Reince Priebus sees '60% chance' Biden won't be on ticket but RNC will keep focus on him

When Reince Priebus took the job organizing part of the Republican National Convention, there was one thing he didn’t fully anticipate:

He wouldn’t know who his party’s Democratic opponent would be.

Now, as the GOP’s presidential nominating convention kicks off in Milwaukee on Monday, Priebus said he thinks there is “a 60% chance” that President Joe Biden is not going to be at the top of the ticket in November.

The uncertainty surrounding Biden following a disastrous debate performance that has led some in his party to call on him to withdraw has shaken up the presidential race with just four months until the election. But Priebus, the RNC’s host committee chairman, suggested it is not “going to change anything about the tone or what the Republican Party is going to do” during the convention in Milwaukee.

Republicans, he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, should keep their attention on Biden, though he speculated they “might spend a little time” talking about other Democrats like Vice President Kamala Harris, too.

“I’m not so sure how much it all matters,” Priebus said, when asked if he’d like former President Donald Trump to face Biden. “Part of me enjoys the drama. It’s sort of just fun to watch, to be honest.”

The comments come as Trump is poised to accept the Republican presidential nomination in a swing state that is a must-win on the path to the White House. Polls show Trump in a tight race with Biden in Wisconsin, but recent surveys have given Trump the edge.

One poll released July 9 showed Trump up five points over Biden in the state. And a growing number of Democrats have called on Biden to withdraw from the race as questions about his age and viability persist.

“The politics of this couldn’t really be better,” Priebus said of Republicans heading into the convention. “When you have a candidate that’s running ahead in the polls, and you have businesses that want to be involved in a political process, it’s a good place to get on board.”

Priebus described the Democratic tensions with Biden following his debate performance as “a slow leak that’s not going to go away.” He said the more Democrats question or call for Biden to step down, the more they are hurting his opportunity to raise funds and sway skeptical voters.

“They’re killing themselves no matter what they’re doing. They’re eating up time, they’re eating up money. And they’re killing their incumbent president,” Priebus said.

“As far as I’m concerned,” he added, “they ought to keep doing it.”

Democrats, for their part, have said they plan to make clear "just how devastating another Trump presidency would be" for those in Wisconsin and across the country over the next week.

The Democratic National Committee said Trump during the convention will "plunge his party into new depth of extremism... because Republicans are willing to trade any remaining shred of dignity they have left to move Trump one step closer to his dream of becoming a dictator on 'day one.'"

"If they get their way, Trump will turn the government into a tool for his plans of revenge and retribution," DNC spokesperson Addy Toevs said, referencing the conservative Project 2025 governing blueprint, which was created by a think tank sponsoring the convention.

But the upcoming four days in Milwaukee will be the culmination of more than two years’ work for Priebus and the host committee.

The committee this week announced it raised more than $85 million for the convention — a figure it described as “a record amount raised by any Host Committee for a Republican convention in history.”

Priebus told the Journal Sentinel the committee received contributions from more individual donors and companies — including “several large gifts” — than it had anticipated but declined to share dollar amounts.

He said he’s seen “far less concern about politics and not wanting to be involved in politics” than he did in 2016 — “It could be because the reality of our politics today has sort of settled in,” he said — and noted the virtual Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee in 2020 laid the groundwork for this week’s event.

He credited Milwaukee Democratic Mayor Cavalier Johnson and County Executive David Crowley for supporting the RNC.

“We had a bipartisan feeling about this fundraising effort, which helped, I think, bring in a lot of businesses and individuals that may have been nervous about giving,” he said.

Republicans have estimated as many as 50,000 could come to the city for the convention. Priebus said he anticipates more — mainly journalists seeking to cover the week.

Among the bigger questions during a convention where Trump is the only contender is who he will choose as his running mate.

Does Priebus, Trump’s former chief of staff, know who Trump plans to make his vice presidential pick?

“No,” Priebus said Friday, adding he thinks Trump is thinking through “the best way possible to create the most media out of this announcement.”

As far as what to expect during the convention, Priebus said the obvious: “It’s going to be about President Trump.”

But the questions on the other side of the aisle remain.

??“I think for the most part, the posture should be we’re running against Joe Biden,” Priebus said. “I would put maybe a couple chips down on going after Kamala Harris. But I’d spend most of my time dealing with Joe Biden and the situation the country’s in and what he’s done as president.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Reince Priebus sees '60% chance' Biden won't be on ticket