GOP convention lineup remains a mystery
Meeting to formally nominate Trump could prove ‘volatile’
Dozens of well-known Republicans aren’t showing up. There’s no word yet on who will speak. A growing number of corporate sponsors are taking a pass. Groups of white supremacists and other agitators are on the way, while the official protest routes are frantically being redrawn after being thrown out in court. And then there’s the fight to dethrone the big star.
With less than three weeks to go, Donald Trump’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland is poised to be the most chaotic GOP gathering of the modern era.
The candidate, his family and close supporters are expected to play starring roles. So will most top congressional leaders. But many Republicans who want to distance themselves from Trump’s incendiary rhetoric are refusing to attend. Past corporate sponsors such as Ford, General Electric and JPMorgan Chase have declined to participate. A glitzier affair?
The four-day meeting kicks off July 18 with Trump scheduled to formally accept the nomination on July 21. Convention organizers denied reports that several sports figures would be speaking at the convention.
There’s still no official word on who will speak or entertain the delegates. Lee Greenwood, who has performed his hit “God Bless the USA” at several GOP conventions, declined through a spokeswoman to say whether he’s attending. Singer Ted Nugent, a Trump fan, is skipping the convention despite numerous invitations to appear “due to our intensive concert touring schedule,” a spokeswoman said.
According to the Chicago Tribune, a report that Trump is lining up former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka to make a star appearance at the convention came as a complete surprise to the NFL legend.
While Ditka, 76, supports the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, he said: “No one’s ever talked to me about it. I have no idea where it’s coming from.”
Trump has called for a glitzier affair, telling The Washington Post in April that “it’s very important to put some showbiz into a convention, otherwise people are going to fall asleep.”
Shortly after Trump clinched the nomination in early May, convention organizers began sharing plans for the event’s staging and schedule with his aides, who traveled to Cleveland to inspect the facilities and begin reviewing details. A stage design unveiled on Tuesday — a black circular platform surrounded by white stairs with a large video backdrop — was reviewed personally by Trump who requested a few changes, according to convention officials.
One convention spokeswoman said it was “very premature” to conclude that the event might be troubled, adding that programming details have yet to be announced.
But Republican delegates concede that this year’s convention will be different.
“This is a volatile year, and if we have learned anything so far, it is that the customary rules and methods of winning elections probably don’t apply,” said Steve Duprey, a delegate from New Hampshire. Trump’s ‘study committee’
Before completely focusing on presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Trump first must quell a potential insurrection at his own convention. He’s preparing a team of 150 staffers and volunteers designed to corral votes, push potential changes to the party’s platform and, most important, block any attempt to unseat him.
A plan to allow convention delegates to vote however they want, rather than follow the results of their state’s primary, has earned the support of hundreds of delegates upset by Trump’s impending nomination, according to Free the Delegates, the group pushing for the change.
But a five-member Trump “study committee” is focused on quashing any effort to unbind delegates. According to people familiar with the plans, the quintet includes Trump campaign attorney William McGinley and members of the convention rules committee: Bill Palatucci, a Republican National Committee representative from New Jersey; Alex Willette, an RNC committeeman from Maine; Demetra DeMonte, an RNC committeewoman from Illinois; and Vincent DeVito, a Trump supporter from Massachusetts.
Separately, delegates in Colorado, Louisiana, Ohio and elsewhere report being contacted by an unknown entity — some suspect the Trump campaign or the Republican National Committee — conducting a telephone “push poll” with questions about their support for Trump, a possible convention rules change and other related issues. The Trump campaign and the RNC did not return requests for comment. Anti-Trump group’s working
The pro-Trump pushback appears to be working. Free the Delegates is struggling to win votes on the 112-member rules committee, which is scheduled to consider the group’s proposal in the week before the convention.
But Kendal Unruh, the leader of the group, said it is clearly succeeding if Trump feels compelled to divert resources and focus on defeating the effort. She said an updated tally of the group’s support would not be available until Thursday.