When President Trump accepts the Republican presidential nomination at the White House on Thursday evening, he will be following a heavy-hitting lineup of party leaders in what organizers see as a contrast to the final day of the Democratic convention and its cast of lower-profile speakers.
“Why put up your heavyweights when you know that they risk making Biden look frail, old, and sleepy,” said an adviser to the Trump campaign, following speculation that the schedule had been tailored to flatter Joe Biden.
Trump campaign officials hope that it is one of a number of contrasts that viewers will notice.
“Americans don’t want to be told what to think by washed-up politicians and out-of-touch celebrities. They want to know what a candidate will do to make their lives better,” said Samantha Zager, a spokeswoman for Trump 2020. “Joe Biden’s DNC proved that despite nearly 50 years in Washington, he has no real accomplishments to point to and no vision for America — he’s just an empty vessel being propped up by the radical Left.”
She added: “President Trump has effected positive change for millions of Americans in just one term, and the RNC is a perfect opportunity to have real Americans and those who know the president best tell that story and make the case for four more years of President Trump in the White House.”
So rather than speaking in an empty auditorium, as Biden did last week, the president is expected to deliver his speech in front of about 1,000 supporters on the South Lawn.
He will be introduced by his daughter Ivanka Trump, a member of the White House inner circle, and follow contributions from Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, one of the longest-serving members of the administration, party leaders in both the House and Senate, and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a potential 2024 presidential candidate.
In contrast, Biden’s big night featured musical contributions from The Chicks, John Legend, and Common, a tribute to his late son Beau, and a film about his family. Megadonor and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was granted five minutes of airtime, a generous allocation for a convention in which several major figures were given 90 seconds or less, while presidential historian Jon Meacham got four minutes.
Biden’s primary opponents were featured in video chats, and four senators appeared, including primary opponent Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey. But the big players, the Pelosis and Schumers, had gone earlier in the week.
John Feehery, a GOP communications strategist, said it was about distancing Biden from unpopular figures.
“My sense is the reason they did that is there’s not a lot of mileage in Biden palling around with Pelosi and Schumer,” he said. “Biden has been trying to portray him as a centrist, and putting him after Pelosi would only show how far left the party is going.”
Trump, however, will follow House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said it makes for a strong show of unity.
“What is clear is that they are trying to put the heavy guns around the president at the end of the week to show that Republicans are aligned around the president going into the fall campaign,” he said.
