D.C. Area Expected To Be A Backdrop For Several GOP Convention Speeches

[mahatmakanejeeves]

AUG 22, 1:34 PM

D.C. Area Expected To Be A Backdrop For Several GOP Convention Speeches

Jeffrey Katz

The D.C. region is overwhelmingly Democratic, but the area will get a lot more screen time during next week’s Republican National Convention than they did during last week’s Democratic convention.

As befits a party in power — albeit one that frequently derides the District as a “swamp” — the White House and environs will play a featured role during the RNC.

The convention will nominally take place in Charlotte. That was the original site chosen for the event, before President Trump tried to move it to Jacksonville and then largely abandoned the idea of a large gathering as coronavirus cases spiked. A few hundred delegates will convene in Charlotte Monday night to formally renominate Trump and Vice President Pence.

The keynote speeches for the following three nights will all come from the Mid-Atlantic.

First lady Melania Trump is scheduled to speak Tuesday night, likely from the newly renovated White House Rose Garden. Pence will speak on Wednesday night from Fort McHenry in Baltimore, and Trump will deliver his acceptance speech Thursday evening from the White House.

Trump hopes to end the festivities with a fireworks display from the National Mall. But less than a week out, the National Park Service still has not said whether it will grant permission.

Beyond the formal program, CNN reports that much of the convention will be based in D.C. The Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, around the corner from the Trump Hotel, is expected to act as a social hub for the week.

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[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Trump in overdrive to produce a blockbuster RNC that outshines Dems

Trump in overdrive to produce a blockbuster RNC that outshines Dems

By Kaitlan Collins and Kevin Liptak, CNN

Updated 11:04 AM ET, Thu August 20, 2020

Washington (CNN) -- Pre-recorded speeches and a few paper streamers? Not on his watch.

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After exhaustive deliberations over potential venues, the bulk of the convention will be centered in Washington, including on the White House lawn and at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, situated around the block from Trump's hotel (which Republicans said they expected to act as a social hub for the week and will likely benefit financially). Some aides have started referring to the Mellon Auditorium as the place where "Mnuchin got married," meaning the wealthy treasury secretary who wedded the actress Louise Linton there in 2017.

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The White House itself appears set as a main backdrop. Massive theatrical scaffolding and rigging for lights began going up on the South Lawn this week, preventing the President from using his helicopter to fly to Joint Base Andrews for his trips out of town. Trump is expected to deliver his acceptance speech there on Thursday.

"It's a place that makes me feel good, it makes the country feel good," Trump told the New York Post in a recent interview.
Final touches are being made in the restoration of the White House Rose Garden, which is expected to be completed by next week in time for first lady Melania Trump to deliver her speech on Tuesday.

Vice President Mike Pence, who has recently scaled up his own campaign travel, will speak from Fort McHenry in Baltimore. The site, which Trump visited on Memorial Day, was the inspiration for the Star Spangled Banner. And Ivanka Trump is slated to introduce her father at the White House next Thursday.

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