Now the party will pay tribute to Trump

Questionable security checks, serious rhetoric and a presidential candidate portrayed as a martyr.

The assassination attempt on Donald Trump overshadows the Republican Party Convention, which is now underway in Wisconsin.

“The convention is being held as planned in Milwaukee, where we will nominate our president as the party’s courageous and fearless candidate,” says an internal memo from the Trump campaign that the news site Politico has seen.

In the text, written by two senior Trump advisers, employees are asked to stay away from the campaign’s offices in Florida and Washington DC until heightened security measures are put in place.

Employees are also asked to be extra attentive in the “politically polarized” situation that prevails and refrain from commenting on Saturday’s shooting of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. The ex-president was injured in the ear and was taken off the stage bloody, but shortly afterwards was reported to be in good health.

Indestructible martyr?

The campaign meeting was the last before the party convention, which starts on Monday and which has been prepared for months. Formally, it aims to crown Trump the Republican presidential candidate, present his prospective vice-president and agree on the party platform.

It is usually a lavish, four-day party seasoned with sparkly boots, fireworks and excitement before the election campaign.

Now everything has changed. Secret Service bodyguard protection, which for days combed through the giant arena Fiserv Forum, has been called by President Joe Biden to tighten the protection even more. But no changes will be made – and both the Secret Service and police stress there are no known threats to the convention in an attempt to quell concerns.

– We feel safe with the security plans for the convention and are ready to go, says Audrey Gibson-Cicchino, coordinator for the convention at the Secret Service, reports Reuters.

The Republicans are known as the party that mainly protects the right to bear arms, but at the moment it is uncertain whether the plans to allow firearms in the outer parts of the meeting area will remain, writes the newspaper USA Today.

The rhetoric is also said to be affected by the attack. After the assassination attempt, Trump called for unity in the face of “the face of evil”. But there is no doubt that the shot of Butler reinforces the image of him as an indestructible fighter and martyr – something the image of him with a bloody cheek and a clenched fist underlines.

Pair horse and fankamp

The former president has already hinted that his speech on the last night of the meeting will be a “completely different kind of speech” than he had actually planned.

The convention is well adapted to the broadcast times of the television channels, which means that the agenda starts in the afternoon and culminates with a keynote speaker. The penultimate evening is important for the as yet unknown vice-presidential candidate. It is also customary for the country’s possible first lady, in this case Melania Trump, to take the stage.

This year, the president of the giant Teamsters union (corresponding to the Transport Workers’ Union) will also speak for the first time. That could be seen as a sign of Trump’s appeal among white workers, a group that has traditionally voted Democratic.

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