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‘Unlike any political event in the history of the country’: National Convention preview with RNC Chairman

Carolina Journal



In a matter of days, Republicans activists from around the country will begin to gather in Milwaukee for their national convention, at which they will officially nominate their candidate for president, Donald Trump. It’s a big deal, but these conventions are often much bigger than the mere business agenda itself — and 2024 is no exception.


The 2024 Republican National Convention kicks off in Milwaukee, WI from July 15-18.

Carolina Journal spoke with chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Michael Whatley, about Republicans’ focus for this year’s convention and the sheer scale of an event like this. Whatley, a North Carolina native, most recently served as chairman of the Republican Party of North Carolina, and so he sports a Carolina connection for most political themes percolating on the national stage.


And this year’s stage is bigger than ever before. Literally.


“The stage — it’s 26 ft high, 120 ft long, it’s got 1200 LED panels — it’s the most technologically advanced stage that’s ever been built in America,” Whatley boasted when discussing some of the eye-popping numbers associated with the week long event.


The planning and host committees began preparing for the 2024 convention in Milwaukee over 18 months ago. Around the country, Republican activists submitted to be delegates at their county convention months ago, then on to the district convention, and the state convention, before landing in Milwaukee as a delegate or alternate. There, they’ll be joined by delegations from all 56 states and territories, thousands of guests, and a healthy does of media.

“We’re going to have 50,000 delegates, guests, and members of the media that are going to be in Milwaukee for four nights in a row,” said Whatley. “From an operational standpoint, it’s basically tantamount to running the World Series on four nights in a row.”


Over 700 media outlets and more than 15,000 members of the media are expected to attend the RNC’s 2024 convention.


Though out, delegates and guests will face a litany of speakers and breakout sessions, in addition to official business votes, but the real focus, according to Whatley, is delivering a winning message to the American people.


“It comes down to, I think, really two things that we’re going to be focusing on,” said Whatley of the convention themes. “One is, the people in the hall. We’ve got delegates and alternates and guests from all 56 states and territories. We’ve got people that ran to get elected as delegates, they run through a similar process through every state and territory, that are just thrilled to be here and they’re going to get to see an in-person show unlike any political event in the history of the country.”


“The second thing, is that this is ultimately a television production. When we saw 2020 — when we could not hold a physical convention [due to COVID], and we had to turn around to make it purely a television convention —the Republican Party knocked that out of the park. And so we learned a lot of really valuable lessons in terms of, how do we take what’s happening in the hall and transmit it to millions upon millions of viewers, not just in the US, but across the world. That’s really exciting.”


Finally, Whatley said, they plan to show off the president with “the largest, most amazing platform ever and we’re beyond excited about that.”


While, typically, a national convention may have 50-60 speakers, this year the RNC will feature approximately 100 speakers — including Republican candidate for Governor of North Carolina, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson — prior to Trump taking the stage Thursday evening.

However, Whatley said, this isn’t a typical list of politicians and their tired stump speeches, though.


“We’re going to hear from everyday Americans,” reported Whatley. “We’re going to hear from families, farmers, workers. We’re going to talk to people who were helped by President Trump’s policies and those who’ve been hurt by President Biden’s policies, to be able to talk about what this election cycle means for every American family. We’ve never really had those voices highlighted in the way we’re going to be doing.”


Another big item on the agenda? The announcement of Trump’s running mate, about which speculation has been bubbling for months. And while that will undoubtedly be a key takeaway and discussion topic for political chattering classes and the voting public alike, Whatley insisted it’s the policy that makes the real difference.


He described Republicans resumé of success in North Carolina, consistently winning in what many consider a truly purple state, because they listen to the voters and put solutions on the table.


“That’s exactly what’s happening here nationally,” insisted Whatley. “Why are black families and voters, why are hispanic voters, Asian-American voters, coming across the aisle right now by the thousands? Because we’re listening to the issues they put on the table. Inflation is absolutely killing American families. It’s not just a statistic — gasoline are up 55%, grocery prices are up 20%, it costs twice as much to buy a house today as it did four years ago — these are real things that affect every American family. That’s why we’re seeing President Trump do so well.”

While the RNC is focused on “Making America [FILL IN THE BLANK] Again,” the DNC is dealing with a different set of problems altogether. Following a disastrous debate performance in June, the Democrats are facing ever growing calls to replace Biden as their unofficial nominee.

Does this factor in to what the RNC is doing from now until Election Day? The forcefulness of the post-debate movement to let go of Joe seems impossible to ignore.


“My message and the president’s message has been very clear: We are not changing a thing. We are running our race,” stated Whatley when asked about the confusion and panic surrounding the Biden campaign. “It’s the same failed policies that have put us in this ditch, and it’s not just Biden. Whether it’s going to be Kamala Harris, or Gavin Newsom, or Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever, not a single one of them has disavowed the policies that Joe Biden put in place. They’ve all said they’re going to double down on the same exact policies. So we want to use the convention as an opportunity to showcase the fact that we listen to the American people, we understand the issues they care about, and we’re putting solutions on the table.”

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