CLEVELAND — Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said that the Democrats are going to use the GOP convention to recruit soft Republicans.
“We believe that the Republican convention will be a great recruiting tool,” Wasserman-Schultz said at a press conference in downtown Cleveland, hosted by Hillary for America. “We will be reminding voters how important it is to help Hillary Clinton to make history, and ensure that Donald Trump and Mike Pence never get anywhere near the White House.”
The Democrats and the Clinton campaign will be camped out in Cleveland through the end of the week to run a “counter campaign” against Donald Trump, holding events every day.
Wasserman Schultz, who appeared alongside fellow Democrats Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, explained that the reason numerous Republican lawmakers chose not to attend this year’s convention is because the are not confident Trump will win.
“There’s a reason that many Republicans, so many Republicans, were unwilling to show up at their own convention here in Cleveland,” Wasserman Schultz said, noting she was the only elected official from South Florida to attend the convention in Ohio.
“So that’s typical for a candidate who maybe has a really tough race, they make those choices. But there’s an unprecedented amount of Republicans who have decided they don’t want to be anywhere near this convention, and for good reason.”
The Democratic chair spoke from a small room in a crowded office building in downtown Cleveland, near where the GOP convention is occurring.
As reporters walked into the press conference they were greeted by signs reading “Better than this,” and on each seat lay a copy of “The Trump Times,” a satire publication made by the Clinton campaign with headlines such as “Bomb the S—t out of Them!” and “Scammer-in-Chief.”
Four floors below below Secret Service agents and policemen blocked off entire streets and hoards of delegates swarmed around in neon “Make America Great” ball caps.
“Everyday this week we are going to hold him accountable,” Wasserman Schultz said of Trump, later adding, “We are here to say we are better than this.”
Next week the Democrats will gather in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to nominate Hillary Clinton.
