What to Expect from This Week’s Republican National Convention

Last week, the Democratic Party showed off its marketing savvy through its first-ever virtual National Convention. What was once a pep rally in a packed arena transformed into a four-night infomercial for the party and its presidential nominee, Joe Biden. With live and pre-recorded speeches from some of the party’s most prominent members, as well as some disaffected Republicans, the virtual DNC showed off the party’s ability to make the most of free press coverage.

This week, the Republicans get their shot at a COVID-era convention. While no one knows quite what to expect, it will likely mimic some of the more successful components of the DNC. Here’s what we know as of Monday.

When is it?

The Republican National Convention will take place Monday through Thursday, Aug. 24 through Aug. 27. Each night’s program will air live from 9 PM until 11 PM. Most cable news stations will air the event live and online, but it will also play through the RNC’s YouTube live stream.

Who is speaking?

While tradition holds that the party’s nominee does not speak until the final night of the convention, the RNC has confirmed that President Donald Trump will make some sort of appearance each night of the convention. Additionally, several high-profile Trump supporters will speak each night. Here are just a few of the headliners.

Monday

• South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott
• House Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana
• Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz
• Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan
• Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley
• Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel
• Donald Trump, Jr., the President’s eldest son

Tuesday

• First lady Melania Trump
• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
• Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul
• Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds
• Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez
• Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump, two of the President’s children

Wednesday

• Vice President Mike Pence
• Second Lady Karen Pence
• White House Advisor Kellyanne Conway
• Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn
• Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst
• South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem
• Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw

Thursday

• President Donald Trump, accepting the party’s nomination
• Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.)
• Arizona Sen. Tom Cotton
• House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.)
• New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew
• Ivanka Trump, the President’s eldest daughter and chief advisor
• Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and personal attorney to the President

Where will the convention take place?

When an in-person convention was still on the docket, the event was to take place in Charlotte, North Carolina. But after the governor of the North Carolina could not promise Trump that a full arena would be permissible due to COVID concerns, the convention relocated to Jacksonville, Florida. That event has since been canceled, as well. Now, it looks like most of the official business of the convention, including the roll call of delegates, will still take place in Charlotte, but in a scaled-down, physically-distanced setting.

Still, many of the speakers will deliver their words from remote locations, mostly out of the nation’s capital. The President will deliver his acceptance speech directly from the White House, and several other speeches will take place on the White House lawn. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, notably, will speak from Jerusalem, Israel. But many in the party believe the Trump Hotel in Washington will be a social hub for the event. Just around the corner from the hotel is the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, which will also host a handful of speeches.

Republished with permission from https://werax.com/what-to-expect-from-this-weeks-republican-national-convention/