Donald Trump’s effort to unite a splintered Republican Party around his candidacy is about to take center stage in a city that is itself deeply fractured.
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The speakers at Donald Trump’s convention next week will include a smattering of congressional leaders, former primary competitors, celebrity supporters, Benghazi survivors and members of the candidate’s family, the Republican National Committee announced Thursday.
Absent from a list obtained Thursday by The Associated Press are Trump friends from professional sports such as New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady or the celebrities that the NY billionaire’s team long suggested would help make this convention unlike any other.
Speakers will include four of Trump’s children, Las Vegas casino owner Phil Ruffin, and actor and former underwear model Antonio Sabà to Jr.
Despite the list of familiar politicos, the convention program is a reminder that the Republican Party remains deeply divided over Trump’s candidacy.
Not speaking at the RNC – and skipping the summit altogether – are a long list of even more prominent members of the party establishment, including former Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush and former GOP presidential nominees John McCain and Mitt Romney.
“We are totally over-booked”.
Tebow has hinted at a future in politics, telling Fox News Channel’s Ainsley Earhard in March, “If there’s a chance that you can make a difference, some day, in something, then that would be intriguing”.
The New York billionaire acknowledged in recent days that he’d be hewing a little closer to tradition. Donald asked me to speak at the Republican convention and I told him I’d be happy to do so. Trump did not reimburse the foundation, and unless he disposed of the helmet and jersey in a very specific fashion, would have violated IRS rules by using charitable funds-i.e. other people’s money-for personal enrichment.
“There hasn’t been a whole lot of conciliation going on”, Unruh said of the disagreement between the two sides.
A list of the people who are set to speak at The Republican Party convention this this summer in Cleveland has been leaked, and it contains a number of surprising names.
Tech billionaire Peter Thiel, former National Football League star Tim Tebow and UFC president Dana White are among the star names that will speak at the Republican convention which starts July 18.
Also listed among the speakers is the modern Orthodox Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, who converted Ivanka Trump before her marriage to Jared Kushner. Another favorite for running mate is not on the list released Thursday: Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, an absence likely to fuel speculation that he is Trump’s choice.
The convention in Cleveland, where Donald Trump is set to accept the Republican presidential nomination next week, has been preceded by protests in several USA cities against police violence organized by groups such as Black Lives Matter in which hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested.
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“Donald Trump has been trending up in the polls this month, but to win he needs next week’s Cleveland convention to succeed”, George W. Bush’s political guru Karl Rove wrote in the Wall Street Journal. It will be different.
