Speakers at the Republican National Convention have been given specific advice about how to handle their speeches in the wake of Saturday’s attempted assassination of Donald Trump: Change nothing.
Trump aides and convention leadership have not told those speaking at the weeklong convention in Milwaukee to alter their original speeches after the shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump did not want to show signs of weakness or signal that the shooting affected the long-planned convention, according to seven people who are either set to give RNC speeches or their aides.
“It seems people are just going to talk about what they were going to talk about,” a source familiar with the speaking arrangements said. “Trump is setting the tone, and the tone is business as usual.”
The one issue that has been discussed is which specific speakers will bring up the assassination attempt. There was concern that the topic would come up in every speech, which organizers wanted to avoid.
“Only thing that we were told is they are going to figure out who they want to talk about it,” said a scheduled speaker, Matt Brooks, the executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition. “It was to avoid having 100 speakers saying the same thing.
“In terms of substance, nothing else has changed,” he added.
An aide for another speaker said: “That tracks with what we have heard.
“The guidance has been not to change speeches,” the person added.
Neither Trump’s campaign nor the Republican National Committee responded to requests seeking comment.
There was a sense, according to the people interviewed by NBC News, that Trump and the convention organizers did not want the appearance of being weak in the face of the assassination attempt.
“Project confidence,” a speaker said of what they are being told. “Keep the status quo.”
Though speakers are being told to maintain their original plans, the impact of an assassination attempt on the party’s presumptive nominee will be felt in Milwaukee.
NBC News reported Sunday that in the day since the assassination attempt, there has been renewed energy and a sense of enthusiasm among many Republicans attending the event.
“What was already going to be a significant moment of unification behind President Trump will now become the most unified and vocal support for a presidential nominee this nation has ever witnessed,” said Trump-endorsed Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Cabrera.
The convention officially kicks off Monday, and more than 80 speakers are scheduled throughout the week.
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