President Trump plans to go on the attack against Democratic nominee Joe Biden in his convention speech on Thursday night, which will paint his rival as a failed Washington lifer and a vehicle for a radical left-wing agenda.
Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said the president is frustrated by what he views as the news media giving Biden a pass by “ignoring or glossing over” Biden’s record. He said the president has decided to make the case against Biden himself to ensure that Americans hear about what life would look like under a Democratic-controlled government.
According to excerpts of the speech, Trump will warn that Biden is embracing “the most extreme set of proposals ever put forward by a major party nominee.”
“At no time before have voters faced a clearer choice between two parties, two visions, two philosophies, or two agendas,” Trump will say, according to prepared remarks. “We have spent the last four years reversing the damage Joe Biden inflicted over the last 47 years. At the Democrat convention, you barely heard a word about their agenda. But that’s not because they don’t have one. It’s because their agenda is the most extreme set of proposals ever put forward by a major party nominee.”
Trump’s speech capping off the Republican National Convention will take place as a major hurricane bears down on the Gulf Coast and as violent protests have broken out in Kenosha, Wis., after the police shot a Black man in the back.
Murtaugh said the president will address the hurricane and the preparations the administration is taking, while asking for “God’s blessing on the people in its path.”
He did not reveal whether the president would specifically address Jacob Blake, who remains hospitalized after being shot by the police. Kenosha has been wracked by protests and NBA teams, led by the Milwaukee Bucks, have postponed playoff games to protest the police shooting.
A young man who appears to be a Trump supporter has been arrested for allegedly shooting and killing two people at demonstrations in Kenosha on Tuesday night.
The president will mention the unrest in Kenosha, but Murtaugh indicated that it will be as part of an effort to draw attention to what Trump views as the destructive elements of the Black Lives Matter protests that have resulted in damage to cities such as Kenosha, Minneapolis and Portland.
“The president will address the unrest,” Murtaugh said. “He’ll make reference to Kenosha and speak about the issue in terms of how the reaction cannot be to escalate violence and we cannot have Americans harming Americans.”
The final night of the convention will feature speeches from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who is a potential 2024 GOP presidential contender, as well as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a top adviser to Trump.
The Republicans will also hear from Ann Dorn, the wife of police officer David Dorn, who was killed amid protests in St. Louis; criminal justice reform advocate Alice Johnson, who had her prison sentence commuted by Trump; and Carl and Marsha Mueller, whose daughter was captured and murdered by ISIS.
But Murtaugh indicated the bulk of the president’s focus would be on Biden.
“The president will deliver a tough speech … we feel unless the president does it, the media will be tempted not to cover it,” Murtaugh said.
“He’ll describe Joe Biden as a weak candidate with a poor record. He’ll lay out his vision and what he wants to accomplish in a second term.”
Murtaugh also said Trump would put forth an “uplifting and optimistic view of the U.S., its history and founding and values,” which he said compared to the “doom and gloom vision the left presents.”
“This towering American spirit has prevailed over every challenge, and lifted us to the summit of human endeavor,” Trump will say, according to prepared remarks.