President Trump by now would have been well on his way to reelection had the novel coronavirus not spread through the U.S., a Park City resident who is a longtime figure in the national Republican Party said this week as the Republican National Convention approached.

Bruce Hough, a management consultant who lives in Park Meadows, is preparing for the convention, his seventh as a delegate starting in 1988. He will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, for meetings rather than attending the convention remotely. Hough is a Republican National Committeeman with a term ending in 2024 after serving in the same role from 2008 until 2016. His delegate vote will go to Trump as the president officially becomes the Republican nominee at the convention.

Hough sees Trump as having numerous accomplishments to tout during the final months of the campaign. He praised the president’s work on taxes, the military and criminal justice reform, and he supports the president’s judicial appointments. Hough also highlighted Trump’s foreign policy, including the efforts to build a relationship with North Korea and what he called the president’s tough stand on China regarding currency policies and digital espionage.

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He likened Trump’s talks with North Korea’s leader to President Nixon’s efforts in the 1970s to open China to the West. There were not leader-to-leader talks between the U.S. and North Korea, the same scenario between the leaders of the U.S. and China prior to Nixon’s work, he said.

“Had the COVID-19 not transpired, probably this election would be a no-brainer,” Hough said.

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He said most segments of society, including those in disadvantaged areas, “improved their circumstances” during the Trump administration prior to the coronavirus spreading.

Hough also supports the Trump administration’s management of the efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus. He backed the decision to ban travel from China to the U.S. and indicated the World Health Organization performed poorly in the early days of the spread. Trump helped mobilize industry to produce personal protective equipment and provided the guidance that was needed, Hough said.

“He probably saved thousands of lives,” he said regarding the decision to enact the Chinese travel ban.

Hough acknowledged he is “not thrilled” with the amount of spending in response to the sickness but said the spending by Washington is necessary.

He said the convention activities in Charlotte will be much different than those at the previous gatherings he attended. Hough expects there will be several hundred people conducting the business rather than the thousands who would normally attend. He said it will be a quiet setting and the delegates will “get right down to business.” The party business in Charlotte will be conducted in a similar manner to any other convention, but the convention this year will lack the same sort of energy without the crowds working toward a common cause, he said.

Hough said the presidential contest between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, will be closer than some expect in heavily Democratic Summit County. There are lots of people in the Park City area who support the president and his economic policies, Hough said. He did not predict who will win Summit County on Election Day.