A stage has been built at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, a neo-Classical event space where most of the speakers will address a live audience. Current regulations in Washington prohibit gatherings of more than 50 people; Republican aides say they have hired “Covid experts” to determine how many onlookers can enter the auditorium and what audience participation could look like.
The list of speakers is heavy on the president’s relatives and White House staff members, including Dan Scavino, Mr. Trump’s former caddy who is now deputy chief of staff for communications, and Larry Kudlow, the national economic adviser. Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, will also speak, according to a person involved in the planning.
The lineup also includes Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the Missouri couple that toted weapons at Black protesters and have since become right-wing media stars, and Nicholas Sandmann, the Kentucky teenager who sued news outlets over coverage of his encounter last year with a Native American protester in Washington.
Each night’s events are expected to begin at 8:30 p.m., a half-hour earlier than the Democrats, although the major broadcast networks do not start covering until 10 p.m.
A “Democrats For Trump” segment is planned, though the participants remain a closely guarded secret. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the sole Black Republican in the Senate, will speak, along with two future potential presidential candidates: Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations.
“The Democratic convention was a Hollywood-produced, Old Guard-laden convention, if you ask me,” Kellyanne Conway, Mr. Trump’s counselor, told reporters at the White House on Friday, adding that viewers “are going to see and hear from many Americans who lives have been monumentally impacted by this administration’s policies.”
“We definitely want to improve on the dour and sour mood of the D.N.C.,” added Ms. Conway, who is also slated to speak at the convention.