Précis

Can Donald Trump be stopped? Will he even make it to election day?

Foreign Correspondent takes a warts-and-all journey through the strife now engulfing the Republican Party.

Through backroom deals and convention floor rebellions, Kendal Unruh, a schoolteacher and God-fearing conservative, is taking on the Donald Trump juggernaut, the Republican establishment and the global media.

The most hated woman in America, or the most loved? Someone’s gotta save the republic, right? – Kendal Unruh, Republican delegate Unruh is a key player in 'Never Trump', the rebel movement that’s raked in millions of dollars in donations to stymie the presidential nomination of Donald Trump.

At the Republican convention in Cleveland, Ohio, it’s game on...

It’s going to be chaos! – Kendal Unruh, Republican delegate

Reporter Hamish Macdonald follows Unruh and her fellow dissidents as they stalk delegates, haggle over rules and crunch numbers over pizza and Coke in late night meetings.

Unruh grew up in a cult and sees Trump as a type of cult leader, a sham conservative who is stealing the Republican Party.

Donald Trump is not a Republican, bottom line. We have no party left if he’s our nominee. – Kendal Unruh

There’s just not support for Donald Trump. – Dane Waters, Republican operative, pushing to win delegates a conscience vote for the nominee.

The schisms that Trump has opened up in the GOP are laid bare as Foreign Correspondent captures the backroom arm-twisting and double-crossing in the run-up to the final vote for the nominee.

I’ll sleep when the revolution is over, right! - Kendal Unruh

Trump addressing convention

DONALD TRUMP:   “I humbly and gratefully accept your nomination for the Presidency of the United States.

00:00

Crowd cheering

00:11

HAMISH MACDONALD: He’s divided his country and he’s divided his Party.

00:14

Unruh

KENDAL UNRUH: “Donald Trump is not a Republican. Bottom line”.

00:18

Macdonald

HAMISH MACDONALD: “So Trump has stolen your Party?”

00:21

Unruh

KENDAL UNRUH: “That’s exactly what this is about”.

00:23

News report

NEWSREADER: “She says it’s not too late to get a different candidate on the ballot”.

00:25

Macdonald with Dane Waters

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Are you prepared to fight dirty to do this?”

DANE WATERS: “Once it’s over I’m moving to Australia so, you know, I’m all ready okay?”

00:31

Republican convention

HAMISH MACDONALD: Tonight, we go behind the scenes of the campaign by rebel Republicans to destroy Donald Trump’s bid for the presidency.

00:37

DANE WATERS: “I’ve never witnessed in this

00:46

Waters at convention

country absolute total corruption. I don’t know a better way to put it”.

00:48

Colorado mountains/towns

Music

00:55

TITLES:
COLORADO, USA

01:04

NEVER TRUMP
Reporter: HAMISH MACDONALD

01:09

Exterior. Unruh’s practice

01:15

Unruhs demonstrate magnetic therapy

WALLY UNRUH: “This is pulsating magnetic therapy”.

01:19

KENDAL UNRUH: “Definitely get stress release when I come here and get treatment.

HAMISH MACDONALD: This is Kendal Unruh. She’s a school teacher and a Republican Party delegate.

01:26

KENDAL UNRUH: “It helps keep my brain clear. I use it on my ear just because I started falling apart once you turn 50, you know! [laughing]

HAMISH MACDONALD: Today Kendal’s having magnetic therapy

01:34

Unruhs in clinic

from her husband Wally, preparing for a big few weeks ahead.

WALLY UNRUH:  Put it on your face.

KENDAL UNRUH:  Wally, they’re filming.

01:46

Wally massages Kendal

She’s about to travel to Cleveland for the Republican Convention to help formally nominate her Party’s candidate for this year’s presidential race.

01:54

WALLY UNRUH: “It’s a Godly feeling, feels great. I should charge extra for miracles”.

02:02

Kendal undergoing treatment

KENDAL UNRUH:   “I really didn’t need to get this before I went to the convention”.

02:10

WALLY UNRUH: “This isolates the lower back”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: A Party member for more than thirty years, she’s a Republican loyalist…

02:16

KENDAL UNRUH:   And it’s just necessary for my health with how active I am.

HAMISH MACDONALD:  …but for the past month Kendal’s been building a campaign from inside the Party to try and stop Donald Trump from securing the nomination for president.

02:22

KENDAL UNRUH: “Donald Trump is not a Republican, bottom line. He’s a populist and he’s a protectionist and all of his policies reflect that. So

02:42

Kendal interview . Super:
KENDAL UNRUH

rather than find a party that he could run on their platform because it reflected him, he said I’m going to change the Republican Party”.

02:49

HAMISH MACDONALD: “So Trump has stolen your Party?”

KENDAL UNRUH: “That’s exactly what this is about.

02:56

We have no Party left if he’s our nominee because he doesn’t.... he has then changed what the brand means to be a conservative”.

03:00

Montage of Kendal on phone

“Hi Megan, this is Kendal Unruh…”

03:08

“Hi Matt this is Kendal Unruh and I’m your fellow Rules Committee member from the State of Colorado…”

03:10

“Hi Rosie this is Kendal Unruh”.

03:14

“Hi Joanne, this is Kendal Unruh and I know that you have been getting hammered, as have I, with all the emails about the conscience rule but I… ”

HAMISH MACDONALD: Kendal is one of almost two and a half thousand

03:16

Endal ticking off delegate  list/Kendal on phone

delegates from across America selected through a process of state based votes, called primaries and caucuses.

03:25

KENDAL UNRUH: [on phone] “Yeah I know, my phone gets so hot that it just shuts down everything”. [laughs]

03:33

Delegates list/Kendal calling delegates

HAMISH MACDONALD: Delegates are pledged or bound to the candidates, this time overwhelmingly in support of Donald Trump – but Kendal is trying to free them. As a member of the powerful Republican Rules Committee, she’s trying to introduce a clause that would let delegates unbind and vote their conscience – in theory robbing Donald Trump of the numbers and the nomination.

03:37

She needs 28 fellow members of the 112 person Rules Committee to support her conscience clause. So far it’s proving a challenge.

KENDAL UNRUH: “Mailbox full.

04:09

Kendal continues calling delegates

Well, this is the grunt work of getting politics done – counting your votes. I honestly don’t know the final vote count and I don’t think there’s anyone out there that knows because it’s just such an emotional issue right now”.

04:21

Traffic on freeway

Music

04:38

Kendal in car

“People accuse me, ‘Oh you’re, you’re supporting Hillary’. No, I’m doing this because of Hillary and the Democrats and the left’s agenda and how they’ve destroyed our country.

04:45

And now it’s our job to tell them that you can’t crash our party, you have to hit the door cause because we’re not going to support you. And there’s enough votes right now if they stay solid that he’s not going to meet his threshold”.

04:55

Cleveland sign/Cleveland montage preparation for convention

Music

05:10

Man on street wearing Trump t-shirt.

MAN:  Gold bless you all.

05:22

Kendal at airport. Ready for interviews

05:25

“Just a lot of meetings, a lot of media and it’s my life right now. Just doing my job”.

05:27

MEDIA INTERVIEWER #1: [CNBC] “If I’m a delegate and I don’t want to vote for Trump,

05:39

Series of Kendal’s TV interviews

why don’t I stand down? I mean the point is to express what the voters want ultimately, right?”

05:42

KENDAL UNRUH: “Well because actually the delegates are the ones that are doing their job to actually use wisdom and discernment and apply the knowledge that they have at this time, subsequent to the primaries which are not votes, they’re actually just preference calls and that’s the job of the Party within our representative system within our Constitutional Republic”.

05:47

MEDIA INTERVIEWER #2: “She actually wants to change convention rules”.

06:00

MEDIA INTERVIEWER #3: [MSNBC] “You are proposing a new rule for Cleveland so explain what it is”.

06:03

MEDIA INTERVIEWER #4: [Kristen Skovira] “She’s calling it the, ‘Free the Delegates 2016’ and says it’s not too late to get a different candidate on the ballot”.

06:07

MEDIA INTERVIEWER #5: [MSNBC] “She’s part of that new push to change convention rules”.

06:13

MEDIA INTERVIEWER #6: [MSNBC] “What’s the basic idea of ‘Free the Delegates’?”

06:16

Super on MSNBC news story:
KENDAL UNRUH
“Free the delegates 2016”
Co-Founder

KENDAL UNRUH: “Well basically it just started with a small handful of people that truly were concerned, we were delegates, that we just simply in good conscience could not support this nominee”.

06:18

Kendal on CNBC

KENDAL UNRUH: [interview with CNBC] “We have a plan B and a plan C and a plan D and you’re going to see all of it employed”.

06:27

MEDIA INTERVIEWER #1: “It’s going to be exciting, that’s for sure”.

06:31

Kendal being miked for interview

KENDAL UNRUH: [prior to another interview] Trying to keep track of them all is impossible”.

06:34

Kendal walks with luggage

Music

06:38

Macdonald to Kendal’s hotel

06:41

Kendal greets Macdonald at hotel

KENDAL UNRUH:   “Come on in!”

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Thank you very much. We’re here to see you in action”.

KENDAL UNRUH: [laughing] “In action, well, okay, but I’ve got to act like I’m busy, right?”

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Yes, but I thought you were very busy”.

KENDAL UNRUH: “Act like I’m doing something. Just been sitting around eating bonbons right?

06:50

[shot continuous]

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Really? There’s more to this than that, isn’t there?”

KENDAL UNRUH: “I have been up since four o’clock this morning and I have been on the phone non-stop doing media and talking and meetings and I’m tired… but that’s okay”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Are you ready to go home yet?”

KENDAL UNRUH: “I’ll sleep when the revolution’s over, right?”

07:02

Dane Waters and team meeting

HAMISH MACDONALD: Kendal’s got some back up from Washington.

DANE WATERS: “Hey! I’m Dane Waters”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: Dane Waters is a seasoned political operative, a lifelong Republican. He’s worked on five presidential campaigns. Most recently,

07:18

John McCain’s run against Obama in 2008.

“You seem pretty buoyant, are you feeling actually quite confident

07:30

Dane interview. Kendal in b/g

at the moment?”

DANE WATERS: “Oh I am. I mean you know, I firmly believe that if the nomination were to take place today, if the vote were to take place today, Donald Trump would not win the nomination. He would not”.

07:37

Campaign HQ. Workers on computers

Music

07:49

HAMISH MACDONALD: HQ during the convention is this rented office space in downtown Cleveland. They’re a mix of paid staff and volunteers, surviving on Coke, pizza and not much sleep. The operation is funded by individual donations, $2.5 million raised in just a few weeks.

07:52

Dane interview. Kendal in b/g

“Unquestionably, this will be a dirty fight, are you prepared to fight dirty to do this?”

DANE WATERS: “Once it’s over I’m moving to Australia so you know I’m all ready, okay?”

KENDAL UNRUH: “Hey you said Colorado last night”.

DANE WATERS: “Ah well no, you’re going to be, you’re going to be there so it’s like ground zero”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “It’s all right. Politics isn’t dirty in Australia, you’ll be fine”.

08:11

Campaign HQ

HAMISH MACDONALD: One of the big problems for this group is that Donald Trump won the primaries convincingly with over 13 million votes, more than any other candidate ever. But this year, unprecedented numbers of non-Republicans voted, not just the card carrying Party members.

DANE WATERS: “And if you want to go back to the

08:27

Macdonald with Dane Waters

13 million people that Donald Trump got, we’re a country of 310 million people. 13 million people is not a huge number”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “But they still count”.

08:45

DANE WATERS: “No, 54% of the people voted for somebody other than Trump. Okay 54%”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “But he was the most popular of all the candidates”.

DANE WATERS: “Just because you get two inches from the finish line doesn’t mean you automatically win, okay? You don’t”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Okay”. [laughing]

08:55

And there’s another problem. If not Trump, then who?

09:09

DANE WATERS: “What I fully expect and hope will happen is that after the rules meeting, after the Rules Committee meeting decides what they’re going to do, I’m hopeful that somebody steps forward and says I want to run”.

09:13

Cleveland GVs. Night

Music

09:27

Macdonald heading to Rules Committee meeting

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Well it’s the middle of the night here, we’ve just got a call because there’s this marathon session of the Rules Committee. This could be a make or break moment for the Dump Trump campaign so we’re going to go and find out what’s happened”.

09:38

Rules Committee footage. Enid Mickelsen

ENID MICKELSEN: [2016 Republican National Convention Rules Committee Chair]“All right just for everyone’s information we have passed our nine thirty deadline. My understanding is that very few amendments came in at that point”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: Unexpectedly, the two day meeting is being collapsed into one long session. Kendal is being ambushed.

09:50

ENID MICKELSEN: “There’s an amendment to Rule No. 38 has been submitted by the lady from Colorado, Ms Unruh who is recognised for the purpose of making a motion. Ms Unruh? Is Ms Unruh here?”

10:10

Kendal at Rules Committee meeting

KENDAL UNRUH: “Does anybody need any information about the conscience clause? Obviously this is a very important topic to the hearts of many Americans”.

10:27

Rules Committee footage. Enid Mickelsen

ENID MICKELSEN: “All those in favour of adopting Amendment 38.1 as submitted by Ms Unruh of Colorado please say Aye”.

10:39

Taking of vote

[group aye]

ENID MICKELSEN: “All those opposed nay”.

[group nay]

ENID MICKELSON: “Clearly the nays have it”

10:51

Macdonald approaches delegates

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Please can I interrupt? How you feeling about it?”

MALE DELEGATE: “No! [laughs] What a feel. I have no feelings”.

10:57

Macdonald asked female delegate question and is ignored

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Was it the right outcome tonight do you think?”

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Good evening” [to Dane].

11:06

Macdonald approaches Dane

DANE WATERS: “Hello sir”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “It hasn’t been a great night for you by the sound of things”.

DANE WATERS: “I’m angry. I’ll be okay. I’ll be nice.

11:11

Delegates leaving Rules Committee meeting

This is truly nothing more than the RNC and the Trump campaign rigging the nomination”.

11:18

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Are these the people?”

DANE WATERS: “Yeah, those are the people”.

11:23

HAMISH MACDONALD: “What’s actually just, what’s happened in the last couple of hours?”

DANE WATERS: “I mean the Rules Committee

11:27

voted like they did in 1976 to bind the delegates, so delegates cannot vote their conscience, they must follow what their states did. I mean prior to this, what our whole thing was built on is that the delegates could vote their conscience, right? And that they had the right to say if they don’t like Donald Trump they could vote against Donald Trump.

11:33

Macdonald with Dane as delegates depart

It just proves that we had enough votes and enough delegates to stop Donald Trump, because otherwise why would they keep going through all these actions to stop us”.

11:48

Delegates leaving

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Happy with the outcome tonight?”

MAN LEAVING THE ROOM: “I’ll defer to my friends over here”.

11:53

MALE DELEGATE: “You know this is democracy at work. This is democracy at work.

12:02

Male delegate

You saw a group of people sit down, figure out, disagree on stuff and make decisions about rules for a political party, you know? You can’t do this in China, you can’t do it in Russia, you can’t do it in Iran – we do it in America. It’s what makes America, you know, to coin a phrase, what makes America great!”.

12:07

Kendal leaving meeting

HAMISH MACDONALD: “What’s the message then to these people that want to stop Trump or dump Trump to say this is just the beginning and we’re going to keep fighting”.

MALE DELEGATE: “Well the message to them is you’ve got a choice to make. If you want Hillary Clinton to be president,

12:28

Male delegate

with all of her problems and her record of failed leadership over 25 years or do you want Trump? And everybody’s got to make that decision”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “I know you’re really busy but …”

12:41

Macdonald with Kendal

KENDAL UNRUH: “I know, okay”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “I just want to have some sense of how much of a challenge you had in there because this does make it difficult”.

KENDAL UNRUH: “Well, actually after today we move into the phase of the floor plan, the whip plan, so that’s what we’ve been gearing up for”.

12:57

[shot continuous]

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Are you feeling a lot of pressure?”

KENDAL UNRUH: “I’m just feeling tired right now. [laughs] Am I feeling the pressure of what? No, because we have the numbers on the floor, and we know that. I mean we’ve, we’ve done the, we’ve polled over half the delegates and we have 70% so we’re not worried about that part, and Donald Trump is obviously terrified of that part.

So that’s okay, we’ll make a good show for him”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “It could be chaos”.

KENDAL UNRUH: “It’s going to be chaos, but they chose that.

13:08

Kendal on escalator/leaves building

You know, so it’s not over yet. You guys are going to be here all week”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “I’ll let you get some rest”.

KENDAL UNRUH: “All right, okay”.

13:38

Music

13:45

American flag/Cleveland GVs

13:50

Trump addressing rally in Vegas

DONALD TRUMP:  “You know I read about there’s an insurgent group. You know, the same group that I beat is insurgent. And they’re a couple of guys they are trying to go to Cleveland, they’re trying to get delegates. I thought they’d already tried that. And we’re going to beat Hillary…  and it would be helpful if the Republicans could help us a little bit, you know? Okay. Just a little bit”.

14:20

CNN News report. Manafort

PAUL MANAFORT ON CNN: [Donald Trump’s Campaign Chairman] “Vote your conscience. Well you had your chance to do that on primary day in your state. This wasn’t the time in the convention so we crushed them. I mean as I’m telling people today, Never Trump is never more. I mean they’re just gone”.

14:44

Never Trump HQ

HAMISH MACDONALD: “At the Never Trump headquarters they’re busier than ever. This movement is now the big story of the convention and as the pressure and media interest grows, it’s becoming harder to catch Kendal”.

“How are you doing this morning Kendal?”

14:56

Kendal at HQ

KENDAL UNRUH: “I’m doing well. How you guys doing?”

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Action stations”.

KENDAL UNRUH: “What’s that?”

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Action stations”.

KENDAL UNRUH: “Action... that’s right moving into the next phase here”.

15:13

[shot continuous]

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Which is what?”

KENDAL UNRUH: “Which is the full whip program and I’ve got to go in here”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “You’re always running…”

KENDAL UNRUH: “I’m always running somewhere. I’m always running into closed doors. However, look at the closed door session I’m running into. [laughs] I will be right back”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “I’ll talk to you on the other side.

15:20

[shot continuous]

 [to Dane] You know it’s us again”.

DANE WATERS: “You know I really like you guys. I mean it doesn’t mean you’ve got to like me, but I really like you guys, you know? You’re like, you know, really

15:37

Macdonald with Dane

I’m actually energised. I’m actually you know what happened last night, honestly you know they created a monster is what they did last night”.

15:48

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Isn’t it a sign though that it’s kind of time to pack up and go home for your campaign?”

DANE WATERS: “No, far from it”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “The headlines today are it’s over for the Dump Trump movement”.

DANE WATERS: “I know, like it’s fizzled. I mean The Wall Street Journal has, ‘Oh the movement’s fizzled’ and the National Review had this thing that we’re dead in the water,

15:57

but the bottom line is we didn’t fizzle. They tried to crush us, okay? Which means that they were concerned about what we have”.

16:15

Dump Trump campaigner

DUMP TRUMP CAMPAIGNER: “Now it’s been quite the operation. There’s like, I think they said sixteen boxes will be rolling in just whenever”.

16:21

Campaigners at HQ

HAMISH MACDONALD: It’s now time for plan B, they’re taking this battle to the convention floor.

16:26

Dump Trump campaigner

DUMP TRUMP CAMPAIGNER: “There you go, and we’re going to have an operation here tomorrow evening of people with irons, hats, and all that kind of stuff”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: They’re buying hats,

16:30

Picture of hat on computer

bright green hats to give delegates to wear on the convention floor, a visual protest against the might of the Republican Party.

16:37

Dane with Campaigner on phone

DANE WATERS: “What’s the total cost?”

DUMP TRUMP CAMPAIGNER: [on phone] “Do you know what the total cost is right now?... $6734.93”.

16:44

DANE WATERS: “For 2000 hats? And just for curiosity how much are 1000?”

DUMP TRUMP CAMPAIGNER: [on phone] “What is it sorry?”

DANE WATERS: “So we’re trying to figure out how to get 2000 hats

16:51

Dane with Macdonald

here and we can’t get them printed, so what we’re probably going to do is get 2000 hats and we have to somehow figure out how to print on there the message, whatever the message is, and I don’t know what the message is yet so”.

17:02

Macdonald laughs. Pan to Dane

HAMISH MACDONALD: “What might they say? What might the hats say? Stop Trump”.

DANE WATERS: “No hang on, this is, this is, this is…”

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Give me some ideas…”

DANE WATERS: “Look first of all I just feel this is all about, you know this is more than Trump now. This is about the vice of the Republican Party trying to shut out the people. So what might it say?”

17:14

[shot continuous]

HAMISH MACDONALD: “This is about the fight for the heart and the soul of the Republican Party”.

DANE WATERS: “That’s exactly right. Now what is it going to say? I don’t know something like, ‘We will not be silenced’ or I mean you’re a smart guy, have you got any ideas? Throw them out here.”

HAMISH MACDONALD: “You’re running out of ideas?”

DANE WATERS: “No, no, no it’s just that I… we…”

17:35

Prayer meeting

17:55

Kendal at prayer meeting

HAMISH MACDONALD: The battle is getting uglier and Kendal is turning to her faith. An evangelical Christian who supported the failed candidate Ted Cruz, she believes taking down Trump is her God given mission.

18:00

KENDAL UNRUH: “Oh I feel strength by the prayers. I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t feeling the strength of the prayers. I feel safe.

18:14

Kendal interview

God’s my bodyguard and I sincerely, truly believe that. My family, even with all the threats, they’ve said we feel safe”.

18:20

HAMISH MACDONALD: “What are they saying? What are the threats specifically?”

18:27

KENDAL UNRUH: “Oh my gosh, I mean it’s, it’s, I didn’t know there were so many creative ways to kill somebody [laughs] but I don’t let it in”.

18:29

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Give me some examples, what are these threats against you?”

18:38

KENDAL UNRUH: “They’re going to come and.... stab me and cut me in pieces”.

18:40

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Who’s making these threats? Is it delegates? Is it Trump supporters?”

18:46

KENDAL UNRUH: “It’s, yes. It’s Trump supporters”.

18:50

Prayer meeting. Man with gun strapped to his leg. Kendal leads prayer

18:52

HAMISH MACDONALD:   Until the age of 20 Kendal was in a cult, a Christian following known as The Move. Donald Trump she says, reminds her of the cult leader.

19:02

Kendal interview

KENDAL UNRUH: “And you wouldn’t have even had to have grown up in a cult to recognise cult leader tendencies, if you look at this undying devotion in the followers, because that’s what the problem is here. Anything that came out, no matter how repulsive it was, no matter how wrong it is, none of it mattered because the fear and the anger had been demagogued in such a way that their faces were set like flint and it’s like they had blinders on.

19:13

Prayer meeting

19:37

Campaign HQ/Cleveland preparation for convention

Music

20:00

HAMISH MACDONALD: It’s the day before the convention and there’s yet another plan to stop Donald Trump.

20:22

Dane and Macdonald in corridor

DANE WATERS: “What are you doing here?”

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Just coming to say hello”.

DANE WATERS: “Hello… Where am I going?…”

HAMISH MACDONALD: “I’ll talk to you in a minute. You having fun?”

DANE WATERS: “Oh, I’m having a ball”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: They’re going to force a roll call vote.

20:29

Dane and Campaigners hold meeting

Every single delegate on the convention floor will be asked if they accept the Party’s rules package, including the rule which binds them mostly to Donald Trump. This will be the last chance to unbind and to roll him.

20:40

Hamish with Delegate standing outside in corridor in front of closed door

DELEGATE: “We’ve got some meetings later on”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “I sniff a story”.

DELEGATE: “You sniff a story? We’ve got some meetings happening later on this evening with some of the delegates That might be interesting angles for you”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Cool”.

20:54

Dane and Campaigners hold meeting

HAMISH MACDONALD: To get a roll call vote they need the signatures of a majority of delegates from at least seven states, a massive task in just 20 hours. And complicating things? There’s dissent in the ranks, a rival faction is forming.

21:06

Dane and Macdonald

DANE WATERS: “I guess this going to air afterwards so I guess I can be honest about this. So you know like Beau Correll, have you talked to Beau? Have you met…”

HAMISH MACDONALD: “The lawyer”.

DANE WATERS: “The lawyer, yeah”.

21:22

Closed meeting room door

HAMISH MACDONALD: Beau Correll, a lawyer and delegate from Virginia who also wants to stop Trump is calling his own meetings, in secret with delegates.

DANE WATERS: “I’ve spent

21:31

Dane and Macdonald

most of my day honestly trying to keep the wheels on the cart long enough that we can get the signatures on this and we can actually have a chance at stopping the rules tomorrow”.

21:41

Dane enters faction meeting

HAMISH MACDONALD: Dane knows where they’re meeting and he’s gate crashing.

21:49

“Hey everyone. I’m Dane Waters. Thought I’d drop by. Beau, can we speak outside for a second?”

22:01

Dane and Beau Correll in corridor

DANE WATERS:  “You’ve done fucking nothing! You’ve done nothing. You didn’t tell us the meeting was happening, Beau. I want you to balls up and say, ‘Dane, I should have told you’. That’s all I want to hear”.

BEAU CORRELL: “I don’t really care who does it. Shit’s got to get done, man. I mean, I’m helping”.

DANE WATERS: “Really? Where the fuck have you been all the time, Beau?”

22:13

[to camera crew waiting in corridor] “Hey guys. Out! Go. Back, out of here… “

22:36

Dane and Beau Correll back into room

HAMISH MACDONALD: “That was a bit intense?”

BEAU CORRELL: “Oh yeah. There’s some bro love there”.

DANE WATERS: “Excuse us one second”.

22:49

Dane introduces Beau at campaign HQ

HAMISH MACDONALD: A few hours later, they’ve patched things up”.

DANE WATERS: “So everyone this is Beau Correll.

22:56

So whatever we can do to help Beau and Free the Delegates get the signatures signed is great. So they’re all working together to ensure the signatures we have, that’s the most important thing”.

23:10

Montage. Delegates arriving at convention

Music

23:21

HAMISH MACDONALD: [approaching a group dressed up for convention] “You’re delegates obviously”.

23:36

Group of male delegates

MAN #1: “Yes”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “There’s some delegates that are trying to disrupt, to stop Trump, to dump Trump, what do you think their chances are of doing that?”

MAN #1: “Zero”.

MAN #2: “Yeah agreed”.

MAN #3: “Slim and none”.

23:39

MAN #1: “But at the end of the day, Trump won the majority of the delegates on the first ballot, he will be our nominee and we will unite behind him”.

23:50

Montage. Delegates in convention hall

Music

24:01

HAMISH MACDONALD: “All eyes really are on the floor of this convention centre right now.

24:18

Macdonald to camera at convention

This Party desperately wants to show unity and this could be the moment of truth”.

24:22

Macdonald approaches Kendal

“How are you going Kendal, how are the signatures going?”

KENDAL UNRUH: “Good. We have the signatures”.

24:29

HAMISH MACDONALD: “From all seven states?”

24:35

KENDAL UNRUH: “Yes. So now it’s a matter of not having our deliverer get tasered or knocked out by somebody, but we actually have to worry and we actually sent him with a bodyguard. That’s unprecedented”.

24:37

MSNBC reporter

24:50

Kendal surrounded by press

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Kendal’s push is the centre of attention. It’s derailing the start of this event.

24:56

Kendal walking down corridor

Music

25:01

Dane to gathered press

DANE WATERS:  “If Donald Trump has the support he says he does and he wants to unify this Party, then he just needs to say hey, you know, vote freely for me. So”.

25:13

Kendal with MSNBC Reporter. MSNBC Reporter

MSNBC LIVE REPORTER: “Hey guys you’re in between me and my crew. Let them come through please, it’s okay”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “But we’re here for her as well”.

MSNBC LIVE REPORTER: “I know but she wants to do an interview with me, you understand right? I know but she, but you understand that Kendal wants to talk to me right?”

KENDAL UNRUH: “Yeah we’re going to do, we need MSNBC Live”.

MSNBC LIVE REPORTER: “Thanks. See?”

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Well I seem to be being out manoeuvred

25:21

Macdonald to camera

by the Republican establishment right now. They’re sending messages out to all their followers saying that the secretary of the convention’s hiding, that they’re refusing to even look at the signatures. I think they’ve got enough people behind them to do this, but they’re not winning the game”.

25:37

Convention gets underway

The convention is finally starting. It’s getting underway with the call for a voice vote to accept the rules that bind delegates to support Trump.

26:05

Speaker conducts vote

SPEAKER: “Those in favour of the rules package will say ’Aye’… [loud “Aye”]

26:14

Those opposed shall say ‘No’… [loud “No”]

In the opinion of the Chair, the “Ayes” have it”.

26:27

Delegates protest

DELEGATES: [chant] “roll call vote! Roll call vote!...”

27:03

Dane with delegate

MAN: [TO DANE WATERS] “It was four to one against and he said the ayes have it. It was, that’s what they’re all yelling about. It was overwhelming.

27:11

So what we’re witnessing is a staff takeover of the Party from the gully”.

DANE WATERS: “Which is why we were pushing for a roll call vote to ensure that this didn’t happen, but what they did basically they not only ignored our petition, but they ignored the fact that the delegates said that they want the vote down the rules. Now clearly as you heard, the nays had it and he just gavelled down and said it doesn’t matter”.

27:23

Delegates protest from convention floor

27:42

Dane

I’ve never witnessed such absolute total, in this country, absolute total corruption. I don’t know a better way to put it. I mean they basically just stole from the delegates, once again, their power and authority to even ratify the rules”.

27:58

Crowd shouting

CROWD:  Point of order! Point of order!...

28:11

Male delegate

DELEGATE: “Eleven states, the delegates, the majority of the delegates from eleven states have submitted witnessed petitions asking for a roll call vote on the rules. Our rules allow us to get a roll call vote in that circumstance. That’s all we’re wanting”.

28:25

Party officials on stage

DELEGATE from floor: Turn on the Utah microphones so we can be heard”.

28:40

Utah delegate stands before microphone

HAMISH MACDONALD: The microphones on the floor are turned off. To try and subdue the chaos, the Chair is letting a delegate speak.

28:47

Chair from stage

CHAIR: “The Chair recognises the delegate from Utah”.

28:53

Utah delegate stands before microphone

PHIL WRIGHT: “My name is Phil Wright. I am the Chair of the Utah delegation. I make a motion that we have a roll call vote on the rules”.

DELEGATE: “I second the motion”.

28:58

Floor of convention

HAMISH MACDONALD: Just when they seem on the verge of a breakthrough, there’s another surprise.

29:10

Speaker from stage

SPEAKER: “The secretary received requests from a total of nine states requesting a roll call vote on adoption of report on the committee on rules. Subsequently, the secretary received withdraws which caused three states to fall below the threshold required under the rules. Accordingly… [cheers] accordingly the Chair has found insufficient support for the request for a record vote”.

29:14

Woman on floor

WOMAN DELEGATE: “Yes, yes!!! Shut it down”.

29:54

Speaker/Delegates shouting

HAMISH MACDONALD: And just like that, the Party establishment crushes the rebellion. It’s over.

“They said that they got some of the, some of the signatures withdrawn. What happened?”

KENDAL UNRUH: “Well,

30:01

Kendal

they whipped them pretty hard, but see we should have been allowed to find out which states withdrew and which names withdrew. We have a right to know that, because we can’t just take them at their word that names withdrew”.

30:13

Delegates at convention

HAMISH MACDONALD: “They accuse you of dividing the Party but …”

KENDAL UNRUH: “No way”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “But what have they done?”

KENDAL UNRUH: “Well, you can see

30:24

Kendal with Macdonald

this is a divided Party without me. All I’m doing is representing the people that you saw on the floor that feel the same way we do, that he’s not the best reflection of our Party. So

30:30

Delegates at convention

I mean I’m not alone here. There is an awful lot of support on this floor that they chose to ignore, so.”

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Did you feel that groundswell of support?”

30:39

Kendal with Macdonald

KENDAL UNRUH: “Well did you see it? Okay. Did you guys all watch it? Did you witness it? And that’s why we’re frustrated because obviously there’s, you know, 1500 people in this room that feel as I do and they should have just had the roll call vote. It’s called fairness, it’s called process”.

30:45

Speaker on stage

SPEAKER: “The Chair announces that Donald J Trump, having received a majority of these votes entitled to be cast at the convention, has been selected as the Republican Party nominee for President of the United States”.

31:02

Delegates cheer

[cheering]

31:24

Campaigners pack up HQ/Take group photo

31:31

Kendal interview

KENDAL UNRUH: “You saw a destruction of the Party. You guys were witness to it. You saw the death of a Party, the death of a brand and we know how we got here and the leadership allowed it to get here,

31:51

Campaigners pack up HQ

and so now we have to wrest power and control from that leadership and rebuild from the bottom up”.

DANE WATERS: “When all the news came out yesterday that the movement had been beaten and that we had failed, people honestly wrote and said, you know, you fought the good fight, you did the right thing. We’re proud of you. And my son… you know,

32:06

Dane interview in corridor

he said good positive things so, yep. I mean and that’s the most important thing to me”.

HAMISH MACDONALD: “You all right?”

DANE WATERS: “Yeah I’m fine.

32:27

I mean it’s just, as I said it’s just very sad, but at the same time it gives me hope that my son, you know, was very supportive, so”.

32:42

HAMISH MACDONALD: “Can Donald Trump win this election?”

32:52

DANE WATERS: “I really don’t believe so. I just don’t see electorally how he can get there, and I think that he could personally, you know, be responsible for destabilising this country and this world in many ways. So, you know, if I had to choose today between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton I have to say I would vote for Hillary Clinton”.

32:54

Trump addressing convention

DONALD TRUMP:   “I humbly and gratefully accept your nomination for the Presidency of the United States”.

33:12

Delegates cheer

[cheering]

33:22

HAMISH MACDONALD: “You’re a tough, determined woman that’s just taken on Donald Trump and failed, Hillary Clinton is a tough, determined woman that’s about to take him on as well, what’s your lesson from this for her?”

KENDAL UNRUH: “Well she doesn’t even have to take on Trump.

33:31

Kendal interview

She just needs to let Trump be Trump and continue to play Trump against Trump. 

33:46

Trump/Delegates

Donald Trump self-destructs, and so there’s a saying in

33:54

Kendal interview

politics, just let them have the rope and they’ll hang themselves”.

34:02

Trump addresses convention. Pan to Kendal on floor not applauding

DONALD TRUMP:   “And we will make America great again. God bless you and good night. I love you”.

34:04

Credits

Reporter: Hamish Macdonald

Producer: Sashka Koloff

Camera: David Martin

Editor: Stuart Miller

Executive producer: Marianne Leitch

abc.net.au/foreign

©2016

34:18

Outpoint

34:40