Summer of Trump Threatens Tattered Cleveland’s Comeback Story

  • Contested Republican convention could make for pandemonium
  • Civic boosters say the more eyes watching the city the better

Fans gather outside Quicken Loans Arena before a game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks on Oct. 30, 2014, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Photographer: Jason Miller/Getty Images
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Cleveland envisions its Republican National Convention in July as an opportunity to show off its re-invented self and bury memories of default, industrial demise and a mayor who accidentally set his hair on fire.

Thanks to Donald Trump, Cleveland’s first nominating convention since 1936 might not be the customary coronation and infomercial, despite a $64 million corporate fundraising pledge and $50 million in federal assistance to assure all goes smoothly.