Officially invested Monday by the Republican Party for the US presidential election, Donald Trump, who will seek a second term on November 3, hopes to reverse the trend against Joe Biden, widely leading in the polls. Gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina, on the first day of the Republican convention, the 300 or so delegates from the Grand Old Party representing the 50 American states unsurprisingly nominated the former businessman as their candidate.
One by one, the representatives of each of the 50 American states, beginning in alphabetical order with Alabama, announced their support for the president. Anxious to mark the contrast with Joe Biden, who leaves little home, Donald Trump made the trip to Charlotte and was to make a brief appearance at the convention. This high mass of the Grand Old Party, like its Democratic counterpart which has just ended, will be, with the exception of this first day, mostly virtual due to coronavirus.
"Fake News!"
In a tweet sent from Air Force One, the tenant of the White House was indignant that CNN and MSNBC do not broadcast live this vote state by state. “Fake News!” He said. "This is what the Republican Party must fight against," he added. Earlier in the morning, Vice President Mike Pence was also re-nominated by his party as the Vice Presidential candidate. "America needs four more years from Donald Trump in the White House," he said in a brief speech.
Incredible that @CNN & MSDNC aren't covering the Roll Call of States. Fake News! This is what the Republican Party is up against. Also, I'd like to hear the remarks of the Delegates from individual States, rather than @FoxNews anchors. Ridiculous!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2020"I heard last week that democracy was at stake," he said, referring to a phrase used several times by Democrats at their convention. "But we all know the economy is at stake, law and order are at stake," he added.
Donald Jr, Eric, Tiffany, Ivanka
This Republican convention will first of all be a family affair for the American president. Beyond his wife Melania, his four adult children will be among the speakers who will speak at the podium: Donald Jr, Eric, Tiffany and Ivanka. Largely ahead in national polls for weeks, given beaten in many key states, the American head of state is hoping for a start, and a surprise victory, as in 2016.
To achieve this, he is counting on a "very optimistic and cheerful" convention, according to his campaign team. The objective is also to defend its balance sheet, at a time when it is being abused for its management of the Covid-19 pandemic and when its trump card, the good health of the economy, is no longer an asset. "We are going to show the impact on real people that the Trump-Pence administration has had," Kellyanne Conway, a close advisor to Donald Trump, told Fox News.
"You will hear them directly," added the one who played a central role in the 2016 campaign and announced Sunday night that she would soon be leaving the White House to devote herself to her family. In particular, the intervention of Tanya Weinreis, manager of a cafe in Montana, who received a federal loan in the spring to deal with the consequences of the pandemic on her activity, is planned.
"I will reinforce what I have already done and I will do new things"
The convention also ensured the presence of several African-American speakers, in an attempt to rally a part of the black electorate which is generally hostile to it, including Tim Scott, the only black Republican senator. But the 45th president in history is also expected on his program for the next four years. Asked about this theme Sunday night on Fox News, he was once again very evasive. If he were re-elected, what would he do differently? “I would reinforce what I have already done and do new things,” he simply replied.
From the Middle East, where he is traveling, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to discuss the diplomatic advances of the Trump administration, an unusual intervention for this type of event. Thursday, during a speech in the gardens of the White House, the billionaire will officially accept, and for the second time, the nomination of his party.