Craig Shirley: ‘Cleveland Is Going To Be A City Under Siege’ During GOP Convention

Reagan biographer and public affairs consultant Craig Shirley tells Breitbart News Daily that “Cleveland is going to be a city under siege by Left wing protesters protesting Donald Trump and the Republicans” when the GOP comes to town to pick its nominee in July.

“First of all, on the outside, you can expect a lot of protesters a la Chicago … a lot of Left wing protesters, Black Lives Matter, Left Wing college professors,” Shirley tells host Stephen K. Bannon.

As for how tough and dirty things are going to get inside at the GOP convention, Shirley says, “Use your wildest imagination and then multiply it by ten.” Asked if he thought it would be worst than 1976, when Reagan faced then President Ford in a contested convention, Shirley said, “Yes, definitely. I don’t see anybody being nominated on the first ballot, which will be the first time since television started covering the conventions.”

“Everything short of breaking the law” will be in play to win delegates, said Shirley, citing tales from 1976 to make his case. “Jim Baker, Ford’s chief delegate honcho had to negotiate with about 150 uncommitted delegates. And he had to know their bartender, their mistresses, their wants and what they liked and what they didn’t like. They used everything they could” to secure delegates.

Added Shirley, “An uncommitted delegate from Suffolk County, NY had a private meeting in the Oval Office with President Ford and came out with a federal sewer contract for his town and Ford got his uncommitted vote.”

“Inside, it really depends on whether they keep their cool, or whether or not they don’t keep their cool. Conventions have descended into fist fights before. I’m not saying that this will but they need to make sure the air conditioning is working in whatever arena they’re meeting there in Cleveland. That’s for sure,” concluded Shirley.

Shirley’s books include ‘Reagan’s Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All,’ ‘Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America‘ and ‘Last Act: The Final Years and Emerging Legacy of Ronald Reagan.’

Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00AM to 9:00AM EST. You can listen to the full interview below: