The Republican Convention just got 33 percent less interesting today, when Donald Trump took to Twitter to deny reports that his team has asked Mike Tyson to appear at the event in Cleveland. Tyson has endorsed Trump in the past, and Bloomberg Politics reported on Tuesday that Trump was working on getting Tyson to Cleveland on his behalf along with a handful of other sports personalities.
But …
Iron Mike Tyson was not asked to speak at the Convention though I'm sure he would do a good job if he was. The media makes everything up!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2016
But that’s deceptive — a half truth, as many Trump statements are. The Republican presumptive nominee name-dropped Tyson in a speech in May after winning the Indiana primary. Trump said then that he was trying to get sports personalities to appear on his behalf at the convention, among them Tyson. He hasn’t mentioned Tyson since, presumably because someone in his campaign, or the Repbublican Party, noted that having a convicted rapist at the convention wouldn’t be a good idea.
But the guest list may include Bobby Knight, Mike Ditka, and NASCAR chief Brian France, who have all endorsed Trump. Bloomberg:
On Wednesday, Jo Mignano, Tyson’s personal publicist, told Bloomberg Politics that he will not attend the convention. “He’ll be nowhere near Cleveland,” she said.
Trump has said on the campaign trail that he wants the event to be a gathering of “winners”—and not politicians, like at past conventions. “We’re going to do it a little different, if that’s OK,” he said in Virginia earlier this month. “I’m thinking about getting some of the great sports people who like me a lot.”
According to The New York Times, at a rally in Virginia last week Trump also name-dropped Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and UFC President Dana White as sports people he’d like to attend the convention. There’s been no response so far from Brady and White, but Roethlisberger said on Tuesday that under no circumstances would he endorse Trump. ESPN:
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he’s not endorsing Trump at the convention or otherwise. Roethlisberger told the newspaper that Trump is an “acquaintance.”
Meanwhile,
