The Republican National Committee plans to unleash a war room staffed with “dozens” of party operatives to counter the Democratic National Convention in real time as part of a comprehensive effort to blunt the momentum of nominee-in-waiting Joe Biden.
In conjunction with President Trump’s campaign, the RNC is poised to flood social media platforms and political reporters’ inboxes with rebuttals and fact checks as prominent supporters of Biden and his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris — and the candidates themselves — promote the Democratic ticket and its agenda. The operation includes a dedicated website, TheRealJoeDOTcom, and coincides with the Monday evening kickoff of the Democratic convention.
To bolster war room activities, the RNC and the Trump campaign are deploying the president, high-profile Trump supporters, and thousands of field staff and volunteers throughout key battleground states to energize the GOP grassroots and respond locally to Biden’s message. The RNC plans to knock on 1 million doors this week and contact an additional 1 million voters via telephone.
“This week, the RNC is not ceding anything — not votes, not ground, and certainly not any airtime,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
The National Republican Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee also are participating. Communications staff for the GOP campaign arms for the House and the Senate, respectively, are planning to monitor the Democratic convention and issue missives tying Democratic congressional candidates to rhetoric and policy proposals that Republicans believe would sink their political prospects in the fall elections.
The quadrennial Democratic convention was originally slated to be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But because of the coronavirus, the gathering is now a mostly virtual affair set for broadcast from locations across the country, including Milwaukee. It will culminate Thursday with Biden’s acceptance speech from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
The pandemic also forced Trump also abandoned a normal convention, with the president now preparing to deliver his nomination acceptance speech from the White House. However, Trump and top allies are fanning out across the country this week as part of an extension of the Republican war room to rebut the Democratic convention.
Trump was in Minnesota on Monday and is headed to Arizona, Iowa, and Wisconsin this week. Vice President Mike Pence also is headed to Wisconsin this week. Meanwhile, the Women for Trump bus tour will be winding its way through Wisconsin on Sunday, a couple of days after the Democratic convention concludes. The DNC is dismissing Trump’s travels as a political stunt.
“If Trump wants to understand what’s happening in these states and how badly working families are suffering under his administration, he should watch our convention — not fly in and out of an airport hangar,” DNC spokesman David Bergstein said.
