Analysis by WorldTribune Staff, August 24, 2020
During opening remarks at his White House press briefing on Sunday, President Donald Trump greeted the many “journalists” returning from the Democrats’ four-day convention of darkness and division.
“It’s good to see you all,” the president said to the press, adding “Hope you had a great weekend at your convention.”
Joe Biden’s gloomy DNC acceptance speech received glowing reviews from his major media backers, but poor ratings from the American viewership.
Less than 22 million people tuned in to Biden’s speech. The Hill’s media reporter Joe Concha noted Biden’s viewership was down 21 percent from Hillary Clinton’s 2016 acceptance speech and had 38.5 percent fewer viewers than Trump’s 2016 RNC speech.
“Again, we’re in a pandemic with more people at home,” Concha noted. “And before you cite cord-cutting, please know that the cable news networks are all enjoying their highest-rated years on record.”
The Media Research Center noted that, in June and July alone, its analysts of media coverage documented “668 evaluative statements about the President, 95 percent of which (634) were negative, vs. a mere five percent (34) that were positive. Using the same methodology, we found very few evaluative statements about Joe Biden — just a dozen, two-thirds of which (67 percent) were positive.”
The Daily Wire added: “In those same two months, virtually every negative story about Biden — from Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegations to his sharp leftward shift, to his apparent racial gaffes — was all swept under the rug or dramatically under-reported, even as the newscasts continued to negatively cover President Trump. The former vice president’s own policy platform, which includes massive expansions of government health care, education, and environmental programs, received just ‘a meager 5 minutes, 22 seconds of airtime, not one second of which included any critical analysis from any journalist.’ ”
Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign on Sunday announced its roster of speakers for this week’s Republican National Convention.
Jason Miller, a Trump campaign adviser, said America would see “a very optimistic and upbeat convention” from Trump and his Republican, independent and Democratic allies.
Monday’s lineup will feature Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Jim Jordan of Ohio, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, who chairs the Trump Victory Committee’s finance committee.
Other notable names include Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones, a Black Democrat who supports the president; Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk; and Andrew Pollack, whose daughter was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who were charged by a leftist prosecutor for defending their home against rioters this summer, are also scheduled to speak to the RNC on Monday.
On Tuesday, first lady Melania Trump will speak, as well as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, reportedly from Israel; Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky; Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa; former Attorney General Pam Bondi of Florida; and Attorneys General Jeanette Nuñez of Florida and Daniel Cameron of Kentucky.
The president’s children, Eric and Tiffany Trump, are also slated to speak on Tuesday in addition to Nicholas Sandmann, the Covington Catholic High School student whose lawsuits against CNN and The Washington Post for defamation were settled, and Mary Ann Mendoza, whose son Sgt. Brandon Mendoza was killed by an illegal immigrant drunk driver in 2014.
Vice President Mike Pence and wife Karen Pence and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who announced Sunday she is leaving the Trump administration to focus on her family, will speak on Wednesday night, which will also feature Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa; Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota; and Reps. Dan Crenshaw of Texas and Elise Stefanik and Lee Zeldin of New York.
Trump campaign adviser Lara Trump, who is married to the president’s son Eric Trump, and Madison Cawthorn, the North Carolina candidate who won the GOP primary for chief of staff Mark Meadows’ congressional seat, will also speak on Wednesday.
Thursday’s speakers will include Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey (who switched from the Democratic Party in December), White House senior adviser Ivanka Trump, White House aide Ja’Ron Smith and Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney.
Trump will speak each of the four nights of the RNC.
“You’ll have President Trump speaking at various parts for each of the nights,” Miller told NBC News.
Calling the DNC a “massive grievance fest,” Miller said the RNC will tell a “beautiful story.”
“One of the things you’re going to see this week is a complete change in the perception that I believe that the media tries to tell about what a Trump supporter looks like or who a Trump supporter is we’re going to talk about the American story,” Miller said, adding that the RNC will highlight Trump’s accomplishments over the past four years and set a vision for a second term.
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Trump to White House reporters: ‘Hope you had a great weekend at your convention’ added by World Tribune on
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