This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
Republican Convention Day 3: Running Mates and Rivals
G.O.P. Convention Day 3 Takeaways: Running Mates and Rivals
(about 3 hours later)
Right Now: It’s the third night of the Republican National Convention — watch live video and read our real-time analysis. Or, just check out the highlights.
After a plodding program on Tuesday, the convention hall was finally electric with energy on Wednesday night. But it wasn’t always the kind of energy a presidential nominee wants at the outset of a general election. Republican divisions were on colorful display and threatened to overshadow Mike Pence, the vice-presidential nominee, who is well liked on the right. Our takeaways:
CLEVELAND — Mike Pence is the main attraction on the third night of the Republican National Convention, which also will feature expressions of support from several of the men Donald J. Trump vanquished in the primaries. Here are a few things you should know about the day (and some of Wednesday’s best photos):
He stuck to the script, reusing familiar lines and boiling down the Trump campaign’s message into a neat sales pitch. There was no swearing and no attacking other Republicans. In other words, Mr. Pence, the governor of Indiana, gave his speech like a career politician — and it worked.
Donald J. Trump doesn’t go on the big stage until Thursday night, but his team is working overtime already to check — and double check — every line in his speech to make sure it has never appeared anywhere else before.
Mr. Pence, overshadowed by Donald J. Trump throughout the vice-presidential rollout, used his first prominent solo performance to describe the 2016 election as a choice between a candidate of change (Mr. Trump) and “a stale agenda and the most predictable of names” in Hillary Clinton. He vouched for Mr. Trump’s moral character, calling him “the right man for these times.”
After the furor surrounding Melania Trump’s speech Monday night, the campaign is desperate not to be caught off guard again. Ms. Trump’s speech borrowed passages from Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention speech.
After two days of meandering speeches from obscure politicians and minor celebrities, Mr. Pence brought roars of enthusiasm from the crowd and set a high bar for Mr. Trump to clear, with his more freewheeling approach, on Thursday.
A longtime employee of Mr. Trump’s organization took responsibility on Wednesday for inserting those passages.
The runner-up in the Republican primaries, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, did not endorse Mr. Trump for president. He congratulated him on winning the Republican nomination but urged Americans only to vote their conscience in the fall. At one point, Mr. Cruz explicitly looked past the 2016 election.
The remarkable admission came as the campaign struggled to put the story behind it. The employee, Meredith McIver, who has helped Mr. Trump with some of his books, said in a statement that the nearly identical passages were her fault.
“We’re fighting not for one particular candidate or one campaign,” he said, but rather to tell the next generation, “We did our best for our future and our country.”
“This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps as well as to Mrs. Obama,” she wrote. “No harm was meant.”
His speech earned rounds of angry booing in the room from the pro-Trump crowd and only scattered chants of support from friendly delegations. But with a soaring address that touched on traditional small-government themes and praised the Republican Party’s historical role in ending slavery, Mr. Cruz staked out a position for himself as a premier torchbearer for conservative ideology — even in defiance of an unorthodox nominee.
Paul Manafort, the campaign manager for Mr. Trump, has said that his candidate is “not an editor — he is actually the creator of the speech.” That puts even more pressure on the campaign to make sure that none of the word he creates are echoes from someone else.
As Mr. Cruz gave a cold shoulder to Mr. Trump, other high-profile speakers tried a range of rhetorical strategies to persuade skeptics to back him. Rick Scott, the governor of Florida, noted Mr. Trump’s shortcomings — “He can be a little rough” — before defending him as a friend. Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, said that failing to support Mr. Trump was equivalent to endorsing Mrs. Clinton.
_____
Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, even repurposed Mr. Cruz’s words into a plea for unity. “Ted Cruz said you can vote your conscience for anyone who will uphold the Constitution,” he said. “In this election, there is only one candidate who will uphold the Constitution.”
The area outside the secure perimeter in Cleveland’s downtown has not seen the kinds of large-scale protests that some predicted. But on Wednesday afternoon, a minor flag-burning provided a bit of excitement.
In a united party, these exhortations would be unnecessary. And every minute of airtime devoted to cajoling reluctant conservatives was a minute not aimed at winning over swing voters for the general election.
When a group of people tried to burn a United States flag, the police swarmed on foot and horseback. Officials said roughly ten people were arrested.
Trump advisers promised that the gathering in Cleveland would not be standard fare, but rather a “Trump convention.” More precisely, it has been a Trump family convention.
When Donald J. Trump was nominated on Tuesday, the jumbo-screen at the convention hall broadcast the words: “Over the Top!” That may perfectly describe Mr. Trump’s entrance on Wednesday as well.
Traditional leaders like Mr. Walker and the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, have been confined to earlier time slots. Leading off the crucial 10 p.m. hour have been members of Mr. Trump’s family: Donald Jr. regaled the audience on Tuesday with tales of his father’s business feats. On Wednesday, another son, Eric Trump, spoke of the Trump-supervised rehabilitation of Wollman Rink in Manhattan.
Mr. Trump arrived at the convention in a helicopter, landing in Cleveland midafternoon to be greeted by Gov. Mike Pence, his choice to be vice president.
The family-centric schedule reflects Mr. Trump’s narrow comfort zone and his conviction that the best surrogates are blood relatives. But it also has the effect of playing down the support he has earned from establishment Republicans just when his circle of allies needs to grow.
The arrival represents yet another moment for Mr. Trump the showman to grab the spotlight, as he has each day of t he convention so far. It is a far cry from the typical strategy of keeping the presidential nominee mostly hidden until they bound on stage to accept the nomination.
_____
Some other questions about Thursday night:
Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana does not excite Mr. Trump. The presidential nominee seemed to prefer other prospective running mates, even after it first appeared that he had settled on the governor. Last weekend, their first joint appearance devolved quickly into a vintage Trump soliloquy.
In his big address on Wednesday evening, Mr. Pence appears to have dual tasks: First, he must remind Mr. Trump why he made the choice, brandishing the conservative credentials and suspense-free speechifying that Indianans have come to know. And, if possible, Mr. Pence could strain to summon just enough dynamism to convince Mr. Trump that he can be relied on for at least a measure of Trumpian pizazz.
In either case, it is too late for Mr. Trump to turn back. Probably.
Newt Gingrich will also speak on Wednesday.
_____
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas was the Republican primary contest’s silver medalist, the only candidate who seemed to make Mr. Trump sweat.
On Wednesday evening, the sensation might return. Mr. Cruz secured a prime-time speaking slot despite declining to give full-throated support for Mr. Trump. And the senator and his allies have signaled that he plans to present a vision for the party’s future that bears little resemblance to Mr. Trump’s, with a likely focus on conservative orthodoxy and constitutional principles.
As he casts an eye toward future aspirations, including another potential White House run, Mr. Cruz seems inclined to maximize the moment. Earlier in the day, he planned to thank delegates (in the company of reporters) at a separate event.
_____
Will there be smoke? Dry ice? A classic rock score?
It is no secret that Mr. Trump cannot resist a microphone. In the convention’s opening days, though, this truth has held despite Mr. Trump’s absence from the speaking roster.
On Monday, Mr. Trump’s professional wrestling-style entrance — set to “We Are the Champions” — encapsulated a surreal evening. (“We’re going to win so big,” he said, though his introduction of his wife, Melania, was uncharacteristically brief.)
On Tuesday, he appeared in a live video feed from Trump Tower in Manhattan, hailing his “movement” and promising to “restore law and order.”
On Wednesday, he said, he will be back in Cleveland to appear with Mr. Pence.
