Donald J. Trump was told, no, it was not sensible to have Don King, the flamboyant boxing promoter, address the Republican convention. But Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly boasted of having Mr. King’s support, kept pressing the matter.
Finally, officials including Reince Priebus, the Republican national chairman, firmly explained to Mr. Trump why Mr. King should not be invited: He once stomped a man to death and was convicted of manslaughter. The party could not associate itself with someone convicted of a felony.
Mr. Trump eventually relented. Mr. King, a Cleveland native, will not take the stage.
But the exchange, relayed by three Republican strategists familiar with the conversations, highlights the difficulties that planners have had building a program for a presidential candidate who is as much an entertainer as a politician. After months of saying he wanted a convention that would feature the sort of “showbiz” that past party conclaves lacked, Mr. Trump will arrive here Monday for a more traditional gathering than he may have envisioned.
...
The biggest celebrities other than the nominee will be a star of “Duck Dynasty” and actors from “The Young and the Restless,” “General Hospital” and “Charles in Charge.”
It also is shaping up to be somewhat tamer than some in Mr. Trump’s orbit had wanted. The idea of giving a speaking role to Kathleen Willey, who in the 1990s claimed that Bill Clinton had fondled her in the Oval Office, was rejected — though Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman, said some speakers would mention what he called Mr. Clinton’s “harassment” and Hillary Clinton’s “enabling.”
Such decisions have been made with little time to spare.
As late as Friday — three days before the start of the convention — some marquee speakers had not been given guidance by the campaign about writing their remarks or asked to submit their speeches for vetting. And some state party chairmen said they had been refused when they asked to see the week’s schedule.
...
The most notable Hispanic speakers on the schedule as of late Sunday were Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Antonio Sabato Jr., a former underwear model and soap opera actor.
The lackluster cast has not gone unnoticed by delegates.
“In 2012, it was just speaker after speaker of the best and brightest stars in the Republican Party,” said Tommy Valentine, a delegate from Virginia. “This is not what I’d call A-list.”
