With the 2016 Republican National Convention just hours away, the party’s standard-bearer is preparing to deploy his secret weapon – his family.
Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has made significant headway against his likely Democratic opponent for this November’s general election, tying or beating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in polling of key battleground states and narrowing the gap in nationwide polls.
Nevertheless, Trump still trails the former First Lady by an average of 3.2% according to the RealClearPolitics average of polling. Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight, whose revolutionary polling analysis correctly predicted the results in 49 states in the 2008 US presidential election and in all 50 states in 2012, currently gives Mr. Trump a 36.7% chance of winning this year’s election.
While those are the best odds yet for Trump this season, he enters his party’s national convention this year a decided underdog for the general election.
Despite his bump in the polls following FBI chief James Comey’s criticisms of Clinton’s mishandling of classified government material on her private internet server, a series of deadly terror attacks, and racially-motivated assassinations of police officers in Texas and Louisiana, Trump’s unfavorables remain high – and in most polls, exceed Clinton’s.
According to a recent CNN/ORC poll, 42% of registered voters had a favorable opinion of Mrs. Clinton, compared to 39% who viewed Trump favorably, compared to 55% who viewed Clinton unfavorably and 59% who felt similarly about the GOP nominee.
In the past, Trump has utilized his family in the past to soften his image, bringing wife Melania and children Eric, Ivanka, and Donald Trump Jr. out into the spotlight to highlight his background as a family man.
The recently published schedule for the convention, which is slated to being at 1:00 p.m. EST (8:00 p.m. Jerusalem Time), gives pride of place to members of the Trump family, with his wife or children headlining each and every day of the convention.
On Monday, Trump’s wife, Melania, headlines, along with Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa and retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn – who were long considered a possible VP picks – among others.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump Junior will headline alongside former presidential hopeful Ben Carson and Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.
Eric Trump is slated to speak on Wednesday, as is Trump’s running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich.
Ivanka, one of Trump’s closest advisors, is set to headline on Thursday, the last day of the convention, ahead of her father, as he formally accepts the party’s nomination.