cleveland

The GOP Would Like Everyone to Know That It's Fine, Everything Is Fine

Alex Pareene · 07/18/16 03:54PM

CLEVELAND — In 2012, the non-TV press at least had a halfway decent view of the stage. The press stand seats here in Quicken Loan Arenas are effectively behind the podium, which will eventually have the unintended effect of making it clear to the media when any speaker goes off-prompter (not that anyone scheduled to speak this week is known for that, or anything).

Meet the Man Whose Dog Is Filming the RNC

Brendan O'Connor · 07/18/16 03:25PM

CLEVELAND — In the public square on Monday, as religious fundamentalists condemned sodomy to anyone who would listen, William Hale made sure his dog, wearing a vest laden with GoPro video cameras, was staying hydrated. “A lot of people ask if the dog is a boy or a girl,” he told Gawker. “I try to be gender neutral. It’s just ‘Liberty.’”

The Main Republican Convention Stage Apparently Smells Like Rotten Bananas and Mildew

Jordan Sargent · 07/18/16 02:15PM

There is a foul odor emanating from the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, and folks—it isn’t the party platform. This morning, just before the start of the convention, a police officer conversed with a dispatcher about the distinct smell of “rotten bananas and mildew” wafting out of the arena’s banjo-shaped stage. That back-and-forth, broadcast via police scanner, is captured above.

White Nationalists at the RNC Don't Think Trump Goes Far Enough

Brendan O'Connor · 07/18/16 01:15PM

CLEVELAND — Outside the Republican National Convention on Monday, Gawker ran into Matthew Heimbach, a podcast host for The Daily Stormer, who is encouraging delegates to write in the late George Lincoln Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party, for president. Donald Trump, Heimbach said, doesn’t go far enough. “He needs to become an ethno-nationalist. He needs to understand that a people is the basis of a nation,” he said. “Specifically, white people.”

Trump Scraps "Pretty Cool" Idea to Fly Into Last Night of Republican National Convention on a Helicopter

Brendan O'Connor · 07/01/16 09:30AM

After promising that the 2016 Republican National Convention wouldn’t be “boring,” Donald Trump has begun lowering expectations for the event, even declining an invitation (from whom is unclear) to speak at all three nights of the convention. “I don’t want people to think I’m grandstanding—which I’m not,” he told the New York Times. “But it would get high ratings,” he added.

The Republican National Convention Is Going to Be Such a Mess

Brendan O'Connor · 06/27/16 08:47AM

The Republican National Convention in Cleveland next month is shaping up to be a complete disaster, with hundreds of delegates in revolt and many prominent members of the GOP forgoing the event entirely. In fact, so few people want to speak that Donald Trump said earlier this month he is considering instituting a “Winners’ Night,” for sports stars.