He has justified his choice as the most practical, cost effective measure after Covid-19 forced cancelation of Republican plans for a traditional convention with big crowds in North Carolina.
As Trump says, he already lives in the White House.
But by making the presidential residence his political stage and applying to turn the adjacent National Mall into a fireworks launchpad, Trump is also deliberately showing off his power, in contrast to Biden’s low-key, online approach.
“He’s going to be speaking on a world stage,” as advisor Kellyanne Conway told reporters.
– Guns and God –
The formal nominating part of the convention will take place Monday in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a small group of Republican delegates — and possibly Trump — attending in person.
First Lady Melania Trump, who came to the United States as an immigrant from Slovenia and rarely opens up about her personal life, is expected to make remarks from the White House’s iconic Rose Garden on Tuesday.
Vice President Mike Pence, who is important to bringing right-wing Christian voters to Trump’s banner, will give his speech in Baltimore on Wednesday.
The rest of the time before Trump’s finale on Thursday is expected to feature family members, who are an integral part of his campaign, congressional allies and special guests highlighting the president’s potent blend of patriotism and anti-socialist rhetoric.
At the Democrats’ convention, arguably the most effective invitee was the daughter of a coronavirus victim, who blamed Trump for leading her father into thinking the pandemic wasn’t serious — a key line of attack in the election.
Republicans will use their guests to accentuate what Trump claims to be the Democrats’ plan to sow anarchy and godlessness across the American heartland.
As Trump himself said of Biden, who is in fact a practicing Catholic and political moderate: “He’s against God. He’s against guns.”
Republican invitations have reportedly gone out to Patricia and Mark McCloskey, who became rightwing folk heroes when they were filmed waving firearms at a group of protesters marching down their street in St Louis.
Although later charged with a weapons violation, the couple have been lionized by Trump and his supporters on Fox News and across the conservative media sphere.
Another invite symbolizing Republicans’ sense of outrage will be Nicholas Sandmann, a recent graduate of the Covington Catholic High School.
He became famous in 2019 when he was portrayed by major media outlets as taunting a Native American elder, while wearing one of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” baseball caps, during a school visit to Washington.
The account was based on a viral video but subsequent footage cast doubt over the entire story and Sandmann’s family sued, receiving financial settlements from CNN and The Washington Post — and becoming symbols of conservative anger at the media.Antarctic air reaching Australia’s south east triggered snowfall down to low altitudes across several states on Saturday, with many people out enjoying the rare event despite wild winds and heavy snow that closed some roads.
Pictures of snowy towns and landscapes across New South Wales (NSW), Victoria, the Australia Capital Territory and the island state of Tasmania flooded social media as locals rushed to capture the surprise early spring snowfall.
“We’ve seen light #snow make it to #Canberra today, and yes even heard a few rogue flakes landed on Parliament House,” in the nation’s capital, the Bureau of Meteorology said in a Twitter post.Over one metre (3.3 feet) of snow had fallen in a number of alpine regions, and the cold weather would likely remain for several days, the bureau said.
“It’s awesome,” Raj Kumar told the Seven Network. Kumar had travelled from Sydney with his family to see the snow in the town of Oberon in NSW’s Blue Mountains, an area that was under threat from widespread bushfires last year.
“I think it’s better than Perisher Valley,” referring to a popular snow resort about a four-hour drive south of Oberon.
The World News 