Trump will bring the TV antics this week – but he is in need of a plan

Our readers on both sides of the Atlantic (and the rest of the world) certainly responded to our coverage of the Democratic Party’s national convention last week – and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris accepting their places on the ticket for November’s presidential election.

Now we get to do it all again, with Donald Trump and Mike Pence formally accepting their nominations for re-election. You can expect some changes from last week though. President Trump has said that he plans to appear during every day of the convention programme, rather than just the last day (as tradition normally dictates), with reports that producers linked to his version of The Apprentice are helping put the Republican National Convention (RNC) together.

The GOP spent much of the Democrats’ convention berating what they saw as a lack of TV ratings (although more than 122 million views in total were said to have counted for the event across digital platforms, broadcast and cable news). Ratings have always been key to “The Donald” so the next few days should be no different – he will want to beat his rival party when it comes to the stats.

“We’re going to have more of it live than what they did,” the president told Fox News on Thursday. “I think it’s pretty boring when you do tapes.” So you can expect more off the cuff remarks, akin to his rallies, I would think. Readers always have a strong reaction to Trump’s speeches, so please do let us know what you think.

During re-election campaigns, presidents seek to look to the future – indeed it has won the last three White House incumbents re-election. However, America’s 45th president appears to be looking for a reboot, concentrating on the economy and other areas before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Not unusually for Trump, his plans for what would happen during a second term are quite nebulous at the moment. “Make America Great Again, Again” seems to be the mantra.

The president will have to make sure he lays out a more comprehensive vision during the RNC, but who knows if he will. All I know is that this week will likely be interesting.

Yours,

Chris Stevenson

Editor, Voices