CLEVELAND — When the Republican National Convention kicks off at 8 p.m. Monday, the Trump campaign will be pushing the theme of “Make America Secure Again,” but it will be the stories about Donald Trump, the man, that campaign officials hope will stand out.
“The plan for the Trump campaign for this convention is to help the American people to learn more about Donald Trump the man,” said campaign manager Paul Manafort. “Not just the candidate that they’ve seen on the campaign trail, but the breadth of the man,” he added in a press conference here.
“We feel that the personal story of Donald Trump is something that needs to be told,” added Manafort.
Headlining that will be his wife Melania Trump, who speaks Monday night. Campaign insiders have teased that her husband will make an appearance, but Manafort wouldn’t confirm, saying only that Trump will make a “couple of” appearances.
“Donald Trump will be Donald Trump,” said Manafort. Typically, presidential candidates do not arrive until the second to last night of their conventions.
Most of Trump’s family members, including his sons and daughter, and friends plan to address the convention, an outsized effort to give the country a look into his life as a husband and dad, said Manfort.
In an unusual move, the Trump campaign also plans to provide speaking slots to Trump employees, those he has made deals with, and business partners who can show “his ability to solve problems,” added the campaign manager.
Convention Chief Jeff Larson said that the finishing touches were being put on the stage inside the Quicken Loans Arena, home to the world championship Cleveland Cavaliers.
“There are a few hiccups we’re working through,” he said, but nothing major, the results of a year of preparation. The standout in the hall is the black and white stage that stands in front of a 1,700 square foot screen made up of 640 panels.
Also on Monday the convention will take up the business of passing the platform and Manafort stressed that included several changes sought by Trump. It also, he noted, does not include the provision pushed by anti-Trump delegates to let delegates vote their “conscience” on the first vote.
Manafort said that bid was “crushed,” and proof that there was little support for the so-called #NeverTrump effort. And, he added, “people voting their consciences, they voted them already.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
