A Family Affair

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “Even the Kennedys didn’t have as many family members appear at the 1960 convention as Trumps have at this one. Naturally, family members have often been used as props, in a sense, occasionally seen in cameo roles in film or on the podium: LBJ’s daughters, Nixon’s daughters and sons-in-laws, the Ford and Carter children in 1976, the Bushes, and so on. And of course there will be (at least) three prominently featured Clintons in Philadelphia next week.”

“But to have a convention where the family members play a significant role each night of the convention is unprecedented. It’s obviously an attempt to humanize Trump and file down his rough edges — although it will take a lot more than a stable of attractive and well-spoken family members to do that. Trump made a virtue of necessity. So many senior politicians are desperate to avoid even the slightest taint from Trump. They’ll always be somewhere else when he’s in their state or district. Instead of the usual clamor for speaking slots, we understand Trump and the Republican National Committee had to reach out to some of the underwhelming cast of characters we’ve seen.”