WARNING: What Are (and Aren’t) Republicans Talking About?
If you missed the Republican National Convention…honestly, good for you. Chances are you probably had a much more fun and relaxing week than those of us who did subject ourselves to it. I’m here to catch you up.
While the news cycle has moved on due to Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket, it’s still important to understand what Harris is now tasked with refuting. As I’ve emphasized before, elections are more about what you’re voting for than whom you’re voting for.
If you watched most or all of the convention (as I did), I commend you for informing yourself about what the GOP is talking about and trying to understand what they will do to our country. Between that and Trump’s June debate against Biden, though, you probably got bored after a while: almost every speaker talked about some combination of a few things, and notably didn’t talk about others.
Today, let’s talk about the message Republicans are presenting, and what to watch out for if they win!
What They Want You To Think
They Took Er Jerbs!
TW: Racism, violent language
If you’ve observed politics in the past eight years, it shouldn’t be a surprise that anti-immigrant sentiment is still the driving force of the Trump campaign. Multiple speakers lambasted the Biden administration for their imaginary “open border” policy (even though they deported over 140,000 immigrants last year) and promised to secure the border. Republicans falsely claim that immigrants take American jobs and commit more crimes than the general population. Notably, to win over support from voters of color, Trump insisted that immigrants were taking away “Black jobs” during the debate. (Allison Wiltz recently did a great piece unpacking the racism behind this argument.)
While it was shocking when Trump called Mexicans rapists in his 2016 campaign launch speech, none of us bat an eye anymore when speakers like convicted criminal Peter Navarro and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott use an identical line about how “murderers and rapists” are flooding the country through the southern border. Immigration is the issue on which Trump has been the most successful in moving the country’s Overton Window to the right, and so it’s unsurprising to see it as their main (and at times, only) argument.
America First (Because a Strongman Will Save Us All)
In his debate with Biden, Trump claimed that Putin would never have invaded Ukraine had he been re-elected as President, that Hamas’ October 7th attack on Israel would never have happened, and bizarrely called Biden a “Manchurian Candidate.” He doubled down on this grandiose xenophobia in his RNC speech, claiming that he would single-handedly end “every single international crisis” that exists while Biden is in office.
How would Trump do this? Great question. Republicans’ logic seems to be that because Trump is “strong” and “tough”, other world leaders will just do whatever he wants. Supposedly, the only reason anything bad happens in the world is because other people don’t “fear” Joe Biden. While introducing Trump, Dana White referred to the Republican party as the party of “strength and security.” As Donald Jr. said, there’s “tough” and then there’s “Trump Tough.” Slogans like that may sound good if you’re advertising garbage bags, but don’t exactly hold up as a vision for the world.
Jesus is Back, and His Name is Donald Apparently
Hooooo lordie did they bring up God a lot in this convention. Not only did religious leaders like Franklin Graham speak at this convention, but political speakers like Tim Scott said that Trump’s survival of the assassination was a reason why we should all believe in miracles. Trump himself said that “God was on his side” when he was shot. The Christian Nationalist bent of the Republican party was not only on full display here, but they spun recent events to fit their narrative like a glove.
Trump’s desire to run was framed not as the opportunistic power grab that it is, but as some noble act of self-sacrifice. Multiple speakers pointed out that while Trump already had a “perfect family” and an “amazing life” as a rich person, he ran because the country “needed him.” This reinforced a claim Trump had already made during the debate, where he said that he was running only because Biden was doing such a bad job.
Trump was already using his indictments and impeachments as fuel for his movement’s fervor, but by pontificating for thirty minutes about the assassination attempt, he attempted to fully assume the role of his party’s messiah.
Republicans Are For “The People” Now?
In addition to their who’s who of Republican politicians, they also hosted a few speakers who were non-traditional participants at a conservative conference. These included Hulk Hogan (who hyped up the crowd for Trump and ripped his shirt off on stage), Kid Rock (who led the crowd in a bizarre chant before Trump came on), influencer Amber Rose, and Teamsters President Sean O’Brien.
Coincidence? Of course not. This is part of their strategy to broaden their coalition to include working-class voters (of all races) and bring new voters into the political process. Rather than the party of rich, educated suburbanites who backed Mitt Romney, the Republican party has rebranded itself as a populist, supposedly working-class coalition. Donald Jr. claimed that his father’s favorite people were “people who work for a living”, and that people who had never voted before would have a home in the Republican party.
On a deeper level, Republicans know that most of their ideas are unpopular and extreme, so they don’t want you to think about those. That’s why they’re picking two or three things to repeat ad nauseam and otherwise make a dry political convention as much “fun” as they can.
But what are they trying to hide? Well…a lot.
What They Don’t Want You Think About
It Takes More Than Pulling Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps
One key thing Trump and his new running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), have in common is that they claim to exemplify the American Dream. Vance spent much of his speech talking about his childhood growing up in Appalachia, which he wrote about in his 2016 bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy. After sharing some anecdotes about his grandmother (Mamaw) and pointing out his mother, who had overcome addiction, in the audience, he said that his rise out of the working class and into the national spotlight was “only possible in America.”
That said, both Vance’s book and his record as a Senator have been torn to shreds by actual working-class people. Vance is viciously anti-labor, with a 0% rating from AFL-CIO. His book, while praised when it was first released, has been criticized for painting Appalachia as a backward, bankrupt place where poverty is due to people’s bad personal choices rather than structural failures of American society. TikTok creator RevPopPopandFriends explained what’s wrong with this thinking (and how it perpetuates classist myths) much better than I can:
Ironically, this does make him a fitting complement to Trump. Trump built his business, of course, with a “small loan” of a million dollars from his father. Vance similarly achieved “the American Dream” having gotten all of his previous jobs and an introduction to Trump himself from alt-right billionaire Peter Thiel. By presenting themselves as having risen from the ashes, these two gaslight their audience into thinking that if you put your trust in Republicans, you can become rich like them.
Unity Schmunity, Says GOP
After the attempt on July 13th to assassinate Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, reports came that Trump planned to use the convention to “unify the nation” rather than continue his incendiary rhetoric. Did he?
Well…not quite. After waxing wistfully for 30 minutes about the assassination attempt he survived, Trump returned to his usual scheduled programming: among other incendiary remarks, he referred to “crazy Nancy Pelosi”, said that Biden had done more damage than the 10 worst US presidents combined, and accused Biden and Democrats of “political witch hunts.”
Other speakers also failed to make any attempt at saying anything “unifying.” After ranting for his entire speech about supposedly failed Democratic policies, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) claimed that RNC organizers had loaded the wrong speech into the teleprompter when it was his turn to talk. Sure, Ronald. Just days before pitching Trump as a unifying figure, Vance directly blamed Democrats for the assassination attempt on X:
Saying you want to unify the country is (gasp) not the same thing as unifying the country. Make it make sense, guys.
Project 2025
While Trump stumbled through a lot of his first term in office, the conservative movement has a much farther-reaching and better-thought-out plan this time. As you probably know, The Heritage Foundation (along with dozens of other right-wing groups) recently published a manifesto known as Project 2025. This 900-page document essentially promises to purge the federal government of civil servants who don’t enable Trump’s agenda, delete supposedly evil concepts such as “diversity”, “reproductive health” or “gender identity” from any federal regulation that exists, and undermine checks or balances that prevent the president from having nearly absolute power. Trump has, after all, admitted he’ll be a dictator on day one. For a detailed breakdown of why this plan is so terrifying, check out Leeja Miller’s video on it here:
Some of the most politically damaging proposals in there that Republicans don’t want you to think about include national bans on birth control, and “pornography”, restrictions on eligibility for programs like Medicaid, and various measures to sabotage public schools. It is a credit to previous advocacy and organizing, as well as the inherent popularity of progressive policies, that these proposals weren’t mentioned a single time.
Trump posted on Truth Social that he does not support Project 2025 or agree with all of its proposals. However, many Trump alumni are key architects of the manifesto, and Trump implemented over half of the recommendations that the Heritage Foundation provided to him during his first term. Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, meanwhile, recently threatened the left with a violent revolution if they resisted his agenda.
So…which is it? Is Trump going only to demonize immigrants and destroy the planet through drilling, or is he going to attack your rights (as a “typical” American) much more directly? He’s counting on your willingness to take that chance, which we absolutely cannot.
After sounding kind of normal at the convention, J.D. Vance is making headlines for bizarre soundbites (past and present) about how Mountain Dew is racist, “childless cat ladies” are ruining America, and people in violent marriages should stay together for their kids. Trump seems to have chosen him not to shore up support in the election, but in hopes of continuing the fascist movement he’s created after his second presidency.
Will It Work?
Great question. In the next 100 days, we’ve got a lot left to go, including the Democrats’ convention, multiple potential debates, and a massive GOTV and fundraising battle between the two sides. Democrats are banking on a sustained surge of energy from the left due to Kamala Harris’ entry into the race. Given her fundraising and internet presence in the past few days, there’s good reason to hope for one.
That said, polls are still very close between the two, and things could go either way. As I’ve talked about, the onus is now on the Democrats to refute these right-wing talking points, fully warn America about Project 2025, and present the best possible case of their own. After it happens, I’ll offer a similar recap of the Democratic convention. I already know whose message is more compelling to me, but time will tell who gets convinced to vote and why.
