MILWAUKEE – Americans at the Republican National Convention (RNC) have confessed they know little about Liz Truss, as the former UK prime minister attempts to charm delegates – but said they were “excited” by her presence.
Johnathan Gay, a 50-year-old delegate and lawyer from Kentucky, was part of a group Ms Truss spoke to on Tuesday, and said she “gave some powerful remarks” that were “very well received”.
“I think everyone respects the challenge that she’s had to overcome in Great Britain and the job that she did as prime minister,” he told i.
Mark Boldger, a delegate from Burleson County, 100 miles north-west of Houston, was among a group from Texas – one of the most conservative states – who met the former Conservative MP on Tuesday evening.
He said he did not know as much about her as he did about Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who is expected at the convention on Wednesday. “I am not really interested in politics, I’m more interested in other people’s opinions,” he said, adding that he was there “with more curiosity than anything else”.
Kerry French, a delegate from Washington state, said she was a Farage fan and supported Brexit, but knew less about Ms Truss.
She said she was interested to learn more, especially given that she had earlier this year spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference (Cpac). “I think most Americans are interested in other people’s perspectives of America, although we may or may not care,” she said. “We love free speech here. Everyone’s got a chance and a right to have their own opinions and speak their mind and so we encourage that. So yes, I’m interested.”
At lunchtime on Tuesday, as RNC delegates explored merchandise stands replete with Trump/Vance 2024 memorabilia, and sampled foods including Wisconsin’s famous cheese curds, there was no talk of Ms Truss.
While the former prime minister secured substantial social media attention at home for her endorsement of the Republican presidential candidate (“I do not support Joe Biden… I want Donald Trump to win”), in Milwaukee she is just another face in the crowd – and not one the vast majority of delegates would recognise.
Delegates from across the country told i they had not heard of her and would not know if they had rubbed shoulders with her in the security queues.
“Who’s Liz Truss?” enquired Shannon McKinney, from Wisconsin.
“I don’t know who that is… should I?” asked Texas’s Deana Abiassi, kitted out in a cowboy hat and a sequined Stars and Stripes blouse. Told Ms Truss had briefly served as UK prime minister, she said, “I’m embarrassed I didn’t know that”, adding that given the chance, she would love to see her.
“Liz Truss? No. What’s that?” asked Alvin Portee, a South Carolina delegate who is running for county coroner in his hometown, as he visited the food booths sporting a tall hat bearing an image of Abraham Lincoln. Informed that the former PM had endorsed Trump as offering “the leadership the West needs”, Mr Portee said he and Ms Truss were in agreement. “I hope I get to meet her,” he added.
Shirlene Ostrov, chair of the Hawaii delegation, told i she did not know Ms Truss was at the convention but was “so excited” about it because she believed UK-US relations were important “as we move forward in this very treacherous world.
“The US is very serious about our national security, about our shared interests with our fiercest allies, and I’m so glad to see that such luminaries in the conservative movements are here to share their thoughts with us.”
John Gizzi, chief political correspondent for TV channel Newsmax, told i: “Liz Truss thinks perhaps that this might be good to enhance her status with her right wing of the party. It may lead to more speaking engagements… but Liz Truss is in the past. This is someone who is a hyphen between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
“She was barely in No 10 long enough to get unpacked, so I would question how many British citizens remember her before I start pondering how many Americans know who she is.”
But he said she still had a chance of making some inroads. “She is a former prime minister. Republican politicians appear to like her. Ted Cruz welcomed her into his home in Texas, and I imagine Donald Trump will be just as welcoming. Put another way: how many times would you put down someone who is endorsing you?”
Asked if Ms Truss was available for an interview, her press secretary Jonathan Isaby said: “Unlikely, sorry.”