Trump megadonors, VP hopefuls headline Republican National Convention

The Trump campaign and the Republican National Convention on Saturday jointly announced the speaker lineup for the nominating convention that kicks off Monday, including celebrities, high-dollar donors, dozens of Capitol Hill lawmakers and nine politicians floated as possible vice presidential running mates.

Trump’s current VP frontrunners — Sens. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Marco Rubio, R-Fla. and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum — are set to speak, along with six VP hopefuls thought to have lesser odds, including former GOP presidential candidates Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

In the week leading up to the RNC, Trump has repeatedly teased his VP pick announcement and attempted to fundraise off of the suspense, including a Saturday campaign memo.

Various Trump megadonors are also on the RNC lineup including venture capitalist David Sacks and investors Steve and Zach Witkoff.

They will be joined by a flurry of Republican Senate candidates and lawmakers including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

Conservative television personalities Tucker Carlson and Savannah Chrisley are also slated to speak, along with rapper Amber Rose.

In total, the RNC will have over 80 speakers rallying support around Trump before the convention culminates in officially designating him the Republican presidential nominee.

Notably missing from the RNC speaker list is former First Lady Melania Trump, as well as Trump’s daughter and former White House advisor Ivanka Trump.

Melania has so far been conspicuously absent from the Trump campaign trail, drawing mockery from President Joe Biden.

Other members of Trump’s family from son Eric Trump to daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who also co-chairs the RNC, are scheduled to speak.

The Milwaukee convention runs from Monday to Thursday and is expected to be a more fervent rally of Trump fanfare than previous years due to the former president’s grip on the 2024 Republican Party. The RNC’s energy could also be boosted by the post-pandemic excitement of convening in person after being held virtually in 2020.

Despite the Trump hype, the convention also poses a unique challenge for the former president who is under indictment in multiple lawsuits. Trump is prohibited from speaking with witnesses and alleged co-conspirators related to those legal cases, many of whom will be in attendance in Milwaukee.