What Republicans Have Been Up to While Biden’s Drama Has Unfolded

The self-generated political crisis that has convulsed the Democratic Party over the past two weeks has felt, to Republicans, like a lovely day on the fairway.

“Republicans are standing on the sidelines with polite golf claps,” said David Urban, a political strategist and past campaign aide to former President Donald Trump, “going, ‘Wow, incredible, well done.’”

They watched President Biden melt down on the debate stage. They watched his party agonize over his unsteady recovery. And, crucially, they managed to stay largely out of it (even when Trump was surreptitiously filmed weighing in from an actual golf course).

“I can’t remember a time when there’s been a week that’s gone by, two weeks, when the former president hasn’t been dominating the news cycle,” Urban said.

It has not, however, been an uneventful period for the G.O.P. Since the debate, two Trump allies — Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani, have been imprisoned and disbarred, respectively. House Republicans failed to pass what should have been an easy spending bill (though they did manage to pass two bills blocking efficiency standards for kitchen appliances). The party approved a platform that has angered some conservatives and found itself on defense over Trump allies’ sweeping agenda.

So, with just days to go before the Republican National Convention begins in Milwaukee, on Monday, let’s take a look at a few story lines you might have missed if you’ve been glued to the Biden saga. I’ll be back next week — from Milwaukee.