committed by immigrants and border residents, claiming that their communities were being invaded. Several people of color also appeared as supporters. The lawmakers scheduled to speak, including the mayor of East Palestine, Ohio, whom Trump visited after the train derailment, spoke about the challenges of rising costs, a trip that advisers see as a key moment in Trump’s campaign.
Nikki Haley, who challenged Trump in the primary and attracted many centrist voters, will not attend the convention and has not been invited, spokeswoman Cheney Denton said. Haley has supported Trump, though, and has urged delegates to back him next week. Haley’s former communications director, Nachama Soloveitchik, said if Trump wants to appeal to voters who are reluctant to support Haley, the convention should not dwell on the “retaliation” calls that helped Trump galvanize his base and gain an advantage in the primaries.
“I think it would go a long way to reassure the public that they’re going to have a president in charge who’s going to focus on the issues people care about: the economy, inflation, crime, fixing the borders — not lawsuits and prosecutions and revenge and drama, but the everyday issues people care about,” Soloveitchik said.
When asked why he didn’t invite Haley, Whatley pointed to comments she had made urging delegates to support Trump.
Above all, the convention is a promotion for Trump, whose hijacking of the party is evident in the policies, people and ideas espoused at the rallies, including a focus on border security following Trump’s fierce criticism of undocumented immigration that has alarmed immigrant-rights activists.
“What is our party’s purpose now other than to elect President Trump?” asked Tamara Scott, one of two Republican committee members from Iowa, defending this sole focus while hoping the newly drafted platform was “great as a campaign document” but said more about its “timeless” beliefs.
The convention is designed in many ways to reach beyond its base. The head of the Teamsters union, which typically backs Democrats, will be given a prime-time speaking slot and will try to show a different side of Trump through former employees and union members who know him in New York, according to people familiar with the planning. The leaders of two other small New York unions are also scheduled to speak.
The lineup includes not only prominent politicians such as Mike Pompeo and former Trump candidate Ron DeSantis, but also pop culture figures like famous model Amber Rose, who recently gave a surprise endorsement of Trump.
Other speakers scheduled to appear include Franklin Graham and Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White.
Steve Witkoff, a friend of Trump’s and a business executive, will talk about why Trump likes the former president, and his son is also scheduled to speak, according to a person familiar with the matter. Celebrities expected to attend include Diane Hendricks and Silicon Valley entrepreneur David Sachs. Organizers also considered but decided against inviting Elon Musk, a person familiar with the plans said. There were also discussions about inviting other celebrities, including Mario Andretti and Mariano Rivera.
Several lawmakers who had asked to speak at the convention were turned down because planners wanted to feature fewer politicians and more “ordinary people,” a person familiar with the planning said.
“We’re very focused on everyday Americans. Typically at an event like this we’ll have 60-65 speakers. This time we’ll have over 100 speakers, and we’ll have everyday Americans from all walks of life from all over the country,” Whatley said.
Trump, in a sense, Ahead of the convention, Trump has decided to distance himself from some of his party’s hardline wing. On social media this month, he has repeatedly rejected a conservative policy initiative called “Project 2025,” writing that he has “no idea who is behind it,” even though its authors include former Trump administration officials who remain close to Trump. Trump also endorsed a streamlined party platform that makes abortion an issue for states to regulate, rejecting calls from some on the right for a nationwide ban.
Some delegates said the document was written in a way that stifled dissent, and that committee members had little time to read the draft carefully or make any changes, according to committee member Gail Ruzicka, who called it a “contrived job.”
Republican National Committee spokesman Daniel Alvarez said the party met with delegates to “build consensus” before presenting a draft that Trump had personally reviewed and edited. “The president is the leader of his party and has built unity through his track record of winning,” he said.
While Trump’s advisers want to minimize the debate over abortion, Democrats will likely continue to highlight the key role Trump played in dismantling anti-abortion laws. Roe v. Wade, And next week’s conference will likely feature many activists who feel strongly about the issue, like Ruzicka.
Regarding the language on abortion in the draft platform, Ruzicka said, “I would like to see it amended at the convention.”
Any program would be hard-pressed to steer clear of themes that alienate moderate voters. Democrats will also flock to Milwaukee and are likely to rely on some prominent elected officials to push back against what the Democratic National Committee calls Trump’s “dangerous extremism.”
Delegates to the convention, elected at the state level, include many who support Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was “stolen.”
Arizona Sen. Anthony Khan, who is running for Congress, was chosen to represent Arizona shortly after he was accused of illegally trying to hand the state’s electoral votes to Trump instead of the winner, Biden.
Khan, who maintained his actions were lawful, said in an interview that he didn’t expect much talk about Trump and his allies at the convention, even though the prosecution of Trump and his allies has been a central theme of Trump’s reelection bid. “We don’t need to keep talking about it. The media keeps talking about it,” he said. “We’re going to be focused on inflation and closing the southern border and making sure that Second Amendment rights are still in place.”
But he noted that he is selling T-shirts and mugs that use his indictment to raise funds. “Just like President Trump,” he said.
Isaac Arnsdorf and Dylan Wells contributed to this report.
