MILWAUKEE — Weeks of Democratic pressure on President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race has already turned the 2024 campaign to the right as Republicans prepare to rally this week and crown former President Donald Trump as their nominee.
Then an assassin grazed Trump’s ear With a bullet at a Pennsylvania rally.
Both developments shook up what had been a stale but close race for months and will be the focus of attendees at the Republican National Convention this week.
The conversation around the race has flipped and shifted again, months after the debate swirled around the possibility that Trump could return to office after the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol and amid several ongoing prosecutions he faces.
But a more disciplined campaign, some useful court judgments Aside from his guilty verdict in a New York courtroom in May — and Biden’s intra-party storm after his disastrous debate performance last month — Trump has been in a position he hasn’t been familiar with in his decade-long run for president: the odds-on favorite.
And that dynamic, above all else, should lead to some interesting stories to watch at its convention this week.
Here are some to look at:
How an assassination attempt changes convention
A key topic will be how the weekend’s violence will change the message throughout convention week.
Will the speakers continue to focus on the planned topics? Will they try to tame the rhetoric in the name of promoting unity after an attack on Trump that killed one rally attendee and injured others? Or the Republicans will look for it claimed responsibility for the shooting on Saturday In the hands of Democratic leaders?
How will this affect speakers who have previously been mildly critical of the elements Republican platform or the Trump campaign remains an open question — but worth watching. Social conservatives who took issue with elements of the platform, particularly its softening on some key cultural issues, cannot now make such complaints.
The same is true in reverse. At a time when Trump is trying to distance himself Heritage Foundation Project 2025 – has been converted center In Democratic campaigns against his return to office – he is clearly sensitive to where he appears on certain hot-button issues. The departure of the speaker of Congress from the positions declared by Trump can cause a great noise both in the media and within the framework of Trump’s campaign.
Trump and his top campaign aides are widely credited with a more disciplined campaign this cycle, so it’s hard to imagine a speaker at this tightly controlled convention receiving such prepared comments. And here too, shooting may have taken that off the table.
Take the fight to Biden — or Kamala Harris?
After his disastrous debate performance in Atlanta last month, Biden is facing an all-out firestorm within the Democratic Party as some lawmakers, influencers and donors are pushing him to drop out of the race. In speeches since then, he has resolutely rejected their calls and is mending cracks in his clause just weeks before his party’s convention. And with an assassination attempt, attention suddenly shifted away from him.
Republicans are certainly gearing up to take on Biden this fall. That makes the prospect of his replacement at a key Republican campaign event this summer all the more intriguing.
If Biden remains in the race, much of the campaign against him will hinge on his policy decisions as president, particularly on immigration and the economy, as well as the Department of Justice’s involvement in several prosecutions Trump has faced, and his overall fitness and cognitive ability to serve as president.
If Biden decides to step aside before the convention — which is out of the question now — he’s the most likely replacement Vice President Kamala HarrisRepublicans are already suggesting they will attack Biden for his involvement in a “cover-up” of his fitness for office.
Will speakers focus more on Biden at the summer headline event? Or will Harris get more of a spotlight? The answer to this will give followers a sense of the campaign they’re really preparing for as the fall sprint approaches.
Exclusion of socially conservative issues
Trump hasn’t completely backed away from some of the issues that energize social conservatives, as his recently announced party platform raises a number of culture war issues that the right has taken over in recent years, particularly education and transgender rights.
But this year’s platform departs sharply from decades of GOP alignment on several other key issues.
For starters, abortion restrictions, Roe v. Since Wade’s cancellation, Trump’s campaign has taken a back seat. Trump’s abortion platform is softer than recent Republican Party platforms, as is his position on same-sex marriage. Guns and God are mentioned less than in the past in the brief document that sets out the vision for MAGA 2025.
This has so far drawn some backlash from social conservative leaders, groups and politicians, and it will perhaps be a key issue to watch at the convention.
One place to see the battle will be during convention speeches — and whether any speaker decides to pay particular attention to the split. Speaking of the speeches at the convention, some conservatives have already taken issue with the model, who is the main figure of “Amber Rose”.SlutWalk” action gets the opportunity to speak.