Republican National Convention: Cleveland resembles a circus come to town

Cleveland: Geert Wilders, the Dutch political icon of the populist far right, takes the stage at the event near the Republican Party convention shortly before midnight to expound on the dangers of Islam – against a backdrop of pictures of half-naked men. Wilders warns with passion against opening the borders, and he pledges that if he is victorious in the Dutch elections next year he will act in much the same way as the man that everyone here wants to succeed: Donald Trump. The atmosphere is electric in the brightly lit and unadorned university hall a few hundred metres from the convention venue. [caption id=“attachment_2907260” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Campaign buttons for sale outside the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. ZUMA Wire via DPA[/caption] “Geert! Geert! Geert!” the shout goes up at this so-called Wake-Up! event organised by Milo Yiannopoulos and Pam Geller, two figureheads of the new right in the United States, caught somewhere between self-promotion and conspiracy theory. The art at the event originates with an online initiative entitled Twinks for Trump that started out as satire, with scantily clad gays stating why they would like to have the Republican presidential candidate as their “Daddy.” The scene is perfectly absurd – and so representative of the craziness that has broken out for four days in this city of 400,000 on the southern shore of Lake Erie. A huge circus has come to town bringing spectacle and a laid-back atmosphere, while also spreading alarmism. At times, outside the main hall the convention feels like a large country fair, with the sun shining over the lake and an Abraham Lincoln lookalike posing for the tourists on East 4th Street in front of the convention centre. Street musicians play funk, a vendor advertises his wares with shouts of “ice cold water!” and the protests are extremely civilised. At dozens of points throughout the city there are traders selling Trump paraphernalia, including the now-famous “Make America Great Again” red baseball cap, Donald Trump plastic dolls with wagging heads and innumerable buttons. But it is clear to any passer-by what the hottest items on sale are – those targeting Hillary Clinton. “Hillary for Prison 2016” is emblazoned on perhaps the most popular T-shirt promoting a rising negative campaign to characterise the Democratic Party’s presidential hopeful as a criminal. Those unable to get into the convention centre as delegates can choose among dozens of events around the city. The selection ranges from a Catholic mass to a comedy afternoon featuring comedians of Arab origin. At the America First Unity Rally, where Trump propaganda was on offer for several hours, a country and western singer belts out a theme on “making America great again” - all for an audience of around 200, with almost as many media representatives in attendance. Despite costs totalling more than 10 million dollars in insurance alone against the possibility of violent protest, Cleveland, which last staged the convention in 1936, is confident of making a decent profit out the event. Some 50,000 visitors were expected, among them 15,000 journalists. According to the convention website, Tampa in Florida made almost 200 million dollars from the 2012 convention at which Mitt Romney was nominated as Republican candidate. The organisers are well aware that the circus has its downside, and so they are planning another event for the weekend after the political circus has moved on. The Community Thank You Party is to be held on the weekend of July 29-31 as a gesture to compensate for whatever unpleasantness might have occurred.