Trump Stumps For Entertainment

While the political world awaits the drama of a potentially contested Republican National Convention in Cleveland come July, frontrunning candidate Donald Trump is apparently considering other entertainment. 

Photo: Richard Drew/AP
Announcing he will run for president of the United States, in the lobby of Trump Tower, New York.

In an interview with the New York Times, Trump discussed ways to keep the convention lively.

“The site has been chosen and the arena is fine, but I’d want to have – you know, the last Republican convention was extraordinarily boring,” Trump told the paper. “And we’re going to come up with some things that will make it interesting and informative, but also smart and different,” adding that he would consult organizations “like IMG,” to help with production.

IMG, of course, was acquired by William Morris Endeavor in May 2014. While Trump could conceivably tap WME IMG’s roster of artists, IMG itself was known more for its stable of sports stars and fashion models.

“The concept of some entertainment from a great singer, a great group I think would be something maybe to break things up,” Trump said in an interview with The Associated Press. Then, there’s the problem of finding artists willing to perform. Many artists, including Adele and The Rolling Stones, have asked Trump to stop using their music at his rallies.

That’s not to say Trump has no musician supporters he could recruit to perform during the RNC. But the pickings could be slim and, among his higher-profile musician supporters in the news, none are with WME IMG.

A short list could include Kid Rock, repped by CAA, who told Rolling Stone he admired The Donald. “Let the business guy in there. It’s not really working too well running it not like a business,” he told the magazine. Loretta Lynn, also a CAA client, has been a vocal supporter since predicting a Trump victory in December.

ICM client Wayne Newton appears to be all-in for the Trump campaign. “Number one, he tells the truth,” Newton told “Fox and Friends” in October. “He’s been where most of these guys want to be in terms of riding on his own plane. He doesn’t have to worry about what hotels he stays in. Doesn’t have to worry about how his family gets to Hawaii, so on and so forth.”

And of course there’s Artist Group International’s Ted Nugent.

“Know it, Donald Trump is the hellraiser America has needed for a very long time,” the Nuge wrote on his Facebook page.