For Western Pa. delegates all in for Trump, a Republican National Convention unlike any in recent memory

Republican National Conventions of years past have simmered with intrigue, speculation and pivotal moments, but this year could shape up to have one singular focus: Trump.

Former President Donald Trump was shot in the ear Saturday during a Butler County rally. Shots killed Corey Comperatore of Buffalo Township, who was attending the rally, and injured two others. Trump was grazed in the ear. The alleged shooter was shot and killed by law enforcement.

Before the assassination attempt, this week’s GOP gathering in Milwaukee was looking like one of the party’s more predictable affairs.

But now, energy is back in the former president’s campaign, making for a convention sure to be marked by unity, adulation and an eye on the prize: a return of Republicans to the White House in 2025. Trump arrived in Milwaukee on Sunday.

What the convention might lack in unexpected twists, it will fairly hum with enthusiasm for Trump, the GOP’s standard-bearer and MAGA chieftain. Unlike the disheveled Democrats, the Republican Party has solidly unified behind Trump.

Typically, election years in which candidates are not already occupying the White House feature competitive primaries, jostling over who should be the nominee and what the party platform should stand for, said Alison Dagnes, a political science professor at Shippensburg University.

This year, however, Trump dispatched any challenges relatively easily in the primary, and the Republican Party platform already has been announced, with several of Trump’s priorities listed.

Trump’s support and adoration among Republicans have been charged in the days, in part, because he survived an assassination attempt. Trump could be heard saying “fight” after the bullet nicked him and Secret Service swarmed around him and rallygoers cheered.

“It will not be a party convention,” Dagnes said. “It will be a Trump coronation.”

In the run-up to the convention, TribLive spoke to three delegates from Southwestern Pennsylvania. All expect the four-day meeting to be free of drama thanks, in part, to the broad support for Trump.

Tom Ward, 41, is a delegate from Greensburg and the son of Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Hempfield. He is all in for Trump and said Trump is unlike other politicians who are often bland and dishonest. He said he doesn’t have a lot of faith in the government, but he trusts Trump.

“I will vote for Trump no matter what, even if he is in jail,” Ward said.

Meh on Milwaukee

This year’s Republican National Convention takes place Monday through Thursday at Fiserv Forum arena, home of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, in downtown Milwaukee.

It is projected to cost upward of $120 million to host and secure but also is expected to bring in about $200 million in economic activity. Scores of high-profile Republicans should attend, and more than 2,400 Republican delegates are expected to show. Trump’s acceptance speech as the party’s presidential nominee should be followed by millions of people.

While the party is united behind Trump, that sentiment isn’t nearly as strong for the convention’s host city, which won out over Nashville, Salt Lake City — and Pittsburgh.

Wisconsin’s biggest city is run by Democrats. The swing state has a Democratic governor, but the legislature is controlled by Republicans.

Trump used the word “horrible” in talking about Milwaukee during a closed-door meeting last month, according to the Associated Press. He later claimed that he loves the city on the shores of Lake Michigan and that he was expressing frustrations about Milwaukee’s crime and election system.

Some of the Western Pennsylvania delegates recognized that Milwaukee was a good choice for the convention because Wisconsin is a key swing state but expressed some anguish about it as an exciting vacation spot.

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Momentum builder

While Trump already is immensely popular among Republicans, delegates from the Pittsburgh area believe the convention will help maintain the candidate’s momentum. It also will portray him and the party as stable during a time of Democratic disarray, as calls for President Joe Biden to drop out continue following his poor debate performance.

“This is where we start on the path to get President Trump back to the White House,” said Dave Majernik, 78, a borough councilman from Plum and convention delegate.

Ward attended the 2000 convention in Philadelphia as a teenager, and this is his first year as a delegate. He remembers seeing protests outside the convention arena.

Even though he knows he’s venturing into blue-state territory, Ward, who works as an oil and gas extractor, is excited to represent Westmoreland County. He said he doesn’t expect any possible protests to distract Republicans.

Mike McMullen, a consultant from Hampton, has been to six consecutive Republican National Conventions, not counting 2020, which was virtual. He loves Pittsburgh sports and comes to every convention draped in black and gold, representing the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates.

“I get a lot of looks every year and people saying ‘Oh, there is Mike, what is he going to do?’ But it is about Pittsburgh pride,” said McMullen, 54. “It’s about showing how Pittsburghers are battle-tested and ready.”

McMullen said he will take his T.J. Watt Steelers jersey to bridge the Wisconsin-­Pittsburgh divide because Watt is a Wisconsin native. He is also likely to wear Evgeni Malkin’s Penguins jersey and a Pirates jersey of rookie phenom pitcher Paul Skenes, who was recently named to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Each day, McMullen will wear a different Pittsburgh jersey. He admits he will probably stand out among the crowds — like the Texas delegation with their cowboy boots or the coal miners helmets on top of the West Virginia delegates — but he doesn’t mind.

The last convention McMullen attended, 2016 in Cleveland, saw several prominent Republicans skip out to distance themselves from Trump, including former president George W. Bush and then-­Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake. Some delegates even sought to unbind themselves from Trump that year in a protest on the convention floor, but the effort ultimately failed.

McMullen doesn’t expect any such drama this year. He said the convention will serve to show just how united Republicans are behind Trump.

“There is not going to be a disruption on the floor,” he said.

Majernik, who attended conventions in 2012 and 2016, said he expects the party’s single-­mindedness to boost Republicans’ momentum through the summer.

Nothing has been able to dent Trump’s ascendancy, not a criminal conviction in the porn star hush-money case or the various pending prosecutions against him.

Although Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in May by a New York court for falsifying business records to influence the 2016 election, his sentencing that was scheduled for July 11 was pushed back while a judge determines if a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity applies to his case.

And, in a high-stakes debate last month against Biden that was moderated by CNN, the network despised by the former president for what he sees as bias against him, Trump was widely declared the winner. Biden looked feeble and confused, and the Democratic Party has been scrambling since. Calls are increasing for Biden to step down, even as the president digs in and insists that he is staying in the race.

Polling since the debate has been only favorable for Trump, who is now considered leading the race in Pennsylvania and other battleground states.

Majernik said all that combined with a recent Supreme Court decision on presidential powers — which was decided by a 6-3 vote from the court’s conservative supermajority — could provide Trump with immunity from prosecution and bring more momentum to Republicans.

Convention evolution

Muhlenberg College political science professor Chris Borick said historically conventions have occurred later in August, but earlier conventions are becoming the norm following the trend of presidential campaigns starting earlier. This year’s convention is in July, just like the last in-person gathering in 2016. The 2016 Democratic National Convention also happened in that month.

“Campaigns and candidates think it gives them an advantage,” Borick said. “Everything seems to be accelerated in American politics.”

Before primary elections became a regular occurrence in the 1970s, conventions were the places where presidential candidates were decided by party insiders. That gave candidates about three or four months to campaign.

Now, Borick said, conventions function purely as staged events.

“They used to be full of intrigue and were infamous for their smoked-filled rooms, but with the advent of primaries, and evolution of that process, conventions have ceased to play that role,” Borick said. “Instead they are media events where candidates and parties have their attention for four days.”

For the delegates, that means attending meetings, talks and other events meant to build camaraderie and unity, McMullen said. And, he added, there’s plenty of partying.

This year’s convention includes talks on gun rights, a brewery tour and the screening of movies like the world premiere of “Trump’s Rescue Mission: Saving America.” The film will highlight a range of issues from “Biden’s obvious cognitive decline, to the open border crisis, to the crippling inflation catastrophe,” according to the film’s promotional material.

Some speakers include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who challenged Trump in the primary but dropped out, as well as Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White and model and social media personality Amber Rose.

‘Party for the parties’

Dagnes, the Shippensburg professor, acknowledged that modern conventions are mostly about socializing. But, even with preordained nominees, she said, they can get beyond that by showcasing a party’s bench of potential future candidates or hashing out internal differences.

“Conventions are supposed to be a party for the parties, but they have a rich meaning beyond that,” Dagnes said.

The airing of differences and showcasing the party’s new members are what make modern conventions interesting, she said.

But since Trump has taken over much of the Republican National Committee and Republicans have fallen in line, stories about ironing out party squabbles and nailing down platform details have withered away; the focus has turned more to Trump as their leader.

The 2020 convention didn’t submit a party platform, and this year the platform is a list of bullet points. Normally, Dagnes said, it’s a fairly large document.

Each night of the convention has a theme, and all are variations of Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan: Make America Wealthy Once Again, Make America Safe Once Again, Make America Strong Once Again, and Make America Great Once Again.

Trump’s speech likely will garner widespread attention, especially in the wake of the assassination attempt. Beyond that, Borick and Dagnes agreed, it’s unclear how many viewers will tune in, given its mid-July schedule.

Dagnes cautioned, however, that no one should underestimate Trump’s flair for the dramatic.

“Things are less interesting when things are too scripted, and that is what Trump is up against,” Dagnes said. “But Trump is an entertainer at heart, so everyone should keep their eyes on that.”