Trump’s new sidekick barely gets look-in as Republicans head for explosive showdown
Presidential hopeful shows poor chemistry with Pence ahead of convention set to be riven by division
DONALD TRUMP introduced his vice presidential choice to America yesterday during a speech that focused almost entirely on himself and barely mentioned the man he was supposed to inaugurate.
In an appearance that marked a pivotal moment in his campaign, Mr Trump was slated to explain to supporters why he had decided on Mike Pence, the relatively little known governor of Indiana as his running mate, and unite them behind his choice.
Mr Trump said Mr Pence had been his “first choice” and that he was the man who would help him fix a “rigged system”. But in a speech that lasted almost an hour, the mentions of his vicepresidential pick were cursory.
As Mr Pence waited in the wings of the stage in Trump Tower in New York, the real estate mogul covered old ground, telling the audience that he had “looked after veterans” better than anyone else. He attacked Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival, as “crooked”. He boasted about the votes he had received in the primary election race.
When the speech ended, Mr Trump made no attempt to stop for a photo opportunity with the man who could be a heartbeat away from the presidency. His handshake was brief and unsmiling and then he left the stage.
The appearance, and poor chemistry between the two men, lent credibility to the rumours that Mr Trump had been undecided on whether to choose Mr Pence right up until the hours before he made the announcement.
Before joining Mr Trump’s ticket, Mr Pence had endorsed Ted Cruz, the real estate mogul’s closest rival in the Republican primary race.
In his own speech, Mr Pence compared Mr Trump to Ronald Reagan, the former president and Republican icon, saying he “understands” the American people. He sought to frame the presumptive Republican nominee as a palatable option for establishment cadres of the party who have been horrified by his campaign. “Donald Trump understands the anxiety and the aspiration of the American people like no leader since Reagan,” Mr Pence said. “He is very much like the 40th president that you and I so admire, Ronald Reagan.”
But party organisers are bracing themselves for what shaping up to be the most divisive, turbulent, and possibly even violent, National Republican Convention in modern American political history.
The four-day mass gathering in Cleveland, Ohio, which will begin tomorrow, marks the culmination of a primary election race that has upended political norms, shredded assumptions and driven a stake through the heart of the Republican party. Mr Trump’s meteoric rise has seen the party’s traditional ranks kicked to the kerb as movements once at the fringes have moved to take control.
The tremors for this shift began years ago, in the Right-ward hardening of the base, the emergence of the Tea Party, and in Sarah Palin, the “hockey mum” vice-presidential nominee.
Now, with their party hijacked, the establishment has become the insurgency. This reversal has inflamed passions and rancour like never before.
Political operatives and politicians who spent their careers greasing the wheels of Republican presidential campaigns are now seeking to destroy the party’s nominee.
Delegates Unbound, a group founded by Dane Waters, a veteran political strategist who helped get George H W Bush elected to the White House, has been encouraging delegates to revolt on the convention floor and to refuse to vote for Mr Trump despite the primary election results.
Convention organisers have since changed the rules of the convention to thwart their plans, but the group, and a coalition of others are pressing on, promising to let “chaos” rule.
“If they thought they were going to have the nice, unified Kumbaya show, they just completely guaranteed they’re not going to have it,” said Kendal Unruh, a delegate from Colorado who has become the face of the anti-Trump movement.
The hatred is mutual, with Mr Waters receiving death threats and insulting messages from Mr Trump’s allies.
Mr Trump’s unorthodox campaign, which has been defined by controversy and aggressive rhetoric against minorities, has prompted plans for mass protests outside the convention hall.
Hundreds of groups are descending on the city to demonstrate for or against the likely Republican nominee.
In a practice usually reserved for documenting elections in tin-pot dictatorships in the Middle East, human rights group Amnesty International has announced that it is, for the first time, sending human rights monitors to Cleveland and to the Democratic convention in Philadelphia.
“There’s a potentially toxic mix here of very heated rhetoric and an increase in law enforcement preventing people from protesting lawfully and that combination is deeply concerning to us,” said Eric Ferrero, who works with Amnesty USA, adding it would be “documenting any human rights abuses”.
Coming just days after another flareup of racial tensions after police killed two young black men in their custody, and a black man shot dead five police officers in Dallas, the New Black Panther movement are among the groups planning mass demonstrations.
They accuse Mr Trump of inflaming racism, pointing to the support he has drawn from the Klu Klux Klan and other supremacist groups.
Facebook pages of white nationalist groups suggested that they too will be making an appearance in Cleveland.
Ohio is an open-carry state and both sides have said they plan to carry weapons to ensure their “own security”.
‘Trump understands the anxiety and aspiration of the American people like no leader since Reagan’ ‘There’s a very toxic mix of very heated rhetoric and an increase in law enforcement that is deeply concerning’