Showman Trump Hopes Republican Convention Will Change America's Tune

Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Aug, 2020 ) :President Donald Trump will draw on all his showman's instincts at the Republican convention starting Monday to get Americans to look beyond his handling of the coronavirus crisis and return him to the White House for a second term.

Facing anger over the pandemic and ensuing economic turmoil, Trump badly trails his Democratic opponent Joe Biden in the polls.

But the Republican insists he can replicate his surprise 2016 win -- and hopes the convention, where he will be nominated to seek reelection November 3, will launch the comeback.

Due to COVID-19, the convention will be largely online, the same as the Democrats' unprecedented convention last week. But technical aspects will be only the start of the tradition-wrecking changes brought to the Trump party.

Unlike standard conventions, where the candidate stays mostly out of the way until the last night, Trump is expected to be in the limelight all four days.

His family, which has had an unusual amount of influence and access at the White House during his tumultuous first term, will also be omnipresent.

There'll be First Lady Melania Trump's speech in the Rose Garden on Tuesday and addresses by the president's children, including right-wing firebrand son Don Jr, daughter-advisor Ivanka and daughter-in-law Lara Trump.

On Monday, the convention kicks off with Republican delegates meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, to hear Trump speak.

Trump's climactic speech on Thursday, which the Republicans hope to follow with fireworks, will be delivered at the White House itself -- a show of power trampling over the custom of separating political campaigns from the office of president.

In yet another move raising eyebrows, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a big Trump supporter, will make a speech on his behalf while conducting an official trip to Israel.

It's often said that the Democrats' deep Hollywood connections give them the upper hand in the showbiz side of politics. They put on a well-honed production last week, culminating with Biden's emotional pledge to be an "ally of the light" after what he called the "darkness" of Trump's first term.

Trump, though, also has years of experience in television, quite apart from his decades as a celebrity property developer. So, reports that he has brought in two of the producers on his old reality tv show "The Apprentice" to help out come as no surprise.