MILWAUKEE — There’s a sense of inevitability to this year’s Republican National Convention. Maybe that’s because it’s the first one since former President Donald Trump entered politics that Republicans have really united behind him. Or maybe the steady stream of polls showing him trouncing President Joe Biden has convinced Republicans they can’t, and won’t, lose.
Either way, there is a palpable excitement among the delegates and attendees that has been missing in years past. And that excitement is attracting voters, many of whom, including me, weren’t so sure about Trump in 2016 and 2020.
One Milwaukee resident, Paul, told me as he dropped me off downtown that this is the first time he’s looking forward to voting for Trump rather than feeling like he has to. Paul supported Nikki Haley in the GOP primary and admitted that Trump’s past rhetoric was off-putting to him. But the way Trump has carried himself in this campaign, especially in the wake of the attempted assassination he so narrowly avoided, has made a MAGA convert out of Paul.
“I told my wife, ‘This is what we’ve been looking for from him,’” Paul said of Trump’s statements after the shooting. “When he talks about unity, now I actually believe him.”
There are plenty of other previously on-the-fence Trump supporters at the convention who agree with Paul. In fact, just about every Republican politician with a speaking slot at one point denounced Trump or ran against him, including his own vice presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH).
One of Trump’s foremost critics, Haley, addressed her own campaign against him on Tuesday night. She acknowledged that there are many people who, like Paul, had a difficult time stomaching Trump.
“My message to them is simple: You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him,” Haley said. “Take it from me. But I’m here tonight because we have a country to save, and a unified Republican Party is essential for saving her.”
Trump’s ability to unite Haley and the others behind him could be the key to winning in November. Biden’s own win in 2020 proves that there’s immense value to positioning yourself as the unity candidate.
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Biden has traded that position this time around for a doom-and-gloom campaign about alleged threats to democracy, and it’s repelling voters. To be sure, people are very concerned about Biden’s economic policies and his ability to do the job for another four years. But they are just as worried, if not more so, about the total lack of optimism coming from the Democratic Party. They don’t want to be scared into going to the polls — they, like Paul, want to look forward to it.
Here in Milwaukee, Trump is making immense strides toward giving voters that sort of hopeful outlook. If he continues, then November’s election really will be his to lose.