August 22, 2020

21 Questions for RNC Delegates Gathered in Charlotte to Nominate Trump

I’m here in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Republicans have gathered to nominate Donald J. Trump as their presidential candidate for 2020, and where Trump is scheduled to appear Monday.  If you happen to encounter any of the GOP delegates in Charlotte, maybe during their brewery tour, live jazz outing, or golf event, here are a few questions you might ask them:

  1. Do you think it’s OK that President Trump called a woman a “dog” and a “lowlife” — a Black woman whom he had hired to work for him on the White House staff?
  2. It’s obvious that President Trump didn’t want to run against Joe Biden, because he tried to use taxpayer dollars to extort Ukraine into announcing a meritless investigation of Biden. But President Trump got caught, and got impeached, and Biden didn’t get investigated, and Biden got nominated. If President Trump is so smart, how did he blow it so badly?
  3. President Trump admits he hasn’t bothered asking Vladimir Putin about reports from U.S. intelligence that Russia has offered bounties to kill our troops in Afghanistan. Trump also has said he believes Putin’s denials that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Why does it always seem like Trump is a stooge of Putin?
  4. President Trump said that the coronavirus was “one person coming in from China.” Was that true? He said everything would be “just fine.” Is it just fine?
  5. The US has about 4 percent of the world’s people but almost 22 percent of the world’s COVID-19 deaths. 180,000 Americans are dead from COVID-19. Should their families join you in voting for President Trump?
  6. When a reporter wore a mask while asking President Trump a question in May, Trump said the reporter wanted “to be politically correct.” Is the purpose of a mask to be politically correct?
  7. Were you proud of President Trump when he proposed injecting bleach into Americans to fight COVID-19?
  8. President Trump promised to make great deals, yet everyone agrees that he’s not involved in negotiations with Congress on matters like coronavirus relief. Steve Mnuchin has to do it for him. Is President Trump just lazy? Or not smart enough to understand the issues? Or scared?
  9. President Trump referred to African nations and Haiti as “shithole countries.” He tweeted about four elected Members of Congress who are women of color, all US citizens, three of them born in the United States: “Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” Does that make you proud?
  10. President Trump’s companies have made millions renting hotel rooms to government officials who are forced to stay at his properties at high rates, to GOP groups controlled by his underlings, and to lobbyists and corporations seeking favors from his administration. Is that what he means by “draining the swamp”?
  11. President Trump promised he hires only “the best people.” But his aides Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Michael Flynn, and Michael Cohen have all been convicted of crimes, and Steve Bannon was just arrested for defrauding Trump supporters of millions of dollars. Are these, in your opinion, the best people?
  12. President Trump testified that that he could not recall discussing WikiLeaks document dumps with Roger Stone. A bipartisan report released this month by the Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that this Trump statement was contradicted by the evidence. When even Republicans agree Trump gave false statements about his dealings related to Russia, are you excited that he is your party’s nominee for president?
  13. On June 13, 2018, President Trump tweeted, “There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea.” Since then North Korea has increased its nuclear and missile activity. Was President Trump just kidding?
  14. When President Trump drew a line around Alabama on a hurricane map and then claimed he didn’t know who drew it, were you embarrassed that he so obviously lied?
  15. President Trump tweeted over the weekend that the Democrats, at their national convention, omitted the phrase “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance. The videos prove Trump lied. The Democrats said “under God” every time during the convention. Earlier this month, Trump said Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, has “no religion,” would “hurt the Bible,” and is “against God.” Why does President Trump keep lying about God?
  16. Is it OK with you that President Trump called the neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville “very fine people”? Do you think it’s very fine to chant “Jews will not replace us”?
  17. People across the country have marched for justice in the wake of George Floyd’s death. President Trump called the assertion that “black lives matter” a “symbol of hate.” Do you agree with President Trump that it is hateful to say that the lives of our fellow Americans matter?
  18. The evidence shows that the Trump administration, as a deliberate policy, separated thousands of migrant children from their parents. Some of these children have died in federal custody.  If you were a child, and you were brought to this country through no decision of your own, would you deserve to be separated from your parents for months, years, and potentially forever?
  19. President Trump promised to help U.S. veterans. Did you know President Trump this year used his first domestic veto to cancel bipartisan legislation that would have helped protect our veterans from for-profit college scams? Did you know the national commander of the American Legion called the Trump version of the law  “fundamentally rigged” against veterans and other students? Why is President Trump hurting our veterans this way?
  20. In 2018, a federal court in New York accepted a guilty plea from Michael Cohen based on evidence that he conspired with President Trump to pay hush money to a porn star, and conceal the payment in violation of federal election laws. In 2019, President Trump agreed to pay $2 million to charity as part of a settlement with law enforcement in which he admitted he misused funds raised by the Donald J. Trump Foundation to support his presidential campaign and pay business and personal expenses. Is President Trump your role model?
  21. President Trump last week declined to criticize the QAnon conspiracy theory movement, saying “these are people who love our country.” QAnon believers say leading Democrats drink the blood of children, and the FBI has classified the movement as a domestic terrorism threat. Are you glad President Trump has welcomed QAnon into the Republican mainstream?
  22. [UPDATE 08-22-20: When President Trump addressed you delegates in Charlotte, and you chanted “four more years,” and he asked you to say instead, “twelve more years,” were you excited to know he wants to rule for the rest of his life, like Vladimir Putin?]

Send your questions for RNC delegates to [email protected], and we might add them to the list.