Donald Trump Reportedly Unable To Fill Speaking Slots At Republican Convention
Donald Trump is facing a problem that no other presidential nominee has experienced in the past. It is reported by CNN that the presumptive nominee for the Republican party is having trouble filling speaking slots at his party’s Convention taking place in two weeks in Cleveland, Ohio. With big names like Mitt Romney and John McCain already stating they will not be attending the convention, Trump is looking to his children and wife to fill up slots.
While Trump tweeted that the speakers slots were totally filled and there was actually a waiting list, the lack of big name party members even attending the Convention is a sign of trouble. Typically, rising stars from the party, previous candidates and former Presidents would take the stage and rally behind the nominee.
The speakers slots at the Republican Convention are totally filled, with a long waiting list of those that want to speak – Wednesday release
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2016
Breaking with tradition, Donald Trump announced that he would be doing a “winner’s night” where big name sports stars would be speaking. However on Friday he admitted that he had not even reached out to anyone yet. That didn’t stop him from name dropping people like Tom Brady, Dana White and NASCAR CEO Brian France. After boasting that his winner’s night would be the most popular event at the Convention, you would think he would have the attendees lined up already.
With all of the controversy surrounding Trump’s campaign, several big-name companies have announced that they would be pulling or scaling back their sponsorship of the event according to Bloomberg, including Wells Fargo & Co., United Parcel Service Inc., Ford Motor Co., and JPMorgan Chase & Co. While there have been no official reasons given, considering that these companies were all sponsors during the last election, it seems safe to assume that the candidate is the issue.
While the initial plan was to hold off revealing his running mate choice until the Convention to make a production of it, the New York Times reported that the VP choice would be announced ahead of time. One of the likely reasons for doing so is the lack of big party names that will be in attendance.
Trump’s preparations for the convention are looking a lot like his campaign: chaotic, freewheeling and unpredictable https://t.co/7gwhPSzOui
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 1, 2016
After losing a lot of momentum in the month of June, Trump is no doubt hoping that the Convention will turn the tide back in his direction. After his attacks on the judge handling the Trump University lawsuit, several key Republican’s openly came out against the party nominee, making his pick for Vice President an even more important decision.
Among the rumored VP possibilities are Chris Christie, the first of Trump’s formal rivals to publicly support him, and Newt Gingrich. Trump has said that he is looking for someone with political experience, and there is no question that these two bring that to the table. Another consideration in the choice is Donald Trump’s low likability rating, a problem he shares with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Putting someone that is experienced and well-liked on the ticket is key. Neither Christie nor Gingrich seem to fit that bill.
Donald Trump’s top two VP picks have both been hugely unpopular too https://t.co/kqlKBslkmX pic.twitter.com/52S5zjIt4s
— Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) July 1, 2016
The Republican Convention kicks off July 18 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Given how unpredictable Donald Trump’s campaign has been, it seems likely that this will be a convention unlike any other. The full list of speakers for the Convention will be released on Wednesday.
[Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images]
