With the Republican National Convention in Cleveland right around the corner, it’s make-or-break time for Donald Trump’s campaign as far as endorsements and appearances from big shots in the GOP. Whispers about who will appear on stage with Trump, make a floor speech and/or offer their endorsement are making the rounds in Washington.
Trump has said that anyone desiring a speech at the convention must endorse him. Those people include:
Newt Gingrich
As someone strongly suspected to be Trump’s top vice presidential pick, former Speaker of the House Gingrich has been a trusted Trump advisor for months and has publicly endorsed him.
Gingrich will bring a much-desired political gravitas to Trump’s campaign and to the convention floor, where he says that delegates who don’t support the businessman don’t belong.
Ben Carson
The former GOP presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon joined Trump’s camp as an advisor in March. His business manager Armstrong Williams said he will both speak and heartily praise Trump at the convention.
Rick Perry
Former Trump rival, three-term Texas governor and two-time presidential candidate Rick Perry has recently come around to endorsing Trump, despite previously calling him a “cancer” on conservatism early in the GOP primary races. Perry has said he will be attending the convention and would “welcome the chance” to speak.
Rick Santorum
In late May, the former Pennsylvania Senator and conservative presidential candidate endorsed Trump after having a heart-to-heart talk with him. Santorum has indicated he would like to attend the convention and would certainly be available to speak.
Mike Huckabee
Another early GOP presidential candidate, former Arkansas governor Huckabee has given high marks to Trump lately, and his daughter currently works for Trump’s campaign. Huckabee says that he’s spoken to Trump about addressing the convention and that he would do so if asked.
Ted Cruz
Hardcore Trump presidential rival Senator Ted Cruz has told The New York Times he’ll be attending but not speaking at the convention. Under GOP party rules, he’s allowed a speaking slot if his name is placed into nomination — which his current number of delegates allows for.
Cruz has repeatedly refused to endorse Trump and still bears him ill will over negative comments Trump made about his wife and about a possible role his father had in the JFK assassination. It remains to be seen if the two will patch up their differences prior to seeing each other in Cleveland.
While we’d like to say that all Republicans will support their party’s elected candidate for president, we cannot. There are still some GOP party members who have indicated that they will not be support Trump, nor be attending the convention. These men include:
Mitt Romney
The 2012 Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts governor has been one of Trump’s most vocal critics and was one of the first to announce he would not attend the 2016 event. He also made clear he would not vote for Trump in November.
John McCain
The 2008 Republican presidential nominee, unlike Mitt Romney, will support the real estate mogul despite being vocally critical of Trump ever since the latter tweeted that he thought McCain had let the country down by being captured in the Vietnam War.
But McCain likely has no choice; his only chance for reelection to the Senate in the Fall hinges on following the will of his supporters, most of whom back Trump.
Nikki Haley
The South Carolina governor, who had been a friend of Trump’s prior to his campaign, later endorsed Marco Rubio for president but switched to Trump’s camp in early May once it became clear the frontrunner was all but assured of the GOP nomination. Still, Haley has called Trump’s speaking “divisive” and said she wouldn’t serve as his VP even if he asked her to.
Dick Cheney
The former VP under George W. Bush has been critical of Trump’s views on the 9/11 terror attacks (Trump has claimed that Bush let the attacks happen) and on refusing to let Muslims into the country — it “goes against everything we stand for and believe in,” according to Cheney.
Nonetheless, Cheney has said he’ll support Trump as the Republican nominee but will not be attending the convention.
Jeb, George and George W. Bush
It may be no surprise to anyone that Trump’s bitterest rival in the early GOP primary season will not be appearing at the Cleveland convention. Perhaps he doesn’t wish to face donors to his extremely well-funded Super-PAC that failed to deliver on its promises.
Or perhaps he doesn’t want to face a humiliating response from hardened Trump supporters, many of whom would like to see the Bush family exiled. Neither of the former presidents will back Trump either, likely due to Trump’s blaming them for unnecessary wars in the Middle East, among other issues.
Bobby Jindal
The former governor of Louisiana has called Trump “the better of two bad choices,” and stated he’ll vote for him in a Wall Street Journal editorial in May. At the same time, Jindal declared he wouldn’t be attending the GOP convention, preferring to retain a lower profile than he’s had in some time.
Lindsey Graham
The senior South Carolina Senator and sometime GOP presidential candidate has been vocal in his opposition to Trump and even called Trump a “jackass” in a CNN interview last year.
Graham stated that he wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, saying of the latter, “I do not believe he is a reliable Republican conservative nor has he displayed the judgment and temperament to serve as Commander in Chief.”
In addition to the outspoken Never Trump GOP leaders, there are those who have said they are still on the fence about their party’s nominee. Those party members who have said they’re still deciding whether to attend the convention include:
Marco Rubio
Another one of Trump’s bitter presidential campaign rivals, junior Florida senator Rubio has since decided to support the New York businessman, even though he had cast aspersions on Trump’s manhood during the primaries.
Rubio has said he would be open to attending and speaking at the convention but is now unsure if his Senate reelection campaign schedule will allow him to do so. He also has been vocal about doubting Trump’s ability to take responsibility for the country’s nuclear weapons should the headstrong candidate win the presidency.
Rand Paul
Since quitting the GOP presidential race, the libertarian-leaning Kentucky senator has stated he would back whoever the Republican nominee turned out to be. Paul is a delegate for his own state, and Cleveland is only a short distance from Kentucky. However, a spokesman for the senator said, “we have yet to decide if Senator Paul will be attending [the event].”
John Kasich
As one of the last Republican candidates to quit the contest with Trump, the current governor of the state where the convention will be taking place has so far rejected calls to support Trump and has been critical of the self-promoting entrepreneur throughout the race.
It’s clear that Kasich would still like to be considered as his party’s presidential nominee, despite only winning his home state in the primaries.
“We have not sought nor are we expecting a speaking slot at the convention,” declared Kasich spokesman Chris Schrimpf, acknowledging, however, that Kasich will be “in and around” the Cleveland area while the convention is taking place.
George Pataki
The former governor of New York had blasted Trump during his own brief bid for the GOP nomination and has since refused to endorse him. A spokesman for Pataki said that he has not decided whether to attend the convention.
And finally, there are those prominent party members who haven’t spoken to the press at all regarding their convention plans. They include:
Chris Christie
It’s all but assured that Chris Christie will be joining Trump onstage at the convention, but his office hasn’t confirmed his attending or speaking plans one way or the other.
Many insiders say Christie is strongly being considered as Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, but lingering doubts about the New Jersey governor’s “Bridgegate” scandal may prevent this from coming to fruition.
Jim Gilmore
The erstwhile GOP presidential candidate and one-time governor of Virginia has said he would back Trump and even help him with voter registration in the former’s home state.
However, Gilmore failed to win a bid as a Virginia state convention delegate, and his spokesman hasn’t responded to questions about whether the former governor would attend the convention.
Carly Fiorina
The former Hewlett-Packard CEO and Trump still have bad blood over Trump’s remarks about Fiorina’s appearance in an early GOP primary debate, and ever since her attempt to join forces with Ted Cruz as the latter’s running mate, she’s had no comment about The Donald.
Her staff didn’t respond to questions about whether she’ll be attending the GOP convention, although her office has been emailing supporters asking them to help her “defeat Hillary Clinton.”
In addition to the above names, other luminaries expected to speak at the convention are Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady, NASCAR CEO Brian France, former Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship Dana White.
At least now we know who is who in the Grand Ole Party.
