The Republican Party will gather in Milwaukee to choose Donald Trump as its presidential nominee at its four-day convention beginning Monday.
The Republican National Convention (RNC) is taking place at a time when Democrats are engulfed in turmoil, with President Joe Biden facing calls to drop out of the race, as a catastrophic debate performance against Trump has raised questions about his mental acuity.
Here are some key facts about this gathering:
fired up
The political convention is a forum for party delegates to select their presidential candidates and adopt the party platform.
Next week’s convention will draw a large television and online audience and is expected to energize Republican supporters ahead of the November election.
Trump’s campaign has outlined themes for each day of the convention, based on his red-cap slogan – “Make America Great Again.”
faces in the Crowd
More than 50,000 people are expected to attend.
That includes about 2,429 “delegates” — a mix of politicians and grassroots activists — who will vote for the candidate who wins their state’s nominating contest earlier this year. In almost every part of America, that’s Trump.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, TV personality Savannah Chrisley, and rapper and model Amber Rose are also expected to attend or speak at the event, according to multiple reports.
Former first lady Melania Trump is also expected to attend, but it is unclear whether she will speak.
A large number of protesters are expected to demonstrate near the venue, although reports suggest they will not be allowed inside the security zone set up around the conference venue.
Battle field
The convention highlights the importance of Wisconsin, as it is a key battleground for both parties, which Trump has his eye on, as he lost the state by 20,000 votes in 2020.
The state – which was also the site of the 2020 Democratic convention – has hosted multiple campaign stops from both the Biden and Trump campaigns in the first half of 2024.
‘New Golden Age’
The convention — a celebration of all things Trump — will begin on Monday with a focus on the economy, titled “Make America Prosper Again,” and move to Tuesday with a focus on crime, titled “Make America Safe Again.”
The event, titled “Make America Strong Again,” on Wednesday will discuss Biden’s foreign policy and “how the United States has become a global laughingstock.”
According to the campaign, Trump will formally accept the nomination on Thursday in a speech expected to be heard by millions, and the convention will conclude with a call to usher in “a new golden age for America.”
running mate
Trump’s running mate is expected to be announced on Monday, the first day of his term.
The billionaire also appears to have taken aim at two US senators – JD Vance of Ohio and Marco Rubio of Florida – as well as North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who initially ran against Trump for the nomination but later sided with him.
media coverage
Extensive media coverage of the event is expected, with major US TV networks presenting live updates from the event. It will also be live streamed on platforms such as YouTube, X, Facebook and Rumble.
The RNC is set to live stream the events on its website, gopconvention2024.com.
Political conventions were once a hit in the TV ratings. But according to analysts, ratings for both the Republican and Democratic conventions declined in 2020 compared to 2016, due to growing partisanship and competition in streaming options.
Viewership for the RNC was down an average of about 21 percent across all four nights in 2020 compared to 2016, news site Axios reported, citing data from ratings agency Nielsen.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
