Republican Convention: There has been scant mention of brewing trouble

United States President Donald Trump yesterday leaves with first lady Melania Trump after her speech to the 2020 Republican National Convention from the Rose Garden of the White House. Photos / AP

As Republicans make the case for a second Trump term at their convention, trouble is brewing outside.

A potentially catastrophic hurricane is bearing down on Texas and Louisiana and will likely test the Administration's emergency response capabilities.

California is battling some of the largest wildfires in its history.

A city in the battleground state of Wisconsin is reeling after another night of violent protests.

And the coronavirus pandemic — the worst public health crisis in a century — is raging.

Police in riot gear clear the area in front of Kenosha County Courthouse during clashes with protesters.

The approaches to the turmoil taken by United States President Donald Trump and his allies have been striking.

The first two nights of the Republican National Convention included virtually no reference to the hurricane gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico of the California fires.

A Las Vegas pastor did open the second night of the convention with a prayer for Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, prompting three nights of protests.

But most speakers have stuck to Trump's law-and-order message, warning that electing Democrat Joe Biden would lead to violence in American cities spilling into the suburbs, a message with racist undertones

Health issues weren't totally ignored. But Larry Kudlow, the president's top economic adviser, referred to the virus in the past tense even as the death toll in the United States surpassed 178,000. And Natalie Harp, a California woman who has battled bone cancer, credited a Trump-backed law with saving her life and argued the nation would be in a far worse place without his leadership.

This GOES-16 GeoColour satellite image provided by NOAA, shows Hurricane Laura over the Gulf of Mexico.

First lady Melania Trump was the most direct of any of the convention speakers in addressing the suffering wrought by the pandemic.

"My deepest sympathy goes out to everyone who has lost a loved one, and my prayers are with those who are ill or suffering," she said yesterday. "I know many people are anxious and some feel helpless. I want you to know you are not alone."

With election day just 10 weeks off and early voting beginning much sooner, Trump is under increasing pressure to reshape the contours of the campaign.

The divergent messages at the convention reflect the Trump campaign's broader struggle to home in on a coherent message that will resonate with voters in a country confronting a historic convergence of health, economic, environmental and social crises.

While the President and his surrogates have mostly stayed away from the crises during the convention programming, Trump today took to Twitter to note that his Administration was engaged with state and local officials in areas in Hurricane Laura's path. He also tweeted about sending federal agents to Kenosha.

Republicans sought yesterday to show a more forgiving side of a combative president. The first lady called her husband someone who will "not stop fighting for you and your families." The President pardoned a reformed felon and oversaw a naturalisation ceremony for several immigrants, though he frequently states his vigorous opposition to more immigration, legal as well as illegal.

Those efforts, aimed at humanising Trump's image, also represented an unprecedented move to harness the trappings of the presidency to advance a political campaign. The naturalisation ceremony took place inside the White House while Melania Trump spoke from the Rose Garden.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed the convention and nation during an official overseas trip in Israel. The taped appearance broke with decades of tradition of secretaries of state avoiding the appearance of involving themselves in domestic politics.

- AP