Convention Diaries: Umbrellas, No. Guns, Yes.

As I was waiting in Chicago to board my next plane to the Republican National Convention locals, delegates and reporters shared their fears on the combustible mix of protesters, guns and fear mongering.

Ohio is an open-carry state, meaning citizens are allowed to visibly carry a gun practically anywhere. In the restricted area around the convention items like umbrellas or tennis balls are forbidden, but guns are allowed.

A delegate from Oregon asked, “What are they going to do about trucks?” He pointed out that guns stopped the driver in Nice. Would a copycat try to drive into the convention? Unlikely, I thought.

A reporter from Germany’s Der Spiegel news magazine said tensions are high here and around the world after Turkey’s coup attempt, Nice, Houston, and now Baton Rouge.

“It’s very unsettling,” said the Akron resident who was returning home from a professional conference. “The world is going crazy.”

A man from Akron said he was happy that Cleveland was getting national attention, but uneasy about what else may come with it. Would things get out of hand?

Indeed, recent domestic and international events have cast an eerie gloom ahead of the official presidential nominations, kicking off the general elections.

Dozens of protests and rallies are planned each day of the convention. One of the biggest on Monday will be a rally and march against Trump’s immigration policies, later in the week the Westboro Baptist Church and New Black Panther Party are expected to demonstrate.

Donald Trump is already framing elections in this way.

The question is: Will the politics of fear be an effective strategy to win over voters who don’t already support Trump?