Published 09:38 IST, August 28th 2020
Why Trump's RNC 2020 Speakers lineup, like his administration, is one big family affair
Day 4 of the RNC took place on Aug 26 when the world got a glimpse of what Trump's idea of 'diversity' was as 50% of the 12 speakers were from his own family.
Day 4 of the Republican National Convention took place on Wednesday, August 26, when the world got more than a glimpse of what US President Donald Trump's idea of 'diversity' was after 50% of the 12 keynote speakers were his own family members.
In addition to the family ranks, the other half of the speakers' list were Vice President Mike Pence, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Governor Kristi Noem, Senators Joni Ernst and Tim Scott.
Why Trump's RNC is a family affair
Ironically, House Minority Leader McCarthy launched a scathing attack on democratic presidential nominee Biden over nepotism rows after it was discovered that his son Hunter Biden worked for a Ukrainian energy company when he was still in office. While he came down heavily on Biden and criticised him for using influence and working with another country for personal, familial gain, McCarthy chose to conveniently forget that the same logic could apply to each of Trump's adult children who were present at the event as key speakers.
Notably, among all the six speakers from Trump's family, no one earned the irk on social media more than Tiffany Trump. The 26-year-old was trending on Twitter because critics were particularly stunned that a law school graduate beat out far heavier political weights and celebrities in the circle, simply because she’s the president’s daughter, and having earned no other merit to be there upon the stage.
Netizens were quick to point out that Tiffany rarely turns up at Trump's events, let alone the RNC — except of course to visit the Queen of England or be a headliner at the premier RNC event.
If this isn't enough, the Twitter scribe was quick to point out the other guest speakers from last week were all still somehow related to him. Perhaps the president is running out of relatable family members who have not turned against him yet. It appears now that Trump family members don’t even require his surname to justify them speaking at the event, let alone a formal title within the Republican administration.
The next in the list included Kimberly Guilfoyle, who was appointed as Trump adviser after she started dating Donald Trump Jr, and Eric Trump (who although has no role in the administration still turned up as one of the key speakers.) Apart from Vice President Mike Pence, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the remaining four speakers have all been carefully chosen to display "diversity" and, as Nikki Haley represented Indian-American voters and Tim Scott the black community. It was no surprise that both speakers came from two of the largest non-white communities in the country.
Updated 14:56 IST, August 28th 2020