Year of Trump: Guide to the Republican National Convention

Conventions

Campaign 2016 ConventionPeople gather onstage as preparations take place inside Quicken Loans Arena for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, Saturday, July 16, 2016.(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

The 2016 Republican National Convention, kicking off Monday, will be like no other. Just ask Donald Trump, who’s promised a “monumentally magnificent” display of stagecraft at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Whether this year’s confab meets that benchmark remains to be seen. With many Republicans deeply reluctant to nominate the billionaire reality TV star, GOP organizers have struggled to attract the star power that typically graces the stage, and there were more questions than answers about what, exactly, is on the schedule once the convention is gaveled in.

Still, the quadrennial gathering boils down to a few key pieces of business the Republican Party must carry out before it can turn its focus fully to winning the White House in November. What to know about the week:

THE POINT

Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party use their national conventions to formally nominate candidates for president and vice president. The top figures in the party gather to showcase their nominees, and the prime-time speeches given by the candidates and other prominent politicians garner some of the largest television audiences of the campaign. That makes the convention a critical opportunity for the party to introduce its candidates to the country.

At the convention, the Republican Party will also adopt its official party platform, a formal document that lays out the party’s policy principles but has no binding effect on how its politicians ultimately govern.

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THE LOCATION

The Quicken Loans Arena, also known as “The Q,” will host the convention. The home of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, the arena has been transformed with stages, platforms, cameras and lights. The site was chosen in mid-2014 after a vote by the RNC’s 168 members.

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WHO’S GOING

Some 50,000 GOP delegates, alternates, lawmakers and guests are expected in downtown Cleveland, along with close to 15,000 journalists from around the world.

Of the 2,472 delegates planning to attend, many were selected at state and congressional district conventions. Others were on slates put together by the presidential campaigns. They represent the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories. Members of the RNC are automatic delegates.

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WHO’S NOT GOING

Some prominent establishment Republicans, including many up for re-election this year. Concerned that being associated with Trump may hurt their own standing with voters, those Republicans are choosing to stay away.

GOP Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Mark Kirk of Illinois and John McCain of Arizona — all on November’s ballot — are bowing out. So is Mitt Romney, the party’s most recent presidential nominee, and John Kasich, the governor of Ohio, where the convention is being held. The party’s two most recent presidents, George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush, have both said they’re not attending.

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THE SCHEDULE

Check back later.

Unlike in previous years, this year’s convention schedule has been a work in progress, even as delegates started arriving. Other than the fact that the convention will start on Monday and close on Thursday, few details have been released.

Those who do plan to speak include at least 20 current or former Republican politicians, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who fought Trump in the primary. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Trump’s running mate, is also expected to speak.

Four of Trump’s children and his wife also plan to appear. Another notable speaker is Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder, who may be the first openly gay speaker featured at a national Republican convention.

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THE ENTERTAINMENT

Republicans have struggled to put together an impressive roster of nonpoliticians. Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, who leads the congregation that Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, attends, was scheduled to appear but backed out. Former football star Tim Tebow, whom the Trump campaign had touted as an all-star get, later insisted he had no plans to attend.

In their stead, Republicans will have a lineup that so far includes actor and former underwear model Antonio Sabato Jr. and pro golfer Natalie Gulbis.

Democrats, in contrast, have nabbed entertainers like Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, Lenny Kravitz and Cyndi Lauper for their convention the following week in Philadelphia.

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THE RULES

Finalizing the rules for the convention is critical this year, because of the long-simmering threat by anti-Trump delegates to try to oust him at the convention. Delegates are expected to approve the convention’s rules when the gathering begins Monday.

Though Trump won more delegates in the primaries than he needs, his foes sought to use a rules change to “unbind” delegates so they could cast a vote of “conscience” and back someone other than Trump despite the verdict of voters in their states.

Those hopes were quashed in a rules committee meeting last week, in which that proposal was resoundingly defeated. Still, social conservatives and others were spending the weekend strategizing. They hope to force procedural votes in long-shot bids to potentially derail Trump’s nomination.

The dissidents are outnumbered and are up against party leaders who control the gavel and are intent on a smoothly run event. Even so, Trump’s foes could prove noisy and disruptive.

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THE ROLL CALL

The high point of the week’s pageantry will come in the formal roll-call vote to nominate Trump, likely Tuesday or Wednesday, in which each state will have its turn to announce how its delegates are voting.

Trump arrives with 1,543 delegates, according to the Associated Press count. That number includes 1,448 delegates required under party rules to vote for Trump on the first ballot, and 95 unbound delegates who have publicly endorsed Trump.

It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination.

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THE PROTESTS

Cleveland authorities are preparing for potentially thousands of protesters, a common occurrence at political conventions but especially likely this year. A protest area has been established just outside the convention site.

Security concerns are particularly high this year due to racial tensions and civilian-police violence across the United States, plus recent mass casualty events including a nightclub shooting in Orlando and Islamic State group-linked attacks outside the U.S.

Officials have locked down a perimeter around the arena and set up barricades, and security was stepped up further after the truck attack Thursday in Nice, France.

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PARTY TIME

The convention will end, as usual, with a massive balloon drop over the heads of delegates on the floor, while cameras roll and music blares. In the arena, thousands of red, white and blue balloons have been pre-positioned on the ceiling.

The festivities continue outside the arena, where state GOP parties, political groups and media organizations have organized hundreds of parties, receptions and seminars.

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Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.

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Story by The Associated Press.