http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/07/02/trump-say-convention-speaker-list-complete-tries-to-make-gains-on-clintons-tough-week.html?intcmp=hpbt2Published July 02, 2016 FoxNews.com
Donald Trump said Saturday that he’s filled all of the speaker slots for the fast-approaching Republican National Convention -- trying to end talk about key GOP figures distance themselves for him and the event and capitalize on rival Hillary Clinton’s bad week.
Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, said on Twitter that he’ll announce the lineup on Wednesday and that he has “a long waiting list of those that want to speak.”
To be sure, Trump critics have for weeks kept a running tally of top Republicans not attending the four-day convention in Cleveland that starts July 18 -- from such standard-bearers as former President George W. Bush to New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who is in a tough re-election campaign.
Speaking on the convention stage is considered a coveted opportunity for politicians, especially for up-and-coming ones to raise their national profile. Barack Obama’s keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention, for example, helped him ascend from a freshman Illinois senator to president.
Neither Trump nor Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, have scheduled campaign events over the Fourth of July weekend, amid speculation that Clinton will speak to the FBI about the agency’s investigation into her use of a private email server while secretary of state.
The interview is expected to be a final step in the probe, which has cast a cloud over Clinton’s campaign.
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