Not The Convention They Planned
The Republican National Convention wrapped up late last night, following an acceptance speech by Donald Trump that was a record 92 minutes long…nearly 20 minutes longer than the previous record he set in 2016.
Then again, as Steve Deace noted on social media in response to complaints about the length of the speech—Trump has missed out on some speaking time recently.
From the start, this convention was going to be different. Instead of the podium and attention being at one end of a long arena, the stage was positioned differently…instead of in the end zone, for example, it was on the sidelines. That meant folks on the floor were going to be closer to the action, and the whole scene on television was going to be more intimate.
Of course, none of us has lived through a former president seeking the job again, so that was new. From a historical standpoint, Trump is the GOP nominee now for the third straight time…not common.
But even the unique nature of the convention as it was on paper was overshadowed by the assassination attempt still not a full week ago. Put that into context—the party nominee was struck by a sniper’s bullet on Saturday evening…and he showed up at the party convention 50 hours later and sat through speeches with the bandage covering the wound in full view. Three days later, that same nominee would stand before the convention and a global audience on radio and television and tell the story of the shooting from his viewpoint—the only time he says he’ll recount it in such detail.
There was an aura over the whole proceeding thanks to the shooting and the realization that the week and the future of this country could have been very different but for a quarter of an inch.
So it was not at all the convention they planned, and the reaction to it from various corners was predictable. Now to see how it all plays out with barely 100 days until votes are counted…and with the other party’s convention plans up in the air for a completely different reason.
