'Not all peaches and cream': RNC stumped on how to 'soften' Trump’s image at convention

13 July 2024

The Republican National Convention (RNC) kicks off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Monday, and the GOP is still unsure how to make its presumptive 2024 nominee palpable to mainstream American voters.

According to the Washington Post, the RNC's planners are sticking to a carefully "scripted" convention next week. This means featuring speakers aimed at broadening the Republican Party's voter base beyond the far-right MAGA movement. However, this is reportedly proving difficult given former President Donald Trump's considerable baggage and extreme rhetoric.

“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,” Arkansas Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson — who ran against Trump in the primary – told the Post.

The Post's Josh Dawsey and Hannah Knowles reported that the Republican National Committee wants to use the national spotlight of the convention to "soften" Trump's image with independent voters and undecided moderate voters in major battleground states. Michael Whatley, who co-chairs the committee with Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara, said the convention's speakers will be staying away from touchy topics like abortion, the January 6 insurrection and Trump's unsuccessful efforts to litigate 2020 election results.

"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," Whatley said.

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

It may be difficult for RNC speakers and delegates to avoid questions about third-rail issues from reporters, however, given that one of the United States' two political parties has never before had a convicted felon as its presidential nominee. Nachama Soloveichik, who was former UN ambassador and GOP primary contender Nikki Haley's communications director, told the Post that one goal of the convention is to define what issues will and won't be at the top of voters' minds in November.

"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," she said.

Notably, the issues Solocheivik mentioned may be election-defining, but could be more to the benefit of Democrats given available data. The U.S. economy added 206,000 jobs according to the latest jobs report, which beat economists' expectations of 190,000 new jobs. Real, inflation-adjusted wages are consistently rising, meaning more Americans on average have more money in their pockets than before.

Following President Joe Biden's recent executive order to more tightly regulate asylum applications, illegal border crossings are down by roughly 40%. Violent crime is down at rates not seen in 50 years, according to FBI data. And a recent Marist/NPR survey found that while 52% of respondents said Biden "has the character to serve as president," only 47% said the same of Trump.

Click here to read the Post's report in full (subscription required).

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