WASHINGTON (AP) – President Trump is slowly coming to accept that the Republican National Convention won’t be the four-night infomercial for his reelection that he’d anticipated.
Trump aides and allies are increasingly questioning whether the convention will be worth the trouble. Some are advocating that it be scrapped altogether. They reason that conventions are meant to lay out a candidate’s vision for the coming four years, not spark months of intrigue over the health and safety those who attend. Ultimately, the call on whether to move forward will be Trump’s alone.
Already the late August event has moved from North Carolina to Florida, and now coronavirus cases are spiking and there’s an economic recession.
Meantime, the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign say they have now hired 1,500 field staffers, aiming to convert their financial advantage over Democrats into votes in November. The joint field effort of the two organizations, Trump Victory, announced Monday the hiring of an additional 300 staffers set to hit 20 target states by Wednesday in the largest field operation ever mounted by a Republican. The goal is to turn out votes on behalf of Republicans up and down the ticket this fall. The
In at least one battleground state, Florida Democrats appear to have amassed a significant lead over Republicans in the number of voters seeking to vote by mail during the pandemic, creating a possible hedge against any Election Day downturn in turnout amid in-person voting worries.
The Democratic edge also comes as President Donald Trump continues to sow doubt within his own Republican party about the integrity of absentee ballots.
