Opening night of the Republican convention was simply produced, dedicated to glorifying President Trump, celebrating the country, and denouncing the Democrats, a contrast with the slickly presented Democratic convention.
Where Democrats broadcast a telecast of sharply directed video vignettes and soaring musical interludes, the Republican convention kept it simple.
Through a series of live and prerecorded speeches, a diverse array of prominent Republicans and Trump voters spoke straight to the camera, validating the president’s leadership and warning about the danger of a Biden administration with sharp messages tailor-made to remind the conservative base what is at stake on Nov. 3.
“The Democrats have brought us nothing but destruction,” said Mark McCloskey, who, along with his wife, gained national notoriety after brandishing a weapon outside of his St. Louis home during a protest. Night One of the Republican convention, which went virtual on the fly after the coronavirus made holding a traditional gathering untenable, featured a host of people like the McCloskeys.
Public school teacher Rebecca Friedrichs, nurse practitioner Amy Johnson Ford, Andrew Pollack, whose daughter was murdered during a mass shooting in a South Florida high school, and businesswoman Tanya Weinreis were among a host of rank-and-file Trump supporters who praised the president’s personal character and lauded his legislative agenda, emphasizing how he has improved their lives.
Party veterans found the approach effective and were pleased with the videos of Trump hosting in-person, heartfelt conversations with rank-and-file supporters at the White House to highlight his myriad accomplishments.
“I thought it was a terrific night,” Republican former Pennsylvania senator and 2012 presidential candidate Rick Santorum said on CNN.
“The #RNC2020 has chosen to feature real people over celebrities and politicians. I don’t know if this is good for ratings, but it 𝘪𝘴 good for credibility,” Republican pollster Frank Luntz added in a post on Twitter.
Echoing Republican descriptions of the Democratic convention, Democrats said the beginning of Trump’s renomination celebration was dark and negative, attempting to tear down Joe Biden because the president cannot defend his record on a coronavirus pandemic that has cost 170,000 people their lives and cost millions of jobs.
But in the final hour Monday evening, the Republicans put a couple of their brightest rising stars center stage for a pair of speeches laced with personal, uniquely American stories that might appeal to the independents and disaffected suburban Republicans the president needs to win a second term.
Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations, discussed her experience growing up as a first-generation American of Indian immigrants in rural South Carolina and how she handled the aftermath of a mass shooting of black church parishioners during her tenure as governor.
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who is black and delivered the keynote, painted the upcoming election as less about Trump and more about “your future” while talking eloquently about his hardscrabble upbringing. In perhaps the most memorable line of the night, Scott, mentioning the trajectory of his family, said: “Our family went from cotton to Congress in one lifetime. And that’s why I believe the next American century can be better than the last.”
Brad Todd, a Republican strategist, said Scott’s speech was “pitch-perfect, personal and optimistic, with the heavy artillery delivered respectfully.”
Effective speeches earlier in the evening from Sean Parnell, a military combat veteran running for Congress in Pennsylvania who said, “it doesn’t matter who you love,” and former professional football player Herschel Walker, who delivered a compelling personal endorsement of Trump, had some Republicans expressing confidence that the president planted the seeds of a comeback. He has been trailing Biden nationally and in key battleground states for the last five months.
