2016 Republican National Convention
The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was held July 18–21, 2016, at Quicken Loans Arena (now Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse) in Cleveland, Ohio.[3] The event marked the third time Cleveland has hosted the Republican National Convention and the first since 1936.[4] In addition to determining the party's national ticket, the convention ratified the party platform.[5]
Convention
There were 2,472 delegates to the Republican National Convention, with a simple majority of 1,237 required to win the presidential nomination.[6][7] Most of those delegates were bound for the first ballot of the convention based on the results of the 2016 Republican presidential primaries.[8] On July 19, 2016, the convention formally nominated Donald Trump for president and Indiana Governor Mike Pence for vice president.[9] Trump and Pence went on to win the general election, defeating the Democratic ticket of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine.[10]
Platform[edit]
Platform Committee debate and provisions[edit]
On July 12, 2016, the Republican Platform Committee completed work on a draft of the party's 2016 platform.[77] The draft platform was described as "very conservative"[78] and reflective of the party's move towards the right.[79][80][81]
On domestic policy, the draft platform opposed abortion without exceptions.[81][82] The platform committee adopted a provision, proposed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, expressing opposition to any restriction on magazine capacity in firearms.[79][81] The platform called for "certain federally controlled public lands" to be immediately transferred to state ownership where they could be privatized. The platform did not specify whether the lands would include national parks, national forests, or wilderness areas.[83] The platform called internet pornography "a public health crisis that is destroying the life of millions" and encouraged states to fight it.[84] The platform also called for the teaching of the Bible in public schools.[79]
On foreign policy, the members of the platform committee were split between "libertarian-minded isolationists" and "national security hawks."[81] The latter camp won on almost every point, voting down measures that would have condemned ongoing U.S. involvement in Middle Eastern wars and approving language promoting increased military spending.[81] One plank reflected a more isolationist approach, eliminating references to giving weapons to Ukraine in its fight with Russia and rebel forces; the removal of this language reportedly resulted from intervention from staffers to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.[85] The draft platform opposed a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[81] While the 2012 Republican platform called for passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the draft 2016 platform did not mention the agreement; this omission reflected the influence of Trump, who opposed the trade pact.[79] The draft platform expressly echoed Trump's call for a wall to be built on the U.S.-Mexico border.[79]
The most contentious discussions held by the platform committee were discussions of social issues, particularly issues of sexuality and gender.[79][81] The draft platform took a traditionalist view on social issues, criticizing "how the modern American family has evolved".[79] Many platform planks expressing "disapproval of homosexuality, same-sex marriage or transgender rights"—championed by Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council—passed.[79] The draft platform called for overturning Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage, by a constitutional amendment.[79] The platform also called for the appointment of judges "who respect traditional family values".[79] The draft platform promoted state legislation to limit restroom access to persons of the same biological sex. It also stated that "natural marriage" is between a man and a woman, asserting that such unions are best for children.[81][79] The draft platform also expressed support for allowing parents to seek "the proper medical treatment and therapy for their minor children"; this language was believed to allude to parental freedom to engage in sexual orientation change efforts with their minor children.[81][86][79][87][88]
Rachel Hoff, a District of Columbia delegate who is the first openly gay member of a Republican platform committee, offered several pro-LGBT platform amendments. Each proposal failed.[89] Hoff's proposal for language "stating that marriage is a fundamentally important institution and that 'there are diverse and sincerely held views on marriage' within the party" failed in an unofficial vote of 30 to 82.[89] An amendment was also offered to recognize that gay people are targeted by ISIL; the delegates who introduced this amendment sought to signal inclusion of the gay community. The amendment was opposed by conservative delegates (such as Jim Bopp of Indiana, who termed such an amendment "identity politics") and was voted down.[79][81]
Adoption of platform by convention[edit]
The 2016 Republican Party platform submitted by the Platform Committee was adopted by the Convention on July 18, 2016.[90][91]
Giovanni Cicione of Rhode Island, a platform committee member, led "a dissident group of Republican delegates" who opposed the provisions of the draft platform relating to sexuality and gender and sought to replace the entire platform with a two-page "statement of principles" that avoided controversial issues like same-sex marriage.[92][93] Cicione tried to force a debate and vote on the platform from the floor of the convention.[92][93] Cicione's effort was unsuccessful; the delegates approved the platform by voice vote, with only a few scattered "nays" audible.[94]
Convention speakers[edit]
Planning and invitations[edit]
In April 2016, Trump vowed to bring "some showbiz" to the convention, criticizing the party's 2012 convention in Tampa, Florida, as "the single most boring convention I've ever seen."[124] The convention's lineup of speakers lacked "many of the party's rising stars" and rather featured some of Trump's "eclectic collection of friends, celebrities and relatives."[125] Politico reported that Trump was directly involved in details of convention plans, seeking "to maximize the drama and spectacle" of the four-night event.[126] A large number of prominent Republican elected officials said they were not interested in attending the convention or even speaking at it, seeking to distance themselves from Trump.[127] The Trump campaign considered the idea of having Trump speak all four nights at the convention – a break from the traditional practice of the presidential nominee taking the stage only on the final night of the convention.[126] Ultimately, Trump decided not to speak every night.[128] Trump also initially stated that he would announce his vice-presidential running mate at the convention itself, rather than before the convention,[129] with a campaign staffer saying that "announcing the vice-presidential nominee before the convention is like announcing the winner of Celebrity Apprentice before the final episode is on the air."[126] Trump's campaign eventually announced plans to announce a running mate the week before the convention[130] and named Mike Pence as his running mate on July 15, 2016.[131]
A number of figures that Trump said he would invite to speak, including boxing promoter Don King, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, were not included in the lineup.[125] Trump wanted King to speak at the convention and raised the issue several times, reportedly until Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus "firmly explained" to Trump that King should not be invited due to his past manslaughter conviction.[132] Former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka, a Trump supporter, declined an invitation to speak.[133] An early roster of speakers obtained by the media listed former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow as a speaker, but Tebow later dismissed this as a rumor and did not appear at the convention.[134][135] Haskel Lookstein, a prominent Orthodox rabbi, was initially set to appear at the convention to deliver the opening prayer (having accepted an invitation to do so from Ivanka Trump, a congregant), but after hundreds of American Modern Orthodox Jews urged him to withdraw from the convention, Lookstein pulled out.[136]
Trump sought to bar those who have not endorsed him from addressing the convention, making comments aimed at the former primary rivals who have declined to endorse him – Bush, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham and George Pataki.[137] However, both Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who ran against Trump for the Republican nomination and lost, were eventually placed on the speakers' schedule, although "neither ... paid the expected price of that spotlight by offering an explicit endorsement."[138] Cruz met with Trump two weeks before the convention and accepted an invitation to speak.[138] Rubio was initially not offered a speaking slot and was expected to skip the convention,[139] but on July 17, 2016, it was confirmed that Rubio would address the convention via recorded video.[138] Neither Rubio nor Cruz were listed as "headliner" speakers.[138]
Governor Kasich did not enter the convention hall or speak at the convention, despite overtures from Trump allies Priebus and Newt Gingrich – who, along with Chris Christie, lost the running mate job to Pence – and top Trump campaign advisor Paul Manafort.[139] Kasich said: "If I'm going to show up at the convention and I'm not going to be saying all these great things about the host, then I think it's inappropriate. I don't think that's the right thing to do." Kasich attended events outside the convention hall in support of down-ballot Republican candidates.[139] As the convention began, the Trump campaign lashed out at Kasich for his failure to endorse, prompting an exchange that The New York Times called "remarkably bitter" and "the latest extraordinary turn in a campaign that has veered sharply away from political precedent."[140] Manafort called Kasich "petulant" and accused him of "embarrassing his party," prompting Kasich chief political aide John Weaver to mock Trump and criticize Manafort for his work on behalf of foreign "thugs and autocrats" abroad.[140]
Schedule[edit]
On July 17, 2016, the convention planners released the convention's official schedule of events and speakers, along with themes.[141] (An early, preliminary roster of speakers, "confirmed by two people with direct knowledge of the convention planning," had been obtained and published by the New York Times several days earlier.)[45] The schedule of speakers is as follows:
Demonstrations[edit]
The number of demonstrators was significantly lower than expected and, according to Cleveland records, three of five officially permitted protests planned for the first three days of the convention did not occur. Lower-than-expected was attributed to a variety of factors, including "fear of violence from the police and fear of violence from the Trump supporters"; Cleveland's relatively small size compared to cities such as Chicago or New York; and a heavy police presence.[214]
On July 18, the convention's first day, dueling anti-Trump and pro-Trump demonstrations took place at various places in Cleveland, attracting several hundred demonstrators each. The demonstrations were peaceful,[215] with just two reported arrests.[216]
On July 19, the convention's second day, peaceful protests continued. Demonstrators included those from groups such as the antiwar organization Code Pink and from the West Ohio Minutemen, a militia group.[217] Three people were arrested for criminal mischief for climbing flag poles and hanging a banner at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, bringing the total number of convention-related arrests to five.[216][217] A brief scuffle between supporters of pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and anti-Trump protesters was quickly broken up by police.[217][218] On July 21, the final day of the convention, Jones and Roger Stone interrupted a broadcast of Cenk Uygur's The Young Turks, leading to a confrontation between Jones, Stone, and Uygur.[219]
On July 20, the convention's third day, seventeen people were arrested, and two officers sustained minor injuries. The International Business Journal reported: "News reports and videos circulated on social media about the increasingly tense nature of protests that have included activists from Black Lives Matter, the Ku Klux Klan and the Westboro Baptist Church, in addition to ardent supporters for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton."[220]
On July 21, the final day of the convention, Donald Trump's acceptance speech was briefly interrupted by Code Pink activist Medea Benjamin.[221]
The demonstrations were generally peaceful. Some demonstrators expressed disappointment at the low turnout.[222][223] In contrast, the 2016 Democratic National Convention saw a larger turnout and more arrests than the Republican Convention.[224]