Trump aides script convention to soften his image, but face challenges

Top advisers to Donald Trump have scripted a Republican National Convention focused on immigration, inflation and other issues where he has a political advantage over President Biden and his party, according to Republicans familiar with the planning. The intent is to soften his image and sidestep his false claims of a stolen election, views on the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and the GOP debate over abortion, which millions of Americans have recoiled from as he seeks a return to the White House.

But the four-day convention in Milwaukee starting Monday will also showcase a party more inseparable than ever from Trump’s MAGA movement, elements of his polarizing vision of a second term, and a party apparatus that has squelched almost all dissent. State delegations will be full of activists who have championed his assertion that he was indicted in four cases for political reasons; and in some instances, were themselves charged with illegally trying to overturn his 2020 loss. Trump’s dark message is reflected in promotional materials for the gathering that call American cities “hollowed out, dystopian nightmares.”

The lineup of speakers is filled with everyday Americans, celebrities, politicians and others, according to the Republicans familiar with the planning, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private arrangements. But organizers did not giving speaking slots to Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, even though Trump often praises them and sometimes kicks off his rallies with their jailhouse rendition of the national anthem. The convention will vote on a party platform that softens the GOP’s official stance on abortion, despite social conservatives’ protests.

The quadrennial convention will test Republicans’ ability to tailor their pitch to a general election audience at a moment of upheaval in the presidential race. Biden has faced calls from some prominent Democrats to end his campaign after a disastrous debate where he appeared to repeatedly lose his train of thought. Trump was the first former president to become a felon after his conviction in a hush money case earlier this year and is navigating a thicket of other charges.

“That’s one of the things we see in some polls, that some people will vote for Biden even if they think he’s doing a bad job. We want to give the American people something to vote for,” said RNC Chairman Michael Whatley in an interview. “We have a better messenger, and we have a better message. We hope to showcase that next week.”

Whatley said the party did not plan to talk about Jan. 6, 2021, or any of the party’s “election integrity” initiatives at the convention. Abortion is not expected to be a major topic either, party leaders said.

Instead of voters seeing a candidate convicted of 34 felony counts who owes almost $500 million in New York courts due to civil findings of business fraud and liability for sexual assault, they hope to present a jocular family man by highlighting almost all of his children. Instead of one accused of trying to overturn an election, taking classified materials illegally and obstructing an investigation to return them, they are hoping to highlight speakers who cast him as stronger than Biden on national security.

At least, that’s the plan. Trump is famously unpredictable, and with thousands of delegates and activists converging from around the country, conventions don’t always proceed on-script.

“The GOP is unified in its opposition to Joe Biden, but it’s not all peaches and cream when it comes to excitement about Donald Trump,” said Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas who was one of Trump’s most critical opponents in the primary. The question going into the convention, he said, is whether the message can resonate with independent voters as well as motivate Republicans.

Some of the speakers will include a New York woman whose police officer husband was killed, people who say they were victims of crimes allegedly committed by migrants, and border residents who say their communities have been overrun. They will also feature several supporters of color who will talk about the challenges they have faced from rising costs. Others slated to speak include the mayor of East Palestine, Ohio, where Trump visited after a train derailment — a visit advisers believe was a key point in his campaign.

Nikki Haley, who challenged Trump in the primary and attracted many centrist voters, will not attend the convention and was not invited, according to spokeswoman Chaney Denton, though she endorsed Trump and encouraged her delegates to support him next week. Nachama Soloveichik, Haley’s former communications director, said that if Trump wants to appeal to reluctant Haley voters, the convention should not dwell on the calls for “retribution” that helped Trump rev up his base and dominate the primary.

“Coming in and reassuring people that there’s going to be someone in charge who’s focused on the things that people care about — the economy, inflation, crime, fixing the border, not court cases, not indictments, not revenge, not the drama but just the regular bread-and-butter issues that people care about — I think that will go a long way,” Soloveichik said.

Asked about not inviting Haley, Whatley referred to Haley’s comments that encouraged her delegates to support Trump.

Above all, the convention is meant to promote Trump. His takeover of the party is evident in the policies, people and ideas the gathering will champion, including a focus on border security following his intense criticism of undocumented immigrants that has alarmed some immigrant-rights activists.

“What is our party about right now but electing President Trump?” asked Tamara Scott, one of two Republican committee members from Iowa, defending the singular focus even as she wished the newly drafted platform — “terrific for a campaign document” — spoke more to “timeless” beliefs.

The convention is crafted, in many ways, to reach beyond the base. A prime-time speaking slot will go to the president of the Teamsters union, which usually backs Democrats, people familiar with the planning said, and the program will try to show a different side of Trump through former employees and union workers who know him from New York. Two other smaller union leaders from New York are also expected to speak.

The lineup includes prominent politicians such as Mike Pompeo and former Trump challenger Ron DeSantis, but also pop-culture surrogates like Amber Rose, a celebrity model who recently gave Trump a surprise endorsement.

Other expected speakers include Franklin Graham and Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White.

Steve Witkoff, a business executive and friend of Trump’s will talk about why he likes the former president, and his son will speak as well, people familiar with the details said. Other donors on the schedule include Diane Hendricks and David Sacks, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Organizers considered featuring Elon Musk but decided against it, an official with knowledge of the plan said. There have been discussions of bringing other celebrities as well such as Mario Andretti and Mariano Rivera.

A number of lawmakers who asked to speak at the convention were told no because planners wanted fewer politicians and more “average people,” people familiar with the planning said.

“We are putting a very significant focus on everyday Americans. We usually have 60 to 65 speakers at one of these things. We’re going to have over 100, with many everyday Americans from all walks of life, all across the country,” Whatley said.

Trump has in some ways tried to distance himself from some hard-line elements of the party in the run-up to the convention. Multiple times this month, he has disavowed a conservative policy initiative called Project 2025 on social media, writing that he has “no idea who is behind it,” even though its architects include former Trump administration officials who are still in his orbit. Trump also approved a pared-down party platform that frames abortion as an issue for states to regulate, rebuffing some calls on the right for a national ban.

Some participants said the document was developed in a way that stifled dissent — with little time for committee members to digest the draft and no opportunity to make amendments, according to member Gayle Ruzicka. She called it a “railroad job.”

Danielle Alvarez, a spokeswoman for the RNC, said the party spoke to delegates and “built consensus” before putting forward a draft that Trump personally reviewed and edited. “The president is the leader of the party and he has built unity because of his winning record,” she said.

While Trump’s advisers hope to minimize talk about abortion, Democrats are sure to keep highlighting Trump’s pivotal role in overturning Roe v. Wade, and the convention next week will be full of activists like Ruzicka who feel strongly about the issue.

“I would love to see them fix it at the convention,” Ruzicka said of the draft platform’s language on abortion.

No matter the programming, themes that alienate moderate voters will be hard to escape. Democrats will also be descending on Milwaukee, relying on some prominent elected officials to rebut what the Democratic National Committee has called Trump’s “dangerous extremism.”

Delegates to the convention — selected at the state level — include many proponents of Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him.

Anthony Kern, a state senator from Arizona who is running for Congress, was chosen as a delegate from Arizona shortly after he was charged with illegally trying to deliver Arizona’s electoral votes to Trump rather than to Biden, the winner.

Kern, who defended his actions as lawful, said in an interview that he does not expect much talk about prosecutions of Trump and Trump’s allies at the convention, even though that has been a central theme of Trump’s bid for a second term. “We don’t need to keep talking about it — the media keeps talking about it,” he said. “And we’re going to focus on inflation and shutting our southern border down and ensuring our Second Amendment rights are still in place.”

He did note, however, that he has been selling T-shirts and mugs that fundraise off his indictment. “Just like President Trump,” he said.

Isaac Arnsdorf and Dylan Wells contributed to this report.