Editor's Note: John Avlon is a Senior Political Analyst. The opinions expressed in this comment belong to the author. See more opinions at cnne.com/opinion
(CNN) - "Don't listen to what he says, watch what he does."
It's a phrase you hear a lot from Trump supporters when they're embarrassed by the president's latest Twitter tantrum.
So let's apply that same standard to the Republican National Convention to date.
Because suddenly the Trump team seems to care a lot about reaching beyond its base after three and a half years of doing the opposite in office.
For example, 12 blacks have been assigned to speak in support of President Trump. It is a very conscious and welcome display of diversity.
- LOOK: 6 conclusions of Trump's final night at the Republican National Convention
But let's compare that statistic to the number of blacks who are high-level White House employees. This would be 1, Ja'Ron Smith, a deputy assistant to the president.
What about black Trump cabinet secretaries? That would be one too: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson.
Okay, but there is a lot of talk about Trump passing criminal justice reform… so maybe Trump's enthusiasm for diversity is reflected in his federal prosecutor elections. But only 2 of Trump's appointees are of black descent: Louis V. Franklin of the Middle District of Alabama and Kenji Price of Hawaii.
So, by the end of this convention, Trump will have put three times as many blacks on stage as he has designated for his West Wing, Cabinet, and Attorney General's offices ... combined.
It's a sign that the rhetoric doesn't even remotely match the record.
What about the repeated claim that President Trump has put "many more" women in important positions than "any other president in the history of the United States"?
It is not true.
About 25% of Trump's confirmed Senate seats have been filled by women.
But 37% of the first 512 appointees in former President Bill Clinton's administration were women, while the count was 43% at the start of former President Barack Obama's second term.
Trump has also nominated fewer cabinet-level women than Democrats.
On the second night of the RNC, Trump conducted a naturalization ceremony at the White House, likely in violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from participating in political activities while working on an official campaign, in an unprecedented way. given his relentless focus on restricting immigration. That's why former Trump Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor told Chris Cuomo that the naturalization ceremony was "incredibly ironic," adding, "This is a president I witnessed wanting to reduce immigration. to the extent humanly possible ... their policies were designed to make it more difficult for immigrants to enter the United States.
Just as unusual are the nods to Trump's convention bipartisanship, at least in the form of Georgia State Representative Vernon Jones, a Trump-backed Democrat. Jones has faced several scandals during his years of public service. Jones, who served as DeKalb County CEO from 2001 to 2009, was fined $ 27,750 in a racial profiling lawsuit, and the jury found that he "created and maintained a hostile work environment." In 2012, a special grand jury recommended an investigation into bid rigging and theft, although the district attorney declined to prosecute.
Jones is one of 2 elected Democrats backing Trump's reelection, in addition to Bob Vlaisavljevich, Mayor of Eveleth, Minnesota. There are 3 if you count the corrupt former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich… a former Celebrity Apprentice contestant who was pardoned by Trump and released from prison six years earlier.
In contrast, more than 120 prominent Republicans have endorsed Joe Biden, including at least 6 former senators and 2 dozen former congressmen, and hundreds of former Bush administration alumni, including Secretary of State Colin Powell and Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte. Even former members of the Trump administration have turned against the president.
Certainly, not everything has been a reach beyond the base. There has been a lot of red meat for loyal Trump supporters. There have been unsubstantiated and unhinged accusations that the Democrats want to ban religion and guns and turn the United States into a version of communist China. These insults are almost insignificant against the typical tone and tenor of the Trump administration.
Good people may disagree on tough issues like abortion, but Trump's convention included an anti-abortion speech from a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who also supports the "head of household vote," which was historically used to deny women the right to vote, as it was thought that men would vote on behalf of the household before Amendment 19 was adopted. That's something we should agree on is a very bad idea.
- MORE: Trump promises coronavirus vaccine "before the end of the year or even before" during closing of the Republican Convention
The armed St. Louis McCloskeys accused Democrats of wanting to "abolish the suburbs," but it turns out they have a long history of suing their neighbors, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In a lawsuit, they accused neighbors of violating a rule that prohibited single people from living together by allowing a same-sex couple to live there. Mark McCloskey also allegedly destroyed a beehive in the nearby synagogue located just outside the wall of his mansion. Children hoping to harvest honey for Rosh Hashana cried, according to the rabbi, who later called the couple "bullies."
Mary Ann Mendoza, a member of the Trump campaign advisory board, was banned from the convention program at the last minute after she tweeted a conspiracy theory about a Jewish plot to enslave the world promoted by QAnon. She later deleted the post and tweeted an apology "for not paying attention to the intent of the whole post."
But hey, the QAnon and the conspiracy theory that drives the candidate for Congress Marjorie Taylor Greene, were invited by the White House to listen to President Trump's speech.
On the other hand, Trump's convention strategy is designed to send mixed messages. So Vice President Mike Pence tried to make the administration's response to the pandemic heroic while ignoring the fact that we have the worst record in the world for the number of infections and deaths. He appropriately honors a slain Oakland federal officer, but gives the impression that he was killed by rioters, when his alleged killer was a member of a right-wing extremist militia group hell-bent on provoking a second civil war. And an administration that says it's all about law and order has announced that laws like the Hatch Act don't apply to them.
So, don't just listen to what they said at the Trump convention. Look what they have done.
Republican National Convention