The lack of a traditional election convention is a bigger loss to Trump than Biden

Donald Trump has finally bowed to the pressure and cancelled the major element of the Republican National Convention – even if some in his own party may have preferred for it to go ahead.

Having moved the convention to Jacksonville, Florida, to try to accommodate the four-day event, Trump finally conceded that “it’s not the right time for that” as coronavirus cases soar across the country. The Democrats have already moved their convention from July to August, but may follow the Republicans in reducing it. The GOP event will now take place over half a day on 24 August in the original state of North Carolina.

The conventions, the formal nominating event for both parties and where the candidate’s election platform is laid out, has become a bit of a sideshow in recent years. They are more about pageantry and partisan backslapping than the centre point of the presidential campaign – but that will not mean they will not be missed.

Trump has promised to give a convention speech in some form, and this is what he needs. At a time where he is slipping the polls, the effect of coronavirus (both for his political standing and in terms of the rules imposed) has left the president without one of his more potent political weapons – the rally.

A four-day party about him is Trump’s idea of heaven, with the added benefit of a TV audience. No doubt people will still tune in, but virtual, or reduced, gatherings will not have the same drama. Take for example Clint Eastwood’s speech to a chair – which he acted like contained President Barack Obama – in 2012. That was something Mitt Romney’s campaign struggled to live down. Romney spokesperson Gail Gitcho ended up telling Piers Morgan (then at CNN): “He’s an American icon... You can’t look at him at through the same political lens that you would other politicians. He’s Clint Eastwood.”

The Democrats will also miss the chance to have Joe Biden out on stage with his vice presidential pick in front of thousands of adoring political activists. But the Democrats will not be as upset as those in the White House.

And whatever else you think of them, the conventions are a place that activists from around the country usually gather, learn from each other, and build enthusiasm for the election.

Both parties may miss that when it comes to door-knocking for the candidates as we approach November.

The conventions do not serve the purpose they once did, given the abundance of media outlets presidential candidates now have at their disposal – and that may lead to scaled-back events being the norm. But it is clear that America’s electoral process will lose something in that case, as well as the millions of dollars for local coffers that host cities bring in.