Republicans in the swing state of Wisconsin gathered in Green bay for a mask-optional convention on Saturday.

“Speakers at the convention also praised Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the president’s push to reopen the nation’s economy and schools. More than 300 people attended the GOP state convention, with few in attendance wearing face masks, as [recommended] by public health officials,” the State Journal reported Saturday.

“The state GOP said 322 people attended the convention held indoors at the KI Convention Center. While the party offered free face masks to everyone, Wisconsin Public Television reported that only about a dozen attendees chose to wear one,” WPR reported. “U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, gave the most forceful defense of President Trump at the convention, beginning his speech by yelling the president’s name so loudly that he momentarily lapsed into a coughing fit.”


https://twitter.com/amillerphd/status/1282076979827822593

Groups such as the Lincoln Project and Republican Voters Against Trump — which is focused on first-person testimonials like Josh’s — emphasize guerrilla tactics and scathing ads as they troll the president. The movement seeks to build a national political operation to oust both the president and his supporters in Congress, with a particular emphasis on persuading white suburban voters who consider themselves true Republicans to break from the president, according to interviews with more than a dozen anti-Trump advisers and allies who are involved in the planning, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions.

Advisers to the Lincoln Project, which they say has about 30 employees and raised $16.8 million this quarter, will soon expand to include ground operations. They are coordinating over 2,500 volunteers in Michigan and plan to next target Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), who they see as vulnerable after his challenger, Jaime Harrison (D), pulled in a staggering $13.9 million since April.

But most of the project’s efforts so far have been centered squarely on Trump — evidenced by their surgical strike ads airing on Fox News in Washington, which are aimed not at persuading disaffected Republicans but simply at needling the president.

One 45-second spot focuses on Trump’s health, featuring footage of the president walking haltingly down a ramp at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, with a narrator warning, “Something’s wrong with Donald Trump. He’s shaky, weak, trouble speaking, trouble walking.”