MILWAUKEE – Speakers at the Republican National Convention were given specific advice on how to handle their speeches after their speeches on Saturday. attempted assassination Donald Trump: Don’t change a thing.
Trump aides and congressional leadership have not told speakers at a weeklong convention in Milwaukee to change their original speeches after the shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump did not want to show signs of weakness or hint that the shooting was affecting the long-planned convention, according to the seven people or their aides who were set to give RNC speeches.
“It looks like people are going to talk about what they’re going to talk about,” said one source familiar with the talks’ arrangements. “Trump sets the tone, and the tone is business as usual.”
One issue being debated is which speakers will bring up the assassination attempt. There was concern that the topic would come up at every speech, which the organizers wanted to avoid.
“The only thing we’ve been told is they’re going to figure out who they want to talk about it,” said Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition. “This was to prevent 100 speakers from saying the same thing.
“Nothing else has changed in terms of merit,” he said.
Another speaker’s aide said: “It’s consistent with what we’ve heard.
“The management was not to change the speeches,” the person said.
Neither the Trump campaign nor the Republican National Committee responded to requests for comment.
There was a sense that Trump and congressional organizers did not want to appear weak in the face of an assassination attempt, according to people interviewed by NBC News.
“Project trust,” the speaker said of what they were told. “Maintain the status quo.”
Although speakers were told to go ahead with their original plans, the impact of the assassination of the party’s presumptive nominee will be felt in Milwaukee.
NBC News againmoved The day after Sunday’s assassination attempt, there was a new energy and enthusiasm among many Republicans who attended the event.
“What will already be a momentous moment of unification behind President Trump will now be the most unified and vocal support for a presidential candidate this nation has ever seen,” said Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Cabrera, a Trump endorser.
The convention officially begins on Monday and More than 80 speakers scheduled during the week.
Henry J. Gomez and Allan Smith contributed.