Donald Trump allies told to fire up the GOP faithful by speaking live

Donald Trump has ordered that keynote speakers at this week’s Republican convention perform live to generate more energy.

Protesters rally against a mask mandate, many showing support for Donald Trump, in Las Vegas on Saturday. Picture: AFP

President Donald Trump has ordered that keynote speakers at this week’s Republican convention perform live to generate more energy than the Democratic Party event as he seeks to win the battle of the airwaves.

Mr Trump spent last week goading the Democrats with attack advertisements and campaign events, including a speech in Joe Biden’s home town.

He has been suggesting ways to capture the public imagination at the Republican convention and wants to incorporate an audience despite being forced to cancel plans for a celebration with huge crowds because of the pandemic. Mr Trump thought that Michelle Obama’s recorded speech at the Democratic convention lacked immediacy, noting that the number of dead from the coronavirus was out of date.

Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, has taken charge of planning the week and will use the trappings of office: the White House will be the backdrop to Mr Trump’s acceptance speech for the party nomination on Thursday.

Like Mr Biden, his Democrat rival whose wife spoke on Tuesday, Mr Trump wants prominent speeches from close relatives. His main address is expected to be introduced by his daughter Ivanka, who works unpaid as an adviser in the West Wing.

Like the Democrats, the Republicans will use cameo convention appearances from ordinary Americans. These will include Mark and Patricia McCloskey, a couple from St Louis, Missouri, who were filmed pointing a pistol and rifle at Black Lives Matter protesters who cut through the private road in front of their mansion. Their experience will be used as part of Mr Trump’s core law and order message.

Also due to speak is Nick Sandmann, a teenage student from Kentucky who was condemned by opponents of Mr Trump after a clip of him wearing a Make America Great Again hat in an apparent confrontation with a native American musician went viral last year. A longer video later showed that he had merely stood his ground.

Political speakers next week include Nikki Haley, a former ambassador to the UN tipped as a future presidential candidate; Tim Scott, the only black Republican senator who has sought to draw up legislation on police reform; and Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, who impressed Mr Trump by helping to organise his speech at Mount Rushmore on July 4. That speech, which railed against “a new far-left fascism . . . a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children”, is said to be one blueprint for Mr Trump’s main address.

The Times