GOP officials have said that, after being declared the Republican Party's presumptive nominee last week, Donald Trump and his campaign will begin their involvement with planning the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

Sure, political conventions are watched closely by political nerds. But they're not exactly embraced by a national audience. (Honey Boo Boo outperformed the 2012 RNC.) Trump himself has described the 2012 convention as "the single most boring convention I've ever seen."

So why would Trump, who spent more than a decade hosting a wildly popular reality TV show, settle for anything less the best?

Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland.com

Donald Trump to help plan the greatest, most amazing Republican National Convention ever. Here's how it might go down.

By Andrew J. Tobias

cleveland.com

May 10, 2016

The classiest. So good. Yuuuge. Cleveland will host a Republican National Convention like none other when the party presumably will nominate “The Donald" Trump as its presidential candidate.

We don’t expect the program to be announced until shortly before the four-day convention starts on July 18. In the meantime, let’s imagine how a Trump-led Republican National Convention might go down.

Next slide: What Trump has said he has in mind for Cleveland

Photo by Mary Kilpatrick, cleveland.com

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What Trump has said he has in mind for Cleveland

Last month, Trump told the Washington Post that he plans to introduce an element of "showbiz" into the convention. Trump further mused about his plans for the Cleveland convention in an interview with the New York Times last week.

“The site has been chosen and the arena is fine, but I’d want to have — you know, the last Republican convention was extraordinarily boring,” Trump said. “And we’re going to come up with some things that will make it interesting and informative, but also smart and different.”

Convention spokesman Dave O’Neil told cleveland.com the Trump campaign will send representatives to Cleveland by the end of this week.

“We’re going to be listening to their ideas, and I’m sure we will be incorporating some of those into the program,” O’Neil said.

Next slide: Who might sing the National Anthem at a Trump convention?

Photo by Elaine Thompson, Associated Press

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National Anthem singer - Kid Rock

The soundtrack for Trump’s political rallies has included “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John, “Rockin’ in the Free World” by Neil Young and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones. None has been crazy about Trump using their music, so we have a hard time seeing them singing the Star-Spangled Banner. And Luciano Pavarotti, whose rendition of “Nessun Dorma” also is a standard at Trump rallies, died in 2007.

So who does that leave?

Let's go with Kid Rock. In February, the Detroit rock star endorsed Trump, telling Rolling Stone: "My feeling: let the [expletive] business guy run it like a [expletive] business. And his campaign has been entertaining as [expletive]."

Next slide: Our pick as a possible host for the RNC live-stream



Photo by Dan Steinberg, Associated Press

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Webstream host - Alex Jones

Despite pressure from anti-Trump activists, Google will sponsor this year's live stream of the GOP Convention.

Who better to host the online broadcast than Alex Jones, an Internet radio host who runs the conspiracy website, infowars.com.

In December, Trump granted a 30-minute interview to Jones, who has said the United States government played a role in the Boston Marathon bombings and the Sept. 11 attacks. For his part, Trump has advanced various unsupported conspiracy theories throughout his campaigns including suggesting that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was murdered, and that Ted Cruz's father was involved with the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Next slide: Some possible speakers at a Trump convention

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Possible speaker - Sarah Palin

The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican Party vice-presidential nominee endorsed Trump in January, just prior to the Iowa caucus. If we're lucky, Palin might re-create the speech she gave at the time. ("You rockin' rollers. And holy rollers! All of you who work so hard. You full-time moms. You with the hands that rock the cradle. You all make the world go round, and now our cause is one.")

Next slide: Another possible speaker at the Trump convention

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Possible speaker -- Bobby Knight

Knight, the retired, mercurial Indiana University basketball coach, endorsed Trump late last month in Indiana, whose Republican primary proved to be Trump’s clinching victory. Knight praised Trump for “having the guts to drop the bomb,” comparing him favorably to Democratic President Harry S. Truman. Like Clint Eastwood at the 2012 GOP convention, Knight might even have some interesting ideas for a sketch involving a chair.

Next slide: Another possible speaker

Photo by Darron Cummings, Associated Press

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Possible speaker - 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin

Abraham Lincoln famously once appointed his former political rivals to his cabinet. Perhaps the least a magnanimous Trump could do for Austin, a retired professional wrestler who hit Trump with his signature Stone Cold Stunner move at Wrestlemania 23 in 2007, is grant him a speaking slot in Cleveland.

Another possible role for Austin: he could serve as the “special guest” chairman of the convention. Trump this week declined to rule out seeking to replace House Speaker Paul Ryan in that role after the 2012 GOP vice-presidential nominee declined to support Trump.

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Possible speaker - Omarosa Manigault

Omarosa, the reality TV star, has stumped for Trump on the campaign trail, despite having been fired by Trump twice on The Apprentice (and then Celebrity Apprentice.) Her involvement would reinforce a central tenet of the Trump campaign: He's not here to make friends. He's here to Make America Great Again.

Next slide: The possible pageantry behind Trump's vice-presidential pick

Photo by Chris Pizzello, Associated Press

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The Miss (or Mr.) GOP pageant

Trump is said to be working on a short-list for his vice-presidential nominee. He could make his contenders compete for the job at the convention, tapping his experience hosting the Miss USA pageant for nearly 20 years.

While the swimsuit portion of the contest will be interesting, we expect the final interview will be the factor that tips the scales for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former U.S. attorney who unexpectedly endorsed Trump earlier this year shortly after dropping out of the race.

Next speech: Acceptance speech venue

Photo by John Minchillo, Associated Press

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Acceptance speech venue - FirstEnergy Stadium

All signs have pointed toward Quicken Loans Arena serving as the GOP convention hall. Trump himself has called The Q “fine” and O’Neil, the GOP’s convention spokesman flatly stated that's where the convention will be.

But Trump has made massive rallies a signature of his political campaign. And we know he's willing to change his mind.

Why wouldn't Trump want to give his acceptance speech at FirstEnergy Stadium, which seats 73,200? If he really wanted to make a splash, he could arrive via his customized Sikorsky S-76 luxury helicopter, touching down gently in the end zone as "Sirius" by Alan Parsons Project blares.

As Trump wrote in The Art of the Deal: "THINK BIG."

Next slide: Trump's speech

Photo by John Kuntz, cleveland.com

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Trump to Hillary: 'You're fired!'

Trump is intentionally unpredictable. But there’s just no way he won’t incorporate his trademark phrase — “You’re Fired” — into his acceptance speech. We imagine Trump giving Hillary Clinton the bad news while standing at an elegant gold-plated podium with a 40-to-50-foot wall in the background.

Next slide: The afterparty

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Afterparty -- Red, the Steakhouse

After the convention ends, Trump could host a classy, very exclusive event at the nearby Red the Steakhouse.

Trump could cut a deal with management to change the menu, or at least re-brand it. Trump Steaks and Trump Wine, anyone?

Photo by Bob Perkoski, Plain Dealer file

Next slide: 'This is the ultimate reality show'

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'This is the ultimate reality show'

Paul Manafort, a top Trump adviser, confirmed during a Tuesday night television appearance that he and other Trump team members will meet with convention leadership in Cleveland later this week to talk about convention planning. He said Trump is a "television star" who understands media and how to use it to reach people.

“This is the ultimate reality show. It's the presidency of the United States," Manafort told MSNBC's Chris Matthews. "It will be a program where we will be talking to America about not just Donald Trump, but the Republican Party, and we will put it in ways we hope will be entertaining, but more importantly, informative.”