Cleveland RNC Protests, Merchandise And Pokémon: 20 Weird Things Spotted At The Republican Convention

The Republican National Convention may have only just started, but it's already getting weird.

"Cleveland, by all means, has been transformed," the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote Sunday night. "The city — and outlying areas — are a dizzying mashup of police presence and convention energy."

More than 50,000 people are expected to attend the political event, among them delegates, journalists, celebrities, protesters, governors, senators and vendors selling anything and everything you can slap a Donald Trump logo on. And it all makes for good photos.

Of course, the week in Ohio is truly focused on Trump, the billionaire-turned-politician who beat out more than a dozen opponents to become the GOP's presumptive nominee in May. The tycoon is both extremely popular — he garnered about 13.3 million votes in the GOP primary — and highly disliked, with at least two groups heading to Cleveland to beg delegates not to support Trump. His fans and opponents will converge on Cleveland, attending more than 1,200 official events scheduled in connection with the convention and generating millions for the region.

But for all the politics, it seemed that protests, profits and Pokémon had emerged Monday afternoon as a few of the top themes at the start of the week. A quick scan of social media revealed a wide variety of scenes captured on camera.

There were the serious tweets as the convention kicked off just after 1 p.m. EDT:

(Note that open carry is legal in Ohio. The Secret Service have established a small zone around the Quicken Loans Arena where firearms aren't allowed, but otherwise gun-owners are free to tote weapons as they wish.)

There were appearances by former candidates (and their dinners):

There were strange shirts and buttons, many featuring slogans from "The Apprentice":

There were protesters and Pokémon:

And, of course, there were some things you just can't explain: