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Trump closes out the RNC with a lengthy speech, and details of assassination attempt
Trump delivered his record-breaking-long remarks accepting the party's nomination with a bunch of his family by his side. He drilled in on unauthorized migrants, climate policies, inflation and the assassination attempt against him.
a softer image of Trump.
— In his remarks, Hulk Hogan rallies "Trumpamanics" in support of the nominee.
— Veteran Republican pollster Frank Luntz tells NPR that this year's RNC represents a new Republican party.
— Prominent evangelist Franklin Graham prayed over Trump, thanking God for saving his life.
— Rev. Lorenzo Sewell riles up the RNC for Jesus and Trump.
Campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon released a statement slamming the former president for his disparaging remarks about the current state of the country. "But after all, it was Donald Trump who destroyed our economy, ripped away rights, and failed middle class families. Now he pursues the presidency with an even more extreme vision for where he wants to take this country," the statement read.
Our live updates from the 2024 Republican National Convention are collaboration between NPR and WUWM, with help from Wisconsin Public Radio and the entire NPR Network. Find your local Member station here. Get our full election coverage in the new Election tab in the NPR App.
And with that, the RNC is over
By Rachel Treisman
Emily Alfin Johnson
Four days, dozens of speakers, hours of jams and many balloons later, the RNC is officially over — which means our live coverage is wrapping up too.
Don't worry: NPR will be bringing you lots more coverage and analysis of the week's events, as well as new developments from the days ahead. You can find us on NPR.org, the NPR app and your local station — as well as wherever you get your podcasts.
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The Democrats hold their convention in Chicago starting August 19, and we'll be back to blog it all. See you then!
'We will very quickly make America great again,' Trump vows
By Stephen Fowler
Trump wrapped up his remarks, which ran over 90 minutes long, by briefly returning to the moderated, restrained tone he started with.
"Together, we will save this country, we will restore the republic, and we will usher in the rich and wonderful tomorrow people so truly deserve," he said. "America's future will be bigger, better, bolder, brighter, happier, stronger, freer, greater and more united than ever before."
Normally, a Trump speech ends with an extended monologue about how terrible the current state of America is, before vowing to make America strong, safe, wealthy and great again.
And indeed, this time he said after winning in November he would "very quickly Make America Great Again."
Apart from the extended discussion of Saturday's assassination attempt, though, the text of these remarks could have been delivered on any stage at any rally around the country he's held in 2024.
While mentioning President Joe Biden by name only once (and once again, to say he would only use it once), Trump's speech more circuitously painted a picture of a country in terrible shape, and argued that he alone can fix it.
3 women killed by unauthorized migrants have been mentioned throughout the RNC
By Sergio Martínez-Beltrán
Laken Riley. Jocelyn Nungaray. Rachel Morin.
Those are the names of three women who were killed by migrants who entered the country with authorization, and the names that Trump called out during his speech to illustrate what he says is the result of Biden’s handling of the southern U.S. border.
“These were incredible people who died,” Trump said. “America, this is my vow: I will not let these killers and criminals into our country.”
Twenty-two-year-old Riley, 12-year-old Nungaray, and 37-year-old Morin were killed by men who had crossed the border without authorization, and at least three of the suspects in those deaths had been temporarily released in the U.S.
Republicans and Trump have used the three victims as examples of the immigrants who are entering the country illegally.
But research from multiple universities, including Northwestern University, show that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the U.S.
The Trump and Vance families share a celebratory moment onstage
By Rachel Treisman
After Trump wrapped up his speech — the longest in convention history — former first lady Melania Trump joined him onstage at the podium.
They embraced and he planted a kiss on her cheek, then the two walked closer to the side of the stage.
As the band played "Hold On I'm Coming" by Sam & Dave, other Trump family members — including Trump's eldest children and their partners — joined them onstage.
J.D. Vance and his family members also stood on stage with them as red, white, blue and gold balloons rained from the ceiling.
Then opera singer Christopher Macchio took the microphone for a moving performance of "Nessun Dorma" into "America the Beautiful."
Who is Sam Brown? Trump praises Army vet and Senate hopeful in speech
By Alana Wise
During an RNC speech that stretched about 90 minutes, Trump praised retired Army Capt. Sam Brown, who is running to unseat an incumbent Democrat in a contentious Nevada Senate race.
“He’s a real hero and a really great person,” Trump said of Brown, who served in the war in Afghanistan, where he suffered catastrophic burns across his body and lost a finger during an IED explosion.
“He paid the biggest price probably ever paid by anybody that has run for office, and I think he’s going to do great,” Trump said, calling Brown’s Democratic opponent in the Senate race a “lightweight.”
Trump had endorsed Brown earlier this year in the race, which will help determine which party controls the Senate in the coming term.
Brown has focused much of his campaign on his military career. Since retiring with a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, Brown has launched a business in Reno to help veterans better access medical treatment.
Trump breaks his record for longest convention acceptance speech
By Elena Moore
By NPR's timer, former President Donald Trump has been speaking for at least 90 minutes.
At 1 hour and six minutes, former President Bill Clinton held the record for the longest convention speech until 2016, when Trump broke it, coming in at one hour and 14 minutes.
Tonight Trump passes his record by almost 10 minutes and counting.
Meanwhile, a string ensemble has been playing outside the arena
By Liz Baker
While MAGA fans crowded into pubs outside the arena to watch Trump’s speech, the Black String Triage Ensemble played on the street corner between a security checkpoint and a sports bar.
The musicians usually head to scenes of community suffering — shootings, vigils and other places where a calming vibe and peacekeeping message is helpful and healing, said chaplain Tom Gaulke.
“This is something they really wanted to do,” said Gaulke, who accompanied the group in case he was needed for deescalation.
“It’s quiet out here!” said conductor Dayvin M.A. Hallmon to the small chamber ensemble before cueing up the next hymn.
Trump spoke for over an hour, but didn't mention abortion once
By Rachel Treisman
Trump's speech touched on plenty of topics, from immigration to foreign policy to electric cars to AI to the economy. But he didn't mention abortion, a hot-button issue that has proved difficult for his party.
The Republican Party platform released the week before the convention only mentioned abortion once, in a statement about the party's dedication to protecting "the issue of life." It reads: "We will oppose Late Term Abortion."
Trump, who appointed three Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, has declined to back a nationwide abortion ban, saying the issue should be left to the states.
Abortion has been a winning issue for Democrats in multiple states in recent years, and appears to be driving many voters to the polls this election.
Trump doubles down on promise of mass deportations
Former President Donald Trump used his speech on Thursday to continue to push for mass removals of unauthorized migrants.
He claimed migrants crossing into the U.S. without authorization have mental health problems and are criminals.
“That’s why to keep our families safe, the Republican platform promises to launch the largest deportation operation in the history of our country,” Trump said.
It’s unclear what mechanism Trump would use to accomplish this, although he’s suggested he’d use the military to deport migrants.
The Office of Homeland Security Statistics says there’s about 11 million unauthorized migrants in the U.S.
But research doesn’t support his claim that all migrants commit crimes.
According to Stanford University, immigrants are 30% less likely to be imprisoned than white people born in the U.S.
Still, 47% of Americans support deporting all immigrants in the country without authorization, according to polling by Gallup.
Trump said he supports legal migration.
Some Republican strategists worry calling for mass deportations could alienate Hispanic voters — a part of the electorate that Trump and the GOP have been going after.
Artemio Muñiz, the chairman of the Texas-based Federation of Hispanic Republicans, said he supports more enforcement at the southern U.S. border, but he worries the message Trump is sending about mass deportations could backfire.
“It’s important as a Republican who wants to win in November, that we remember that there's a large Hispanic vote bloc that we’ve got to win over,” Muñiz. “The immigration solution proposed by our candidate President Trump will determine how well we do with that community.”
Muñiz, whose parents were in the country without authorization, said he believes deportations of people in the interior of the country should be limited to those who have committed crimes or are “a burden to our society.”
Trump talks about high inflation, an issue he's harped on
Inflation soared to a four-decade high of 9.1% in 2022, according to the consumer price index. While inflation has since fallen to 3%, prices are still climbing faster than most people would like. Other countries have also faced high inflation in the wake of the pandemic, as tangled supply chains struggled to keep pace with surging demand. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also fueled inflation by driving up energy and food prices worldwide. Government spending in the U.S. under both Biden and Trump also may have contributed, putting more money in people’s pockets and enabling them to keep spending in the face of high prices.
While high prices are a source of frustration for many Americans, the average worker has more buying power today than she did before the pandemic. Since February 2020, (just before the pandemic took hold in the U.S.) consumer prices have risen 21.5% while average wages have risen 22.7%.
Many prices were depressed early in the pandemic, however, so the comparison is less flattering if you start the clock when Biden took office. Since early 2021, consumer prices have risen 19.5% while average wages have risen 16.6%. Wage gains have been outpacing price increases for over a year, so that gap should eventually close.
Trump claims immigration chart saved his life
By Sergio Martínez-Beltrán
Former President Donald Trump credited a chart of immigration statistics he was looking at in the moments before his assassination attempt with saving his life.
“Last time I put up that chart, I never really got to look at it,” Trump said. “But without that chart I would not be here today.”
Trump said the chart shows a decrease in unauthorized crossings during his administration in comparison to Biden’s administration. The general shape of the chart is similar to charts published by the Pew Research Center and other groups based on Customs and Border Protection data.
Trump railed on electric vehicles and climate policies
By Ximena Bustillo
Trump vowed in his speech to end the "electric vehicle mandate." In reality, there is no federal Biden administration policy that mandates electric vehicles or prohibits the production of gas cars.
He also criticized the "green new scam ideas" and promised to "drill, baby, drill." The scientific consensus is that fossil fuels are the leading cause of climate change. Still, under Biden the oil and gas industry is booming.
Throughout the campaign, Trump has claimed that if elected, he will cut energy prices in half, doing so through the expansion of domestic fracking and oil measures. However, companies themselves set their production levels based on market forces, not presidential orders.
And efforts to influence production are not guaranteed to succeed: Trump famously tried and failed to prop up the U.S. coal industry. Meanwhile, oil production under President Biden has hit record highs, which has drawn criticism from climate activists.
Trump's tone is subdued, but his messaging isn't
By Stephen Fowler
It's about 45 minutes into Trump's remarks, and we've heard a lot of his typical campaign rhetoric around immigration, the economy and the state of America.
Even though it's not a raucous campaign rally, and even though his language has softened from more incendiary terms, it's still typical Trump.
There's mentions of "cities flooded with illegal aliens" and claims that Black and Hispanic residents are having their jobs taken away from those who come into the country.
He falsely claimed that Democrats "used COVID to cheat" in the 2020 presidential election, later called it the "China virus" and touted the GOP's new, slim party platform crafted in his image as better than the "long, boring, meaningless agendas of the past, including the Democrats."
Trump recounts assassination attempt: 'I'm not supposed to be here'
By Stephen Fowler
July 18, 2024 at 11:29 PM EDTFormer President Donald Trump opened his presidential nominating speech with an emotional recounting of the shooting at his rally last week that left him injured and killed another.
"As you already know, the assassin's bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life," he said. "So many people have asked me what happened. 'Tell us what happened, please,' and therefore I will tell you exactly what happened, and you'll never hear it from me a second time, because it's actually too painful to tell."
For more than 10 minutes, Trump recounted to the Republican National Convention in vivid details his observations of the attack on the "warm, beautiful day in the early evening In Butler township in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."
Trump, in a more subdued and somber tone than his usual bombast, said that he felt something hit his ear, and that he "felt very safe, because I had God on my side."
"I'm not supposed to be here tonight," Trump said as the crowd responded "Yes you are!" "Not supposed to be here... I thank you, but I'm not, and I'll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God."
Read the full report here.
The actual number of unauthorized migrants in the U.S. is less than what Trump has claimed
By Sergio Martínez-Beltrán
Former President Donald Trump has made immigration a cornerstone of his reelection campaign, and has claimed immigrants are invading the U.S.
“It’s a massive invasion at our southern border that has spread misery, crime, poverty, disease and destruction to communities all across our land,” Trump said during his RNC speech.
But that’s not true.
Under President Biden’s administration, the U.S. southern border saw a record high of people crossing without authorization. In December, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported nearly 250,000 encounters between ports of entry in the region.
But since January, that number has gone down significantly.
According to CBP, there were 83,536 encounters between ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border in June.
Biden has ramped up enforcement measures, such as severely restricting asylum for most migrants attempting to enter the U.S., and expediting the removal of unauthorized migrants.
According to an analysis by the Migration Policy Institute, Biden’s efforts have resulted in about 4.4 million repatriations, “already more than any single presidential term since the George W. Bush administration (5 million in its second term).”
Still, Trump has vowed to conduct mass deportations once he’s back in office. In an April interview with Time Magazine, he suggested there were between 15 to 20 million unauthorized migrants in the U.S.
But according to an April report by the Office of Homeland Security Statistics, there’s about 11 million unauthorized migrants in the U.S.
That number is a little less than 2018, when the population of unauthorized migrants was estimated at 11.5 million.
The report says “the vast majority of the population (79 percent) entered before 2010, but that percentage is declining (from 83 percent in 2018) as new unauthorized entrants arrive and earlier entrants emigrate, die, or adjust to legally resident status.”
Trump's record on job growth, contextualized
By Scott Horsley
Donald Trump had a solid record of job growth during his first three years in office, when employers added 6.6 million jobs. Unfortunately, those gains and more were wiped out by the pandemic, which briefly drove the unemployment rate up to 14.8%.
Although employment began to rebound by the summer of 2020, there were still 2.7 million fewer jobs when Trump left office than when he entered the White House four years earlier. The U.S. has continued to add jobs since then — a whopping 15.8 million jobs since Joe Biden was sworn in as president. The unemployment rate has inched up in recent months but at 4.1% remains very low by historical standards.
Trump thanks his family, including former first lady Melania Trump
By Elena Moore
Former President Donald Trump took a moment during his remarks to thank his wife, former First Lady Melania Trump — who has been mostly absent from the 2024 campaign trail.
"On this journey, I am deeply honored to be joined by my amazing wife, Melania," Trump said.
The day after the shooting at Trump's rally, Melania Trump released a letter urging Americans to unite.
"It really took the Republican Party by surprise. I will tell you it was beautiful," Trump added. "In fact some very serious people said that we should take that letter and put it as part of the Republican platform."
Tonight marks the only time Melania Trump appeared at the 2024 Republican National Convention. She did not make a speech, which goes against tradition at party conventions.
Trump also went on to thank his five children and 10 grandchildren.
Thursday also marked the first appearance of Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, who both worked in the administration.
Fact-checking Trump's tax cut claims
By Scott Horsley
Despite Trump’s frequent claims to the contrary, the 2017 tax cut was not the largest in U.S. history. However, it was big enough to blow a large hole in the federal budget.
Tax revenues as a share of GDP dropped to 16.3% in the year after the tax cut was passed, down from 17.1% the year before and an average of 17.7% over the past 40 years. Even though federal spending also declined as a share of GDP in 2018, the deficit topped $785 billion that year, and approached a trillion dollars in 2019 – the year before the pandemic.
According to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, more than half the savings from the 2017 tax cut went to the top 10% of earners, and more than a quarter went to the top 1%.
Large parts of the 2017 tax cut are due to expire next year. Trump has proposed extending all of them, and while also calling for additional, unspecified tax cuts. Biden has proposed extending the tax cuts for everyone making less than $400,000 a year (97% of the population) while raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy.
Under Biden, the IRS has also beefed up tax enforcement to ensure that wealthier people and businesses pay what they owe. GOP lawmakers have criticized that effort, and it would likely be reversed in a second Trump administration.
Trump praises his running mate J.D. Vance during RNC remarks
By Alana Wise
Former President Donald Trump took a moment in his Thursday evening remarks to praise his recently announced vice presidential pick, Ohioan J.D. Vance.
“It was an honor to select him,” Trump said of Vance, praising the intellect of the Yale Law School graduate and his wife, fellow Yale Law graduate, Usha.
“You're going to be doing this for a long time,” Trump told Vance. “Enjoy the ride.”
Trump announced Vance — a first-term U.S. senator — as his running mate earlier this week on the social media platform Truth Social. Vance accepted the nomination during official remarks on Wednesday, the third day of the convention.
Trump says 'we must not demonize political disagreement'
By NPR Washington Desk
In a speech that was expected to call for national unity, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump continued his speech by stating, "We must not criminalize dissent or demonize political disagreement."
He moved to focus on the legal battles he is facing.
"The Democratic Party should immediately stop weaponizing the justice system," Trump said.
Trump went into discussing the trials he faces including a federal judge recently dismissing a classified documents case in Florida.
Earlier this year, Trump became the first former or sitting U.S. president to be convicted of criminal charges. He was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump later introduced his wife, Melania, praising her for issuing a statement calling for national unity and his running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, saying it was an honor to select him.
Addressing the 39-year-old, Trump said, “you are going to be doing this for a long time. Enjoy the ride.”
'I am trying to buy your votes,' Trump jokes to Wisconsinites
By Rachel Treisman
Trump extended his thanks to the "extraordinarily people of Milwaukee and the great state of —."
Before he could say "Wisconsin," a large section of the room erupted in cheers. Trump pointed to a group of people waving large foam blocks of cheese, saying, "You are so easy to spot."
He addressed Wisconsin directly, saying the Republican Party is spending over $250 million in the state to create jobs and "other economic development all over the place."
"So I hope you will remember this in November and give us your vote," he said, then raised his arms above the podium. "I am trying to buy your vote, I'll be honest about that."
The crowd cheered, as he promised to "Make Wisconsin great again."
NPR's Liz Baker reports that the "buy your vote" line got a huge cheer in the sports bar across from the arena.
A somber Trump honors rally shooting victim Corey Comperatore
By Rachel Treisman
Megan Pratz
While recounting his attempted assassination, Trump took a moment to acknowledge those who were killed and injured in the attack that nearly took his own life.
He talked about Corey Comperatore, the 50-year-old engineer, volunteer firefighter and father who was killed after he dove on his family to protect them at the rally.
Trump said Comperatore was "respected by everybody," and acted selflessly to protect his wife and two children.
"He went right over the top of them and was hit," Trump said. "What a fine man he was."
As the crowd chanted "Corey," Trump walked across the stage to Comperatore's firefighting jacket and helmet, which were put on display. He put his hands on the shoulders of the jacket and kissed the helmet, then pointed to it as the crowd cheered.
Trump said he spoke to the two men who were injured, 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, as well as the families of all three victims.
He called Dutch and Copenhaver "warriors," and said they were "very, very seriously injured but now they're doing very well," adding, "they're gonna be okay."
Trump said in recent days supporters have raised $6.3 million for the families of all three victims. He held up a paper check for $1 million, which he said a friend had given him that very day.
"When speaking to the family I told them, 'Well, we'll be sending you a lot of money, but it can't compensate,'" he said.
Trump asked the crowd to observe a moment of silence "in honor of our friend Corey." The packed room was, for the first time all night, hushed. There were 15 seconds of complete silence, save for the clicks of the cameras on the floor.
Trump opens speech vowing to be president for "all of America"
By Stephen Fowler
A subdued and solemn Trump accepted the GOP nomination for president with a promise to unify a divided country.
"As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny," he said. "We rise together, or we fall apart. I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America."
It's his first public address since Saturday's rally in Butler, Pa., where a bullet struck his ear, and one attendee was killed and two others injured.
Trump said in the days leading up to this address that he rewrote his grand nominating address to strike a tone of unity after the near-death experience — and so far, that's the case.
Trump arrives onstage with his name in lights
By Rachel Treisman
Megan Pratz
As Lee Greenwood sang another rendition of "God Bless the U.S.A," the screen behind him lifted to reveal Trump standing onstage, in front of his last name in lights.
Trump, wearing a bandage on his ear, waved to the crowd as the image behind him faded to one of the White House lit up in red, white and blue.
UFC head Dana White introduces Trump, touting his toughness and resilience
By Rachel Treisman
The penultimate speaker of the night was Dana White, CEO and president of Ultimate Fighting Championship.
He said Trump called him two weeks ago "as a friend" to invite him to speak at the RNC.
He then read part of the text he said Trump sent after he accepted, urging him to "think of it as the biggest fight you ever had, a fight for our country and even the world."
Trump and White have been friends for over two decades. Read more here about Trump's long history with the UFC.
"I'm in the tough guy business, and this man is the toughest, most resilient human being that I've ever met in my life," White said, sounding emotional. "The higher the stakes, the harder he fights, and this guy never ever gives up."
Like others, White said Trump doesn't need to run for president again, based on all he's achieved so far, but stressed the former president is "willing to risk it all because he loves this country."
White wrapped up by introducing Trump to the stage, as the crowd went wild.
Trump's entrance shows him flanked by family at the RNC
By Alana Wise
Former President Trump joined the Thursday night RNC dais, surrounded by members of his family, including his daughters and older sons. Later his wife Melania claimed a seat on the dais.
Seen again with a large bandage covering his ear from the assassination attempt, Trump smiled in the presence of his older sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric; his daughters Ivanka and Tiffany Trump; as well as his children and grandchildren.
Seated on Trump’s lap was his young granddaughter, Carolina.
Also seen alongside Trump this evening in the VIP box were Trump’s vice presidential running mate, J.D. Vance and controversial country music singer Jason Aldean. The 47-year-old made headlines last year in the wake of the debut of his song “Try That in a Small Town,” which critics said contained lyrics that glorified gun violence and conveyed traditionally racist ideas.
Heritage Foundation fellow talks to NPR about Project 2025, 'woke progressivism'
By Clayton Kincade
Senior Heritage Foundation fellow Sarah Parshall Perry talked to NPR's Susan Davis on Thursday about Project 2025, the think-tank's policy project to expand presidential powers and overhaul the federal workforce in favor of party loyalists.
"Project 2025 is exactly the same thing that we've done since 1980 every presidential election and provided to every candidate regardless of politics or political affiliation," Perry said. "The sole difference this year was that we built a coalition of more than a hundred conservative organizations in addition to publishing everything online."
Trump has sought to distance himself from Project 2025 after it attracted criticism, while the Biden campaign is trying to tie him more closely to the conservative plan.
Davis questioned Perry regarding her argument that children "were being sacrificed on the altar of woke progressivism." Perry responded that this quote refers to increased diversity efforts in primary and postsecondary schools.
"What you're seeing in public education is more of an effort to indoctrinate than educate," Perry said. "There are some things that children should not be subject to and schools can restrict from being involved with."
Davis ended with asking Perry what Trump's first actions in office should be if elected. Perry said many legal frameworks surrounding discrimination, like Title IX, should be revised or revoked.
"There are three branches, they ought to be separated, and it is not up to the executive to make the law," Perry said.
Kid Rock performs a Trumped-up song
By Rachel Treisman
After a lengthy pre-produced video highlighting Trump's accomplishments in real estate and politics, longtime Trump ally Kid Rock took the stage for a musical performance.
He performed a Trump-infused version of his song "American Bad Ass," periodically leading the crowd in a call-and-response of "fight" and "Trump."
He called Trump "the most patriotic American badass on Earth," before introducing UFC President Dana White.
Melania Trump has arrived at the convention center
By Rachel Treisman
Former first lady Melania Trump — introduced by an announcer as the "next first lady of the United States" — made her first appearance toward the end of the final night of the convention.
She walked down a red carpet — which matched her red skirt suit — and onto the stage to the tune of classical music, Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, Op. 125."
Trump smiled and waved at the applauding crowd as she made her way to the family box, where she took her seat next to Sen. J.D. Vance and his wife Usha. Her husband was not there, having just left in anticipation of his big speech.
Melania Trump has not made a public appearance since the assassination attempt on her husband’s life over the weekend, at a rally which she did not attend. On Sunday, she issued a statement calling for people to look past the politics and remember the humanity of others.
She said the shooter was a “monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion – his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration. The core facets of my husband’s life – his human side – were buried below the political machine.”
Trump leaves his seat ahead of his big speech
By Rachel Treisman
Megan Pratz
As his son Eric capped off his own speech by leading the crowd in chants, Donald Trump left his seat in the VIP box. He's expected to speak in about half an hour.
Trump son, Eric, hits all of the campaign's top talking points
By Ximena Bustillo
Ahead of his father's speech, Eric Trump went through the campaign's top talking points including social issues, immigration, inflation, crime and drug addiction.
Speaking before his smiling family members, Eric also reiterated several false claims: For one, he said his father's legal troubles are politically motivated against him, and also that undocumented people are voting.
He also joined others in addressing Saturday's assassination attempt, noting that he "survived a bullet intended to eliminate him permanently from our future and from our family."
The crowd chanted "USA."
Then he turned to talk directly to his father: "Dad, five days ago, Laura, Luke Carolina and I held our breath as we saw blood pour across your face. But the grace of God, divine intervention and the angels above, you survived."
The crowd chanted, "We love Trump."
"You wiped the blood off your face and you put your fist in the air in a moment that will be remembered as one of the most courageous acts in the history of American politics," he said.
The crowd chanted "fight!"
Trump walks back out with a bunch of his family. Who's who?
By Elena Moore
Former President Donald Trump walked back into the arena, followed by several of his adult children and grandchildren.
This is who we've seen so far tonight of Trump's offspring, with children ordered by age.
- Son Donald Trump Jr. and his children Kai, Donald III, Tristan, Spencer and Chloe
- Daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner
- Son Eric and his wife Lara Trump, along with their two children Luke and Carolina
- Daughter Tiffany Trump
There are reports that former First Lady Melania Trump is at the Fiserv Forum but she's yet to make a public entrance. It's unclear if Trump's youngest son Barron is in the arena.
Franklin Graham prays for Trump
By Stephen Fowler
Prominent evangelist Franklin Graham said Trump's response after the assassination attempt on his life showed America "his unshakable resolve to fight for them in this nation."
Graham highlighted several legislative victories for conservative Christians, including appointing justices to the Supreme Court and advocating religious liberty.
"I'm grateful and thankful for what he did as a 45th president of the United States, and I know that as the 47th president, he will keep his word to the American people to make America great once again," Graham said.
He prayed over Trump, thanking God for saving his life and asking for his help to heal a divided America through Trump.
"We're divided politically, racially, economically, with millions of people seeking refuge and hope in our dry and thirsty land, you're the only one who can fix the complexity of the problems that we face today," Graham said. "We pray for President Trump that you would give him wisdom, strength and a clear vision for the future of this nation and the task that is at hand, continue to protect him from his enemies. I pray that you would surround him with men and women who will give him sound counsel and guidance."
Hulk Hogan rips off his shirt to endorse Trump
By Rachel Treisman
Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, who has been known to make a dramatic entrance in the ring, walked onstage against a montage of videos and photos of himself in various patriotic poses.
He took to the podium wearing a red bandana and sunglasses on his head, gesturing to the crowd that he couldn't hear their chants of "USA."
The retired professional wrestler said the "vibe was so intense, the energy was so crazy, it felt like maybe I was gonna press that no-good stinky giant over my head and slam him into the mat, brother."
"But what I found out was that I was in a room of real Americans, brother," he added. "And at the end of the day, with our leader up there, my hero, that gladiator, we're going to bring America back together, one real American at a time, brother," he said, as Trump looked on, smiling.
He described Trump, who said he's known for over 35 years, as tough, a fighter and a winner.
Hogan is one of several sports-adjacent figures taking the stage for the convention's last night, in addition to former WWE CEO — and former small business administrator — Linda McMahon and UFC President Dana White.
Hogan said he's seen plenty of legendary tag teams over his life, but none greater than Trump and his vice presidential pick J.D. Vance. He told "real Americans" to get ready to be labeled "Trumpites" under a Trump presidency.
"With the power of Donald J. Trump and all the Trumpites running wild, America is gonna get back on track and like Donald J. Trump said, America is gonna be great again," he added.
Hogan's voice got darker as he spoke of the attempted Trump assassination last week, and he took off his blazer as he said "they took a shot at my hero."
"And they tried to kill the next president of the United States," he said, as he ripped his muscle tee down the middle to reveal a Trump-Vance tank top underneath. "Enough was enough. Let Trumpamania run wild, brother. Let Trumpamania rule again. Let Trumpamania make America great again."
The crowd roared all the while, and chanted "USA" as he stood there in the campaign t-shirt.
"You know Trumpites, I didn't come here as Hulk Hogan, but I just had to give you a little taste," said Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea.
He said as an entertainer he tried to stay out of politics, but "after everything that's happened to our country over the past four years and everything that happened last weekend, I can no longer stay silent."
Tune into NPR's special video and radio coverage
By Rachel Treisman
NPR's live special coverage is now being simulcast online and on air, so you can listen or watch as our team of journalists brings you the latest updates and analysis from the final night of the RNC.
Here's how to tune in. This blog is hosting the video feed and its own share of rolling updates throughout the evening, so stick around.
Veteran Republican Pollster Frank Luntz tells NPR that this year's RNC represents a new Republican party
By Clayton Kincade
Veteran Republican pollster Frank Luntz spoke with NPR's Susan Davis tonight, giving viewers a clearer picture of the new Republican party forming.
"This has really been a remarkable convention featuring union members, African Americans, Latinos, people who you don't think of as being Republican are actively being shown in the messaging," Luntz said. "The messaging has been quite strong, quite optimistic."
Luntz said that while he was not involved in this year's RNC planning, he would not change most of the messaging.
"This is the first Republican convention since 1992 that I have not written a single word by a single speaker," Luntz said. "If I were writing these words, a lot of them I would have written for this convention."
Luntz added that while the new Republican party will dissuade some voters on issues like abortion, the gains will make up for the losses.
"Trump is going to have problems with suburban areas that were once solidly Republican, but he gains more votes from people who live paycheck to paycheck, which is one quarter of America. It's a net gain," Luntz said.
Davis also asked Luntz about the possibility of Biden dropping out, to which he warned the Democratic party.
"With Kamala Harris, everything is up for grabs... they should be very careful," Luntz said.
Rev. Lorenzo Sewell riles up the RNC for Jesus and Trump
By Clayton Kincade
Rev. Lorenzo Sewell, a Black pastor at 180 Church in Detroit, Mich., gave an animated speech in defense of Trump's religious policies.
The speech highlighted Sewell's convictions as a Christian and how he believes that connects him with Trump.
"He came to a church not to speak to us, but to listen to us," Sewell said. "Why would you allow Donald Trump to come into your church? How many know that the Bible says we're all sinners and all need the grace of God."
Sewell also made a spectacle out of Trump visiting the church on his birthday weekend, making allusions to the socioeconomic divide.
"He came during his birthday weekend," Sewell said. "Let me ask you a question, grand old party, what would you do if you were worth $6.7 billion? Would you come into Detroit? He came to the hood because he cares about average, everyday Americans."
Sewell ended by claiming that God protected Trump and that him surviving the assassination attempt was fated, divine intervention.
"When we prayed for President Trump, only God knew that 30 days later there would be a miracle by a millimeter," Sewell said. "You could not deny that it was a millimeter miracle."
"Could it be that Jesus Christ preserved him for such a time as this?" Sewell added to rapturous cheers and applause.
In an off-the-cuff speech, Tucker Carlson reflects and then riffs on political violence
By Elena Moore
Conservative media star Tucker Carlson began his remarks by soberly addressing the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
"Everything was different after that moment — everything — this convention is different. The nation is different. The world is different. Donald Trump is different," he said.
He went on to describe the moment — repeated multiple times in speeches this week — when Trump raised his fist with blood on his face.
"He was no longer just a political party's nominee or a former president or a future president," he said. "This was the leader of a nation."
Carlson is a longtime political commentator and TV personality who hosted FOX News's primetime evening show from 2016 until 2023. On his platform, he promoted theories of voter fraud in the 2020 election — despite privately disparaging the legitimacy of those same theories.
As the remarks continued, which Carlson disclosed were unscripted, he recounted a personal experience he had with Trump — referencing when the former President checked in on his family after self-described “anti-fascist” protestors congregated in front of Carlson's home in 2018.
"It wasn't getting shot in the face, but it wrecked our day," he joked.
Carlson has become one of the biggest pro-Trump media figures in the country — even since leaving FOX News.
On the first night of the convention, Carlson even had a prime spot in the VIP booth, sitting near former President Trump as he made his first appearance after the assassination attempt.
Montana Democratic senator says Biden should step aside
By NPR Washington Desk
Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tes https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2024-07-18/tester-biden-should-not-seek-re-election-to-another-term ter says President Biden should step aside and not seek reelection.
“Montanans have put their trust in me to do what is right and it is a responsibility I take seriously. I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong. And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term," he said in a statement.
Tester currently faces a very close race against GOP U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Sheehy spoke at the RNC earlier this week.
2 Milwaukee men remembered at rally outside RNC
By Liz Baker
On the last day of the RNC, protesters gathered in a park a few blocks from the convention center and marched to the security barrier, just as many of them had at the start of the political event four days earlier.
But this time, the mood was somber, angry and sad, as speakers took the megaphone to memorialize two Black men killed recently in Milwaukee.
"Look what the RNC brought!" yelled one activist, referring to the killing of Samuel Sharpe, a man shot dead two days earlier by police from Columbus, Ohio. The officers were part of the 4,500-strong force brought in to provide extra security during the RNC.
Body camera footage shows Sharpe, knives in hand, in a confrontation with another man before police shot him. Police say they acted to save a life, but his sister Angelique Sharpe believes police could have used a nonlethal method of disarming him.
She says the heightened state of security in Milwaukee, which is hosting a presidential candidate just days after an assassination attempt, is to blame for her brother’s death.
“I think all of the security was just, if they was a 10, they were on a 15,” she says. “I’m pretty sure they were instructed that there was no wiggle room… but if that was Donald Trump’s son or one of the other political dignitaries standing there, I’m 100% sure they would want that handled a different type of way.”
The crowd marched to the Hyatt hotel near the RNC barrier, where another Black Milwaukee man, D'Vontaye Mitchell, was killed by security guards a couple of weeks earlier.
“Say his name!” the crowd chanted, demanding justice for the two men from whoever may be listening—Republican or Democrat, locals and visitors.
"Who cares if the f----ing RNC is here?" demanded Leo Pargo, a protester from Chicago. "This is about humanity."
Who is this band? Meet Sixwire
By Rachel Treisman
As we wait for the next speakers, and enjoy some enthusiastic live music, take a moment to catch up on Sixwire, the Nashville-based house band that's been bringing the dad jams all week.
- which its management agency calls "a fitting name to a band fronted by 3 guitarists."
- including the USA Network’s Nashville Star, Fox's The Next Great American Band and CMT's Next Superstar. They also played as the backing band for Connie Britton's character on the ABC drama Nashville.
- including several Super Bowls, the Daytona 500 and the NHL All-Star Game. Their management says they were also ESPN’s "first ever 'house band' " for the 2019 NFL Draft, which took place in Nashville.
- Faith Hill, Dolly Parton and Lee Greenwood, who took to the convention floor on Monday to perform his own hit, "God Bless the U.S.A.," as Trump made his first RNC appearance.
Tonight's speeches present a softer image of Trump
By Stephen Fowler
Before former President Donald Trump's marquee address tonight, the schedule of speakers has sought to show a softer, friendlier side of Trump than his persona as president and on the campaign trail.
Several employees of Trump's golf properties spoke about his character, like John Nieporte, the head golf pro at Trump International in Florida.
"For 25 years, I've seen his generosity and his remarkable character firsthand," Nieporte said. "He could have chosen a quiet life. He could have played more golf, but he cares deeply about America and our people, he just keeps working and he does it for us."
The leadup to Trump's nomination acceptance speech is also a lineup that largely avoids overshadowing the former president's big moment.
Trump's speech tonight is expected to be softer in tone and more focused on unity than his typical campaign remarks this year. Those speeches have painted a more dire picture of the country, frequently attacked President Biden and Democrats and used harsh language towards his opponents.
The attempted change in vibes during this week's convention comes as a majority of Americans don't believe Trump has the character to serve as president, according to an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.
Tucker Carlson, a crowd favorite, isn't following any prepared remarks
By Megan Pratz
Rachel Treisman
The crowd cheered especially loudly for former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who laughed happily at their reaction and joked that he recognized many in the room.
At one point, as he was talking about Trump's assassination attempt, someone in the crowd shouted "divine intervention." Tucker responded, "I think it was divine intervention."
His wide-ranging comments on the rally shooting, foreign policy, Trump's personality and more, were seemingly a stream of consciousness: The teleprompter didn't have any words on the screen, just a countdown clock.
Trump lawyer Alina Habba: from courtroom to main stage
By Ximena Bustillo
Alina Habba, who has represented Trump in several of his civil lawsuits, took to the RNC main stage to rail against the "lawfare" that she said has been used against Trump.
"Sham indictments and baseless allegations will not deter us, because the only crime President Trump has committed is loving America," Habba said.
Habba was one of Trump's lawyers during his civil fraud lawsuit and his defamation lawsuit, both in New York. In both, he was found liable and ordered to pay $364 million for fraudulent business practices and over $83 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her when he called her a liar about allegations of sexual assault.
Most recently, Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for September. Meanwhile, a judge in Florida earlier this week dismissed the classified documents case against the former president over the manner in which special counsel Jack Smith was appointed. Other criminal trials in Georgia and Washington, D.C. are delayed.
Trump has long argued, without evidence, that the trials are politically motivated against him.
What's with all the wrestling figures onstage tonight? Here's the buzzy backstory
By Rachel Treisman
There are a lot of sports icons on the roster tonight, including Linda McMahon, Dana White and Hulk Hogan. What do they have to do with each other — and with former President Donald Trump? Here's what to know:
-
, known for its scripted feats, ringside drama and zealous showmanship.
Vince McMahon bought an earlier version of the company in 1982, and, along with his wife Linda McMahon, is credited with bringing its unique blend of wrestling and entertainment into the mainstream.
-
Hulk Hogan. Hogan signed with WWE in 1983 and stayed for a decade, with his superhero-like persona winning over scores of viewers and becoming synonymous with Wrestlemania.
Hogan's career ups-and-downs include steroid allegations; roles in Hollywood movies; a stint on reality TV; and multiple business ventures. He's also been embroiled in various legal battles, including an invasion of privacy lawsuit against Gawker that ultimately led to the media site's demise.
-
had a hand in WWE's rise. And it was Trump's Apprentice catchphrase, "You're fired," that a suited-up McMahon would shout in the ring. Trump has appeared at numerous WWE events over the years, including as a guest ring announcer and on-screen talent.
Trump " became part of some of the most compelling and highest-rated storylines in the company's history," McMahon said on the RNC stage. That includes in 2007 when Trump shaved McMahon's head.
-
, serving as Trump's small business administrator from 2017 to 2019 before leaving to join a pro-Trump super PAC.
Vince resigned from his leadership role at the company in January after a former employee filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexually assaulting her in the workplace, sex trafficking and pressuring her into threesomes. That lawsuit was paused earlier this year at the request of the U.S. Justice Department.
-
is a mixed martial arts promotion company. It came on the scene in 1993, but wasn't a hit right away.
In the early 2000s, Trump let UFC's new president, Dana White, use his Atlantic City casino. His endorsement helped the company become the world's largest MMA promotion, as of 2023.
- in September 2023, forming a new entity valued at $21.4 billion.
House Speaker Mike Johnson: Trump will lay vision for the future tonight
By Jeongyoon Han
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Trump’s speech tonight will be met with a growing anticipation and “a lot of energy” that’s been building in the convention and across the country.
“After the assassination attempt, I think there’s an emotional aspect to this that just can’t be discounted,” he said. “So it’s going to be a big night.”
Speaking to NPR on the RNC convention floor, Johnson said he expects the former president to present “a message of unity and vision for moving the country forward.”
Johnson and Trump, who backed him for the speakership, have continued to stand by each other — including during a period of party infighting this spring that almost led to Johnson’s exit from his post. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) motioned to vacate Johnson from the speakership, but backed down at Trump's urging. Together, they’ve emphasized campaign issues such as cost of living, crime, immigration and America’s standing in the global arena.
Johnson said Trump will convey his love for the country and his vision for it in the future in tonight’s speech.
“I think when he says America First, that comes from a deep, sincere place in his heart,” Johnson said. “He loves the American people. He loves what America stands for. And I think he's going to articulate that tonight and have a clear vision for where we're going. I think it's going to resonate with the American people, just like J.D. Vance’s speech did last night.”
Republican benefactor Diane Hendricks predicts Trump will win Wisconsin
By Chuck Quirmbach
Beloit, Wisconsin, billionaire and big-time Republican benefactor Diane Hendricks told the Republican National Convention Thursday night that GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is a “not a quitter. He’s a fighter.”
Hendricks, owner of the roofing supply company ABC Supply, predicted Trump will carry Wisconsin in November, after losing to President Joe Biden by about 20,000 votes four years ago, and will win back the presidency.
Hendricks drew parallels between Trump and her own resilience, saying she raised a son as a single mother, later started a business with her husband Ken, and grew the business after her husband died 16 years ago.
Hendricks said nothing in her remarks about her being a major donor to Republican candidates, including Scott Walker, when he was Wisconsin governor.
Earlier Thursday, the RNC program listed Hendricks as being an “everyday American." The Biden/Harris campaign ridiculed that description, pointing out Hendricks’ estimated wealth of $21 billion. She was introduced before her speech as an “American businesswoman.’’
Kellyanne Conway: 'Vance is a younger advocate' of Trump's GOP
By Luke Garrett
Former Trump senior counselor Kellyanne Conway told NPR News that Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance — now the GOP vice presidential nominee — is an younger "advocate" and "ambassador" of Trump's Republican Party.
"President Trump represents a new Republican Party, and his selection of J.D. Vance also broadcasts to everyone that he wants to continue — in between him and his vice president — in that regard," Conway said. "What's new about it? Well, it's new because it's a party of the worker."
On the first night of the RNC, Teamsters president Sean O'Brien delivered the keynote speech. It's the first time a president from the union has addressed the RNC. And while the appearance represented a possible shift in the GOP, it also drew condemnation from Teamsters vice president at-large John Palmer, who said Trump has done nothing to help working families.
Openness to labor unions isn't the only new characteristic to Trump's Republican Party, according to Conway.
"If you look at the Republican National Committee platform that was adopted here ahead of President Trump's nomination and acceptance speech — it is leaner, but it also is more modern, more fresh and more aligned with the America first principles," Conway said. "Which is — think thrice before we just write blank checks to other countries around the world. Start containing and pushing back on those bullies again around the world."
Trump has said he would end the war in Ukraine in just a day — with no explanation of how — and has continued to warn NATO countries he won't protect them if they don't pay their dues. Vance has echoed Trump's NATO position and voted against recent aid packages supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion. It's a position that stands in contrast to traditional Republican foreign policy.
In talking about the Trump-Vance ticket and what it means for the future Republican party, Conway said it's about alignment on the issues.
"Donald Trump's not looking for loyalty to Donald Trump," Conway said. "He's looking for loyalty to the America first agenda."
'We can't catch a break.' How the Biden crisis looks from the inside
By Tamara Keith
Hit by a rolling series of punches — the turmoil after President Biden's disastrous debate, the drip-drip-drip of damaging leaks from congressional allies, and now a campaign-stalling case of COVID — people who work inside the Biden campaign are discouraged and uncertain about what lies ahead.
"We can't catch a break,” a Biden adviser said, speaking on condition of anonymity to frankly describe private conversations.
Ever since Biden faltered in his debate against former President Donald Trump, the bad news just keeps coming — much of it from unnamed sources who are supposed to be allies. While there have been some positive moments for the president since the debate, “They haven't been enough to get us back on solid footing," the adviser said.
This adviser said Biden has not shown signs of any cracks in his resolve to stay in the race — and said it’s not yet clear whether the pile-up of woes has reached a tipping point for the president.
If he drops out, that opens the door to a compressed "Hunger Games"-type of race within the party for choosing a new leader, the adviser said.
While the adviser sees strong future candidates on the Democratic bench, they have not been battle-tested for a brutal fight against Trump.
"What campaign team is going to rise from the ashes?" the adviser asked.
“It's gonna be ugly. it's gonna be dirty. It's gonna be messy.”
Trump arrives, bringing the crowd to its feet
By Rachel Treisman
Trump walked on stage to an instrumental version of AC/DC's "Back in Black," repeatedly raising his fist in the air.
He made his way up the stairs and into the VIP box, greeted by a standing ovation. He shook hands with those sitting near him, a group who including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, before turning his attention to the buzzing crowd.
What did Trump talk about in his 2016 and 2020 RNC speeches?
By NPR Staff
This isn't Donald Trump's first time as the RNC closing night headliner.
He's had the end-of-convention slot twice before, in 2016 as then-candidate Trump, and in 2020 as the incumbent President.
Back in 2016, Trump focused on America's struggles with crime, terrorism and immigration, and his plan for addressing those issues. NPR annotated Trump's remarks that night — and when necessary — did a little fact-checking.
In 2020, Trump was speaking from a different vantage point. In his speech that year, he harshly criticized then-candidate Joe Biden, rallied against "cancel culture" and repeatedly invoked a sinister image of a "socialist agenda."
In 2020, the RNC came after the DNC, so Trump was able to directly rebut the vision Biden presented of America's future. NPR annotated Trump's 2020 remarks ( as well as Biden's, if you're interested.)
WWE exec-turned-small business administrator Linda McMahon calls Trump a fighter
By Rachel Treisman
Linda McMahon, who served for a time as the administrator of Trump's Small Business Administration, spoke from her perspective as a colleague, employee and friend of the former president.
McMahon, alongside her husband Vince, spent decades as the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) before running unsuccessfully for both of Connecticut's U.S. Senate seats in 2009 and 2010.
She served as Trump's small business administrator from 2017 to 2019, when she stepped down to join the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action. She introduced herself onstage as the chair of the America First Policy Institute, which was founded in 2021 by former Trump advisers.
McMahon opened with what she described as "probably not the typical Donald Trump story," recalling a time she met him at Mar-a-Lago for a meeting and watched a sweet interaction between him and his 4-year-old granddaughter.
"He kissed her on both cheeks, she took off his hat and mussed his hair, and he smiled with only the love that a grandfather could have given," she said, joining a long line of RNC speakers who have portrayed Trump as a loving family man.
McMahon said she first met Trump during her time at the WWE, when he " became part of some of the most compelling and highest-rated storyline s in the company's history."
She said she was honored to serve in his cabinet at his invitation, and recalled her time traveling the country talking to business owners and job creators.
"They knew they had a president who understood them and fought for them," she said.
But her most poignant memory from her time in the administration, she said, was traveling with Trump in 2018 to witness the damage Hurricane Florence wrought on her hometown of New Bern, N.C. She said he comforted people and spoke to them, as a "builder," about what recovery would look like.
McMahon said Democrats want to penalize small businesses by hiking their taxes, but that Trump will make those tax cuts permanent in addition to offering new ones, such as no taxes on tips.
Many of Trump's 2017 tax cuts are due to expire in 2025. Biden wants to extend those tax cuts for people making under $400,000 while raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy, while Trump wants to extend them for everyone.
McMahon described Trump as a champion of job creation and "the best friend American workers have ever had in the White House." And, in true WWE fashion, she described him as "not only a fighter" but "a good man."
"He has the heart of a lion and the soul of a warrior, and I believe that if necessary he would stand at the gates of hell to defend our country," she added.
On last day of RNC, protesters march in Milwaukee for victims of police violence
By Jimmy Gutierrez
Nadya Kelly
Emily Files
A few hundred people marched in downtown Milwaukee on the last day of the RNC, rallying against police brutality.
The march was organized after Columbus, Ohio police officers shot and killed a 43-year-old Black Milwaukee man at King Park, about a mile away from the RNC Tuesday. Milwaukee Police say the man was armed with knives and refused officers’ commands to drop them. The Columbus police officers were in town to help with security for the RNC.
Family members have identified the man killed as Samuel “Jah” Sharpe Jr. His sister, Angelique, was at Thursday’s march, with a bible she said her brother carried with him.
Marchers were also calling attention to the death of another Black man, D’Vontaye Mitchell, 43, who was killed last month after being pinned down by security guards at Milwaukee’s downtown Hyatt Regency. Marchers planned to stop at the Hyatt on their route.
More from WUWM: 'This could have been avoided': Local organizer Angela Lang speaks out about King Park shooting
Lou Dobbs, the controversial Fox News host, has died
By Alana Wise
The controversial, conservative television host Lou Dobbs died on Thursday. He was 78 years old.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Dobbs' official account wrote : "It's with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of 'the great Lou Dobbs.'"
Dobbs — a former CNN business correspondent — was most known for his time under the Fox News umbrella, where he carved out a niche as a voice of conservatism, being particularly vocal in his criticism of former President Obama and in his praise of former President Trump.
He stayed at the Murdoch-family enterprise until 2021, when he was let go for his repeated, erroneous claim that the 2020 presidential election had been rigged, leading to Trump’s defeat.
The Texas-born commentator is survived by his wife, Debi Lee Roth-Segur, and four children from their decades-long union.
Dobbs died on the final day of the Republican National Convention, where Trump — Dobbs’ longtime candidate of choice — is slated to speak.
Democratic volunteers in Wisconsin are out there campaigning, even in the face of uncertainty
By Tamara Keith
Paul Geenen, 81, laced up his blue suede Adidas sneakers, threw on a perfectly sized satchel packed with campaign literature and hit the pavement, knocking doors recently for President Biden while headlines screamed alarm about the fate of Biden’s campaign.
“Hi, I’m Paul with the Shorewood Dems,” he says with a smile. The woman at the door is a little standoffish. But Geenen jumps right in asking if she plans to support Biden.
“Are you going to support Joe Biden in November?” Geenan asks.
Her response: “I’m not sure.”
Shorewood is a heavily Democratic village just north of Milwaukee. But the list Geenen is working from contains a mix of possibly persuadable Republicans, independents and Democrats.
He tells anyone who will listen that he’s supporting Biden because his family has been impacted by gun violence “and he’s done a lot for that and he’s going to do more.”
Most people aren’t home or don’t come to the door, so he leaves campaign fliers and keeps on moving. At one house he chats with a woman who says the economy is her top issue and she’s definitely not voting for Biden. There’s a house where the residents are supporting Biden. And another, where a young man without a shirt on says the economy he’s thinking he might go independent.
Geenan says a lot of people he knows are stressed about Biden, his bad debate performance and the reckoning since.
“My wife is really really bummed out,” he says.
Geenen is just putting his head down and doing the work, but with a choice curse word, makes it clear he’s done talking about the drama.
"Fight! Fight!" new GOP chant creates a hot market for merch
By Liz Baker
Echoing Donald Trump's response after being grazed by a bullet, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" has emerged as a new chant among attendees at the RNC— one that has been good for sales of "Boxer Trump" bobbleheads, said convention vendor Madan Raj.
The figurine of the Republican nominee dressed in patriotic shorts and red boxing gloves has been a surprise bestseller, and Raj's "Bobbletopia" booth at the RNC is sold out. Only a display model remains, Raj said, and even that is spoken for.
"People keep coming up and asking if we did this after Trump's 'Fight, fight, fight' comments," Raj said. "But we actually had it before."
And he said shoppers have repeatedly pitched him an idea for a new design: the nodding former president with a bandaged right ear and blood-streaked face.
"We initially thought it would be in poor taste," Raj shrugged, "but people know what they want, so we'll think about it."
In the meantime, customers will have to settle for a "Trumpinator" (Trump as The Terminator ), or "Freedom" (Trump as Braveheart ). And for the non-MAGA crowd, there's always Bobblehead Dwight Schrute from The Office.
"Anyone can like a bobblehead!" Raj said, smiling.
Indicted election deniers from several states are Republican Convention delegates
By Ben Giles
Indicted “fake electors” from four swing states are serving as delegates to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, performing the largely ceremonial role of anointing former President Donald Trump as the GOP presidential nominee.
Three delegates from Arizona, three from Georgia, five from Nevada and two from Michigan face similar charges in their respective states for their roles in alleged efforts to upend the 2020 presidential election.
In Arizona, former GOP Congressman Matt Salmon said he’s concerned the Republican Party’s continued acceptance of election denialism — evidenced by the presence of fake electors at the RNC — will drive essential voters away from the conservative cause.
“It ebbs our credibility, and our integrity,” he said.
Those charged in Arizona say they’re victims of “naked political persecution.” And Gina Swoboda, the current chair of the Arizona Republican Party, said “Arizona stands by everyone who stood by President Trump.”
“We would never do anything less,” she added.
Read more here.
In a new interview, Biden defends his candidacy and appeals to Latino voters
By Rachel Treisman
Biden defended his record and fitness for office in a TelevisaUnivision interview this week, the latest in a series of recent media appearances aimed at reaching key demographic groups — and rejecting Democrats' growing calls for him to step down.
Biden acknowledged he had a "terrible" debate night in June, but defended his decision to stay in the race and also pointed to recent polling that shows him tied with Trump since the debate.
"I was smart enough to know, with age comes wisdom," he said. "I know the difference between the truth and lies. I know the difference between the good and bad."
Biden spoke with Uforia entertainment reporter Luis Sandoval at a Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas on Wednesday, shortly before he tested positive for COVID-19.
In it, he discussed his confidence in the Latino vote and community at large, reiterated that he is fighting for democracy, spoke of the importance of preserving minorities' rights and took jabs at Donald Trump.
He described the Latino community as a "source of incredible strength," vibrancy and economic growth, and repeatedly described Trump's rhetoric towards immigrants and Latinos as "sick."
Trump's platform calls for starting the "Largest Deportation Program in American History," and many RNC speakers have called for securing the southern border.
Latino voters were crucial to Biden's victory in 2020, and their ranks have grown at the second-fastest rate of any major racial and ethnic group in the U.S. since then, according to the Pew Research Center.
But experts say he'll need to work harder to earn their votes this time around, especially with recent polling showing that Latino support for Biden drops dramatically when a third (non-Trump) candidate is on the table.
Biden acknowledged that while his administration has worked to expand rights, especially for minorities, the U.S. Supreme Court has limited some of them such as by overturning Roe and blocking certain immigration actions.
"That's why we have to win," he said, adding that the next president is going to "probably" be in a position to appoint two new Supreme Court justices.
"We're gonna fight like hell. We gotta win the House and Senate, not just the presidency... that's what I'm working on."
The Pentagon responds after Biden appeared to forget his defense secretary's name
By Rachel Treisman
President Biden referred to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as "the Black man" in an interview with BET on Wednesday, another high-profile apparent stumble at a time when his continued candidacy is under increasingly tight scrutiny.
Biden was speaking to BET's Ed Gordon about his record of appointing Black people to his administration when he appeared to forget Austin's name, a video of the interview shows.
“It’s all about treating people with dignity,” Biden said. “For example, look at the heat I’m getting because I named the secretary of defense, the Black man.”
Austin, the first Black defense secretary, has not commented publicly. But Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh was asked about his reaction at a daily press briefing on Thursday.
"The secretary has absolute confidence in the president," she said, adding that they've spent many hours in meetings together, including at the recent NATO summit in D.C.
"I've seen that clip, and I will say that I would urge you to look at the full context of the clip as he was answering a question, I believe more about the administration more broadly, but would refer you to the White House for more of his comments," Singh said.
Kid Rock to perform tonight
By Alana Wise
Detroit musician Kid Rock is expected to perform at tonight's closing RNC ceremony — paying tribute to former President Donald Trump, who he has long supported.
The "We the People" singer garnered a prime-time performance slot for the four-day occasion, on the most anticipated day of the event, since Trump is slated to give his acceptance speech tonight.
Kid Rock warming up for tonight. #RNC2024 #Milwaukee pic.twitter.com/BBYDHu7aOh
"We just arrived in Milwaukee to support our tried and true, red white and blue, 100% American bad-a** president," Kid Rock said in a Thursday afternoon Instagram post.
"What's going to happen tonight? Tune in to find out. But here's a hint: Are you scared? God bless Donald Trump and God bless America," he continued.
Rep. Raskin told Biden 'there is no shame in taking a well-deserved bow'
By Washington Desk
Congressman Jamie Raskin wrote a heartfelt four-page letter to President Biden on July 6, encouraging Biden to consult with fellow Democrats about his future and using a lengthy baseball metaphor to urge him consider taking “a well-deserved bow.”
NPR has obtained the letter in its entirety. The letter was first reported by The New York Times.
The careful and admiring appeal includes a long recounting of Biden’s achievements, all building to a metaphor about the 2003 American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.
Raskin used the story of Pedro Martinez refusing to leave the game after 118 pitches, despite giving up three straight hits. The Yankees, as Raskin recounts, went on to win the game.
The story culminates in this line: “There is no shame in taking a well-deserved bow to the overflowing appreciation of the crowd when your arm is tired out, and there is real danger for the team in ignoring the statistics.”
It is a clear but careful appeal for Biden to consider the concerns of his party. The letter was sent as angst about Biden’s disastrous debate performance was rising in Democratic ranks.
The letter is the latest evidence that Democrats are working behind the scenes to appeal to Biden and his closest advisors.
Trump will accept GOP’s nomination after it adopted his platform
By Bill Chappell
For a third time, former President Donald Trump will formally accept the Republican Party’s presidential nomination this Thursday night. His speech will also reflect his current level of control over the party: Trump’s platform is now the GOP’s platform.
Earlier this week, the RNC’s platform committee adopted Trump's 2024 platform as its own. That means the committee hasn’t created a new platform since 2016, when Trump first won the nomination. In 2020, the party simply re-upped its 2016 platform, saying the committee hadn’t been able to meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic — and that, in any case, it supported then-President Trump’s policies.
The Trump 2024 platform is 16 pages long, while the GOP's 2016 platform had 66 pages. As you might expect, the most liberal thing about the Trump campaign's platform is in its use of capital letters (sample: "we are a Nation in SERIOUS DECLINE.").
Trump is slated to speak from 10 to 11:30 p.m. ET Thursday night. So, what will he talk about?
Traditionally, nominees use the marquee acceptance speech to highlight priorities for the White House. But in Trump’s case, he’s a known quantity, and as NPR’s Franco Ordoñez recently reported, Trump will likely focus on familiar ideas, such as immigration and crime, along with fighting inflation and implementing his brand of America First ideology.
Another likely topic is education. In Trump's 2024 platform, the words "education" and "school" appear a total of 42 times — including a pledge to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. For comparison, it uses iterations of the word "tax" 17 times. And "abortion" is mentioned only once.
Sources familiar with Trump’s remarks also say we should expect to hear a “deeply personal” message from the former president, who has said he substantially rewrote his RNC speech after the attempted assassination last Saturday.
“Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now,” he said early this week, adding that he sees the event as “a chance to bring the country together.”
Riverside Theater's message to RNC-goers: "So, Milwaukee … Not so horrible, eh?"
By Audrey Nowakowski
The Riverside Theater sits inside the soft perimeter of the Milwaukee RNC grounds. Over the course of the convention, the marquee's message has changed daily for RNC-goers passing by — calling attention to Milwaukee businesses, restaurants and beaches.
Riverside president Gary Witt said the marquee messages are “meant to inform RNC convention goers of the many great attributes our city has OUTSIDE of the RNC’s security perimeter, that we felt might possibly be missed.”
More from WUWM: A look at the Riverside Theater's daily marquee messages for RNC-goers
Top Democrats in D.C. are walking a careful line on Biden's candidacy
By Deirdre Walsh
Tamara Keith
Top Democrats in Washington are mired in an ongoing crisis over President Biden's continued candidacy that has been exacerbated by his recent COVID diagnosis.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, are all responding to leaked reports that they have directly appealed to Biden to step aside.
None are publicly denying the leaks. Democrats have been panicking — both in public and in private — as they try to appeal to Biden to voluntarily step aside.
Biden has continued to insist that he is still expects to be the party's nominee and is undeterred from his campaign.
None of the top leaders have publicly declared Biden should remain the party's nominee, fueling more questions from rank-and-file members about how explicit they have been in their private discussions with the president.
After the Washington Post reported former President Barack Obama has told people he thinks Biden needs to consider whether his bid for a second term is still viable, a source familiar with Obama's thinking said he "continues to see his primary role as a sounding board and counselor for President Biden, as they have long done for each other for many years now."
"He believes Joe Biden has been an outstanding president and is protective of him both personally and of the Biden administration’s strong and historic accomplishments," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
A Pelosi spokesperson released a statement Thursday responding to reports published by CNN that Pelosi told Biden that polls show he cannot defeat Donald Trump and his continued candidacy could prevent Democrats from retaking control of the House. The statement does not explicitly deny the reporting.
“Speaker Pelosi respects the confidentiality of her meetings and conversations with the President of the United States," the spokesman wrote. "Sadly, the feeding frenzy from the press based on anonymous sources misrepresents any conversations the Speaker may have had with the President.”
Read more here.
Trump Jr. says he spent 'all the political capital' he has on making Vance his father's VP pick
By Luke Garrett
Donald Trump Jr. says he played a pivotal role in making Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance the Republican vice presidential nominee.
"I don't take sole credit," former President Trump's eldest son told NPR News. "It was definitely — you know — I spent probably all the political capital I have to make it happen, but that's not all it takes."
Trump Jr. didn’t elaborate on why he wanted Sen. Vance to be his father's running mate, but said he was happy with the decision.
"I'm very satisfied," Trump Jr. said. "I couldn’t be more satisfied."
Trump Jr. delivered a speech at the RNC Wednesday night, minutes before Vance officially accepted the party's nomination.
Secret Service knew of potential threats before Trump assassination attempt, Sen. Ron Johnson tells NPR
By Clayton Kincade
Susan Davis
Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson told NPR's Susan Davis on Wednesday that the Secret Service knew of potential threats before Trump's assassination attempt, according to a declassified briefing with senators in attendance.
"It was beyond disappointing," Johnson said. "I have really come to be incredibly frustrated with the lack of transparency, really the dishonesty, of the administration. We learned nothing."
Johnson said the only new piece of information that senators learned was that the Secret Service knew of a potential threat as far as an hour before the assassination attempt.
"We found out it was more than 60 minutes before the shots were fired," Johnson said. "Only four Senators got to ask a question."
Johnson told Davis that he wanted to have more clarity surrounding the logistics of the event, as many have come to their own conclusions on the assassination attempt.
"The question I wanted to ask is when did the snipers have the person in view," Johnson said. "We don't want conspiracy theories to run wild here... stories are out there."
"The American public needs to know the full, gory, unvarnished truth of this spectacular security failure," Johnson added.
Reaction from Middletown, Ohio: J.D. Vance’s hometown
By Tana Weingartner
When vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance spoke to the crowd at the RNC last night, he made a promise to the people of Middletown, Ohio, and other blue-collar towns like it.
"All the forgotten communities in every corner of our nation: I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from," he said.
Some people in Middletown, where Vance grew up with his grandparents, said he has never been an advocate for them, even after becoming a U.S. senator.
“Oh, my God. It is very surprising considering that J.D. Vance hasn't did anything for our community here in Middletown,” said Lakeisha Thomas Monday after news that former President Trump picked Vance as a running mate. Thomas runs a nonprofit for low-income residents in Middletown.
“It’s always awesome to see someone from your hometown get to come up and represent a local place, no matter what their political party is,” said Andrea McKeller, a local real estate agent who says she thinks Vance’s small-town roots will drive him to “put in place a lot of policies to, hopefully, move some favor toward the smaller towns to help the communities grow.”
Others in Middletown said they were surprised by the news, given Vance’s relatively young age. He’s 39, turning 40 next month.
“If he can keep reaching out to find out what younger people want and keep bringing that into the mix of the Republican Party, otherwise, I think we're getting kind of old,” said Janet Hydeman, who works for a stained glass company and says she votes Republican.
One person in Middletown who doesn’t care about Vance’s nomination is software developer Orville Bennett. He said he doesn’t plan to vote for either presidential candidate, “I think they’re both not great options for the things that I value,” he said.
For Ohio, Vance’s nomination could mean a resurgence in prominence on the national scene.
Milwaukee immigrant rights group gathers to protest GOP rhetoric
By Sam Woods
Milwaukeeans are continuing to hold gatherings in opposition to the RNC and Republican Party.
At Mitchell Park, about two miles from the convention perimeter, Voces de la Frontera Action, a local immigrant rights group, set up pop-up parachute art installations and wash-away sidewalk paint.
The low-key event is part of the Great Milwaukee Block Party, a collection of events across the city in "joyful rebellion" against the RNC's presence.
Ale Guevara with Voces de la Frontera said she is concerned with rhetoric coming from the Republican Party regarding immigrants and mass deportations.
"We're looking for alternative ways to help our community express their opinions and perspective on politics while the RNC is here," Guevara said. "We're trying to do so in a way that is joyful and engaging, and separates from the hateful and false narratives coming from the RNC, where immigrants are depicted as evil villains."
Polling shows both Harris and Biden tied with Trump
By Rachel Treisman
With doubts swirling about President Biden's political future, so too are questions about how the party might fare without him come the general election in November.
Calls for the president to drop out of the race have only grown in the weeks since his poor debate performance in June, with increasingly high-profile members of his own party urging him to pass the torch.
The latest national NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, released last week, found that Biden and Trump remain statistically tied, even in the aftermath of the widely panned debate.
Biden leads Trump 50% to 48% in a head-to-head matchup — but those numbers are not statistically significant, due to the survey's margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.
The poll also found that none of the Democrats who have been mentioned as possible alternatives — including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — performed any better than Biden when compared to Trump.
Vice President Kamala Harris, an obvious candidate to serve as Biden's successor, narrowly led Trump 50% to 49%, in another statistical tie.
"So there is no clear Democratic alternative, though, as Democrats who have called for Biden to step aside would argue, those candidates could all make the case more coherently for themselves and the party," NPR's Domenico Montanaro writes.
And those numbers could look different after this week, since the RNC is expected to give Trump a boost, as party conventions typically do for their nominees.
Biden — who is isolating with COVID-19 as Trump prepares to formally accept the Republican nomination — insists he will stay in the race.
Biden's campaign manager told reporters Thursday that they are "not working through any scenarios where President Biden is not at the top of the ticket."
Biden says he's reluctant, but would drop out if 'some medical condition' emerged
By Ashley Lopez
President Biden told BET News’ Ed Gordon that he won’t be leaving the presidential race unless he had “had some medical condition that emerged.”
Since Biden’s disastrous debate performance a few weeks ago, there has been pressure from factions of the Democratic Party urging the president to step out of the race in favor of a candidate who might have a better chance of winning in November. However, Biden has consistently said he has no intention of leaving.
He said in an interview that aired Wednesday night that though he, at one point, planned on being “a transitional candidate” who would step aside for a younger generation of Democratic leaders — the state of the nation changed his mind.
“I thought that I'd be able to move from this, just pass it on to someone else,” Biden said. “But I didn't anticipate things getting so, so, so divided.”
Biden, who is 81 years old, also confronted comments about his age. He said his age “brings a little bit of wisdom."
“And I think I've demonstrated that I know how to get things done for the country, in spite of the fact I was told we could [not] get it done,” he said. “But there's more to do, and I'm reluctant to walk away from that.”
The president was also asked whether he anticipated Donald Trump might be a changed candidate, perhaps more disciplined, following the assassination attempt in Butler, Pa. this past weekend. He said he’d like to see a change in tone from former president, as well as others.
“We got to tone down the rhetoric about violence,” he said. “There's no room for violence. Can't be talking about violence. We can't be saying that if I lose the election, it will be a bloodbath.”
Biden also commented on Trump’s recent pick for vice president, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio. Vance was once a critic of Trump's but has become a staunch ally. Trump endorsed Vance during his Senate run in 2022.
Biden said Trump’s choice shows that “he's decided that MAGA Republican politics is going to be the future of the Republican Party.”
“J.D. is a bright guy, like a hard-working senator, but really, really, really conservative MAGA Republican,” he said.
GOP risks overplaying hand with aggressive deportation plan, Latino strategist warns
By Obed Manuel
"MASS DEPORTATION NOW!" read posters handed out to attendees at the Republican National Convention's third night.
The signs referred to former President Donald Trump and the GOP's campaign platform pledge to "carry out the largest deportation operation in American history."
Seeing the signs was "chilling," Stephanie Valencia, a former Obama administration official and founder of EquisLabs, a research and polling group that aims to better understand Latino voters, told NPR's Morning Edition. She warned that the signs "probably sent a message to many Latino voters in this country that that is the view of Republicans and who they see Latinos as, and who they see immigrants as."
Republicans will have "overplayed their hand," Valencia said, if they continue with this rhetoric through the election.
A recent poll of likely Latino voters in swing states found they supported Biden 59% to Trump’s 39%, but support for the president fell when independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was listed as an option.
While Trump has railed about unauthorized migration on the southern border, his focus on working class Americans has also resonated with working class Latinos.
Valencia said that, while Latinos care about more than just immigration, it remains an important issue because it tells them how a candidate views the Latino community.
“Do they view whether or not Latinos have something to contribute to this country?” she continued.
Valencia also said President Biden needs to court Latino voters as well as emphasize things like his recent immigration plan to shield some undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens in order to win those voters' support at the ballot box. Such support was key for him in certain swing states in 2020.
What's the deal with the little white schoolhouse at the RNC?
By Ann-Elise Henzl
There’s been an especially popular place for people to snap photos at the RNC. Near booths selling fried cheese curds and frozen custard, there's a small, white building.
The building is a one-third scale replica of the Little White Schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin — the birthplace of the Republican Party.
More from WUWM: How the GOP got its start in Ripon, WI
RNC adviser says he's 'prepared' for a Democratic ticket switch
By Luke Garrett
The Biden campaign told reporters Thursday morning that President Joe Biden remains at the top of the Democratic ticket for the 2024 election, but a top Republican said he's ready for a switch — if it happens.
"Axios is now reporting that there are a number of senior Democrat advisers who are saying Joe Biden could be out of this race by this weekend," former Trump campaign manager and now adviser to the Republican National Convention Corey Lewandowski told NPR News. "We are prepared, as a Trump campaign, to run this campaign and bring our message to the American people, whether Joe Biden is the nominee or somebody else is the nominee."
When asked about former President Donald Trump's speech this evening, Lewandowski said it would be an address for both Republicans — and Democrats.
"What would have been a probably much more aggressive speech is going to be toned down, because the greatest leaders of our country bring people together and unify," Lewandowski said. "It's not about being a Republican or a Democrat. It's about having ideas that the American people get to vote on at the ballot box."
Sources close to the former president tell NPR News that Trump is writing the Thursday speech himself and that the speech will be personal. It is set for 10 p.m. ET.
Longtime Trump friend and UFC President Dana White will introduce the candidate tonight
By Bria Suggs
Introducing Donald Trump for his acceptance speech tonight will be Dana White, president and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Although an expert on mixed martial arts, White is no politician. So, why is he introducing Trump tonight at the RNC?
Last month, when White was asked about Trump’s appearance at a UFC match, he shared how he’s been connected to Trump for decades.
“Yeah, me and Trump have been friends since 2001,” White said.
While speaking on The Pivot Podcast years ago, White revealed that Trump was a part of the reason the UFC became successful.
“Arenas didn't want us,” White said. “We had a hard time finding venues. Trump literally called us. He said, 'Come to my place, do the event here. We'll have you at the Trump Taj Mahal.' ”
White admitted that because Trump helped him in the early stages of his career, White endorsed Trump's first presidential campaign in 2016.
“He's always been a solid guy with me,” White said on The Pivot. “So then he calls me and says he's running for president. He said 'If you don't wanna do this, I completely understand, but I would be honored if you would speak at the National Republican Convention for me.' ”
And White said yes.
“I’m sure most of you are wondering, ‘What are you doing here?’ I am not a politician, I am a fight promoter,” White told attendees on the second night of the convention. “But I was blown away and honored to be invited here tonight and I wanted to show up and tell you about my friend, Donald Trump.”
After learning about Saturday's assassination attempt, White posted to Instagram, "I am absolutely SICK to my stomach and in complete shock.... I can’t WAIT to stand up on stage with him on Thursday and introduce him at the Republican National Convention."
Harris hits the campaign trail in North Carolina as Biden isolates for COVID
By Deepa Shivaram
Vice President Harris is at the forefront of the Biden campaign’s efforts to counter-program the Republican convention today, with President Biden isolating at home for COVID.
And with open questions about whether Biden should stay at the top of the Democratic ticket, Harris’ speech — in a state that Democrats had hoped they could turn blue this fall — is likely to draw more attention than it otherwise might.
Some Democrats have said Harris would be the obvious pick for the party if Biden were to drop out of the race — and to be clear, Biden and his campaign are saying that he is not going anywhere.
“Our campaign is not working through any scenarios where President Biden is not the top of the ticket. He is and will be the Democratic nominee,” deputy campaign chair Quentin Fulks told reporters in Milwaukee today, slightly exasperated at the line of questioning.
The campaign is working hard to try to draw a contrast between Biden’s policies and the proposals of former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance — particularly on the issue of reproductive rights.
Yesterday, Harris committed to another potential date for a debate with Vance, though the Trump campaign has said the internal debate within the Democratic Party about Biden’s fate has put the vice presidential debate in question too.
“We can’t lock in a date before their convention. To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate,” Trump campaign adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement.
The governors of California, Illinois and Michigan are frequently cited as potential future Democratic candidates. And there has been some speculation that North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper could be a running mate if Harris were at the top of the ticket.
Trump is rumored to be staying at the Pfister Hotel — where there are also rumors of a ghost
By Becky Mortensen
There are barricades up around the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. It’s often the choice for visiting presidents. Former President Trump stayed there in 2018. In fact, the Milwaukee landmark has hosted every U.S. president since William McKinley.
But the hotel isn’t just known for hosting dignitaries, it’s also supposedly haunted. Celebrity guests and sports stars have reported unexplained events while staying at the Pfister.
The hotel doesn’t comment on the ghost rumors but posted on X in 2013 saying, “The only thing ‘haunting’ us here is the spirit of hospitality…”
More from WUWM: The legend of the Pfister Hotel ghost
Trump is expected to deliver a 'deeply personal' message during his acceptance speech
By Ashley Lopez
Donald Trump is expected to deliver a “deeply personal” speech when he officially accepts the Republican presidential nomination tonight.
Ahead of the last day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, sources familiar with the remarks told the press this morning that the former president had ripped up the speech he was going to give after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. Since those events, he has written his own remarks, focusing on unity, and they are expected to be a “deeply personal message.”
It is hard to predict exactly what Trump’s tone and message will be — largely because Trump often goes off script during events. However, it’s expected the tone will be different from the remarks he had planned before the events of last weekend.
Hulk Hogan will speak ahead of Trump at RNC convention
By Bill Chappell
A Florida man famous for his deep tan, outsized lifestyle and lucrative knack for blending entertainment and reality will speak at the Republican National Convention Thursday night.
Hulk Hogan, the longtime pro wrestler whose real name is Terry Bollea, is on the recently released roster of speakers for the convention’s final night, slated to speak in the runup to former President Donald Trump’s address.
The official RNC program identifies Hulk Hogan as a “professional entertainer and wrestler.” He was also involved in a momentous legal case in the media world: His lawsuit against Gawker Media resulted in a $140 million jury award after the company published a sex tape featuring Bollea in 2015. An ensuing settlement sent the company and its founder into bankruptcy.
After the sex tape emerged, there was abrupt fallout for Hulk Hogan: World Wrestling Entertainment spiked its contract with him over reports that he used racist language in the sex tape.
It may seem odd, but Hulk Hogan’s prominent role at this year’s RNC is another sign of the influence of billionaire Peter Thiel -- who bankrolled Bollea’s fight against Gawker, and who has more recently been a key patron of Trump’s new vice presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance.
Lawmakers briefed on the contents of the Trump shooter's home and phones
By Ryan Lucas
Senior officials from the FBI and Secret Service briefed U.S. lawmakers on the investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Trump, according to a person on the call.
The FBI has been reviewing the contents of shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks’ electronic devices, including a laptop and two cell phones — his primary phone and a second that was found at his home.
Crooks’ primary phone had 27 contacts saved; investigators are tracking those individuals down.
Crooks had saved images of President Biden, Trump, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales. He had also searched for dates of Trump speaking events as well as the Democratic National Convention. He also searched “major depressive order.”
When investigators searched Crooks’ home, they found no artifacts that indicated a political ideology, which officials told lawmakers was unusual in a case like this. People who knew Crooks have told investigators that he didn’t often discuss politics.
Law enforcement officials told lawmakers the investigation is still ongoing and a lot could change, but so far there is no indication of any foreign nexus or co-conspirators.
RNC poop watch: Scientists watch wastewater for disease transmission
By Sam Woods
Lina Tran
The RNC offers researchers a natural public health experiment: what happens when 50,000+ people gather in one place?
Dr. Sandra McLellan, with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is a scientist on Wisconsin’s wastewater surveillance program — which is leading the way nationally on making wastewater an important tool for tracking diseases like COVID-19, flu, or RSV. The data can give an early warning when disease transmission is up.
“With an estimated 50,000 people coming into the city area, we want to understand how some of these signals may change,” she told WUWM. “Could there be a higher risk with more people congregating and being in the same place?”
More from WUWM: UWM lab measures sewage to track disease level changes during RNC and after
Here's the list of speakers for the final night of the RNC
By Washington Desk
Following tradition, Donald Trump will be giving tonight’s keynote speech as he accepts the Republican presidential nomination. He’ll be introduced by Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
According to those familiar with tonight’s events, here is the tentative schedule for tonight. ("Everyday American" is the label given by the RNC.)
- Sen. Steve Daines of Montana
- Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee
- Diane Hendricks, everyday American
- Diane Evans, everyday American
- Linda McMahon, former administrator of the Small Business Administration
- Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state
- Pastor Lorenzo Sewell
- John Nieporte, everyday American
- Steve & Zach Witkoff
- Alina Habba, President Donald J. Trump's attorney
- Tucker Carlson, founder of Tucker Carlson Network
- Carrie Ruiz, everyday American
- Hulk Hogan, professional entertainer and wrestler
- Annette Albright, everyday American
- Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
- Eric Trump
- Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Former President Donald Trump
A Biden spokesman says the president continues to work and feels 'fine'
By NPR Washington Desk
President Biden, isolating at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., is “feeling fine,” his deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks told reporters in Milwaukee on Thursday, answering continued questions about the pressure from some Democrats for the president to step back from the campaign.
“The president is feeling fine. He's self-isolating in Delaware," Fulks said. "He's continuing to make calls and do work. He has some official meetings today, a lot of campaign calls that he's getting through, I think some Zoom calls that he's hopping on potentially,” Fulks said.
“Our campaign is not working through any scenarios where President Biden is not the top of the ticket. He is and will be the Democratic nominee,” Fulks said after being asked whether the campaign was working through scenarios where Vice President Harris would take the lead. “We look forward to him accepting the delegates in Chicago and continuing with this race.”
RNC delegates exchange pins representing their states
By Emily Files
July 18, 2024 at 11:06 AM EDT
RNC delegates have been wearing and trading pins that represent their home states.
One Texas delegate, who declined to give his name, has been collecting dozens of pins on his cowboy hat. Many of the pins are shaped like the states they’re from, with references to the Republican Party.
When to expect Donald Trump's speech tonight
It's the last day of the RNC. The theme — “Make America Great Once Again" — is a play on Trump's well-known campaign slogan.
Donald Trump will take the stage tonight to accept the nomination and wrap up the four-day event.
A schedule has not yet been released, but based on previous nights, his speech will likely come at night's end.
After the assassination attempt on his life at a rally last week, Trump has said that his speech will call for unity, although it's unclear what that means.
Let's look at his past RNC speeches to compare.
In 2016, Trump called out political correctness and expressed his vision for law and order.
"I will present the facts plainly and honestly," Trump said in 2016. "We cannot afford to be so politically correct anymore."
In 2020, Trump promised to build "the greatest economy in history" if re-elected. He also said he wanted to restore faith in American values and boasted that he "ended the unfair and very costly Paris Climate Accord."
Biden tested positive for COVID-19 at a moment when his health is under a microscope
By Tamara Keith
President Biden tested positive for COVID yesterday. He was in Las Vegas, campaigning. The White House said he developed a runny nose and a cough, so he took a COVID test and got the news.
Now, he’s back at his beach house in Delaware, where the White House says he’ll continue his normal duties. The White House gave his press pool a "lid" for today, which means he's unlikely to be seen on camera.
But this is bad timing for his campaign because the health of this president — and his ability to seek a second term — is under the microscope.
Yesterday, prominent House Democrat Adam Schiff called for Biden to pass the torch adding to a growing list. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer went to see him Saturday, in Delaware, which is unusual — and has issued a pair of uncharacteristically terse statements since. Schumer said he shared the concerns of Senate Democrats with the president and that the meeting was good.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates told us: “The President told both leaders he is the nominee of the party, he plans to win, and looks forward to working with both of them to pass his 100 days agenda to help working families.”
Publicly, at least, we aren’t seeing any cracks from the president or his inner circle of advisers. Two weeks ago, he said only the "Lord Almighty" could convince him to get out of the race.
In an interview with BET News recorded on Tuesday, he said that one thing that could change his mind would be some kind of serious medical condition.
And yesterday when he walked off Air Force One he responded to reporters shouting questions that he was doing well.
But at least for a few days — at this key moment in the campaign and with questions swirling around the viability of his candidacy — Biden is going to be largely invisible, isolating at his beach house.
Meanwhile, Republicans at their convention here in Milwaukee are projecting massive confidence. They're presenting a united front behind their nominee who just survived an assassination attempt and came out looking stronger.
Friends and neighbors say Trump shooter was quiet, smart and conservative
By Oliver Morrison, WESA
As WESA in Pittsburgh reports:
It’s been five days since Thomas Crooks allegedly fired a rifle at former President and presidential candidate Donald Trump and, thus far, no one has publicly identified a motive for the act that investigators say he committed.
Many of the people who would be in the best position to understand what might have happened — his family, close friends and coworkers — haven’t made detailed public statements about what they knew about him. The FBI says it is still analyzing his phone and other evidence collected at the shooting scene and his home.
Still, some reports about who Crooks was in life appear to have a more solid footing than others.
WESA analyzed the public statements of two dozen people who knew Crooks and have spoken in media reports — the majority of whom were classmates of Crooks at Bethel Park High School.
WESA breaks down what those people said.
For Trump’s RNC speech, expect to see droves of white ear bandages
By Bill Chappell
Former President Donald Trump’s white ear bandage — covering his injury from the recent shooting at his rally in Pennsylvania — has inspired a new blend of politics and fashion as droves of Republican National Convention delegates prominently cover their right ears to show solidarity.
If Wednesday’s events are any indication, you should expect to see a sea of little white squares when Trump speaks tonight in the final RNC session, as the unlikely accessory has become a hallmark of the 2024 convention.
Shows of party unity frequently align with merchandising opportunities, particularly when it comes to Trump. But while a pro-Trump radio show has mentioned “an official MAGA ear patch,” as NPR reported last night, a wide variety of white squares are being deployed in Milwaukee. While some people apply realistic gauze bandages to their ears, others seem to be using folded paper and scotch tape.
WATCH: Usha Vance, Kai Trump and Donald Trump Jr. address the RNC
In case you missed it, here are a few of the night's notable remarks:
Usha Vance
The vice presidential nominee's wife took the stage Wednesday night to introduce her husband before his prime time remarks.
Kai Trump
The eldest Trump granddaughter joined her father Donald Trump Jr. on stage Wednesday night to deliver a short but personal testament to her grandfather.
Donald Trump Jr.
The former president and 2024 nominee's eldest son also addressed those gathered in Milwaukee.
And the vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance: Watch his remarks here.
Takeaways from J.D. Vance’s first date with America
By Domenico Montanaro
Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Donald Trump’s vice-presidential pick, has gained a reputation in Washington as one of Trump’s staunchest and hardest-charging defenders.
Look no further than in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt on Trump’s life Saturday. Vance quickly took to social media to lay the blame squarely on President Biden and called a top Democrat on Capitol Hill a “scumbag” for having introduced legislation some months ago to remove Secret Service protection from convicted felons.
The MAGA warrior, though, is not who America met Wednesday night when he took to the stage at the Republican National Convention for his keynote speech as Trump’s running mate. The Marine veteran, instead, showed a decidedly softer side.
Here are four takeaways from Vance’s speech and the rest of Night 3 in Milwaukee.
Good morning ☕️
By L. Carol Ritchie
Emily Alfin Johnson
It's the fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Today's theme: "Make America Great Once Again."
If you're looking for a quick recap of yesterday's events while you go about your morning, today's episode of Up First has you covered.
Vance and Trump Speak, Congress probes secret service; Biden has COVID (Length: 13 minutes)
More of a morning email person? There's a newsletter version too.
WATCH: J.D. Vance's speech Wednesday night
By Emily Alfin Johnson
Meet us back here in the morning for the last day of the RNC
By Rachel Treisman
And with that, the third day of the convention is over — and it's time for all of us to get some sleep.
RNC officials have adjourned proceedings until 5 p.m. local time Thursday, but this blog will be back in action bright and early in the morning.
It's the final day of the convention, with a broad "Make America Great Again" theme and speech from Trump himself accepting the party's nomination on the evening's agenda.
Until then — catch the NPR Politics Podcast for a quick recap, and subscribe to the Up First podcast and newsletter to get the morning's top news. See you back here soon!
Vance blends the personal and political, vowing to remember where he came from
By Rachel Treisman
Vance told the crowd that when his Mamaw died, his relatives found "19 loaded handguns" — sending them into applause and more chants of her name.
He said they were stashed across her house — under her bed, in her closet and in her silverware drawer. He said it occurred to his family that as she grew less mobile in her old age, "this frail old woman made sure that no matter where she was, she was within arms' length of whatever she needed to protect her family."
He called that American spirit, and "what we fight for." The crowd whooped and cheered.
The 39-year-old said Biden has been a politician longer than he himself has been alive, and credited Trump with essentially undoing the damage the D.C. establishment did before him.
He hit on some common Republican talking points about what the party sees as the main problems in America, from inflation to undocumented immigrants entering the country.
"But ladies and gentlemen, that is not the end of our story," he said, adding under Trump's vision the party will commit to the working man, fight for Americans' jobs and wages and producing energy, jobs and factories at home.
He vowed to "make sure our allies share in the burden of securing world peace, no more free rides for nations that betray the generosity of the American taxpayer."
Vance added that under Trump, Americans would send their kids to war "only when we must," but that "when we punch, we're going to punch hard."
He wrapped up his speech by thanking Trump and pledging to all Americans that "no matter your party that I will give you everything I have to serve you and to make this country a place where every dream you have for yourself, your family and your country will be possible once again."
He promised one more thing to the people of Middletown, Ohio and "all the forgotten communities in every corner of our nation: I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from."
J.D. Vance invokes the American Dream, and tells his young kids to go to bed
By Rachel Treisman
J.D. Vance, whose story has been described all week in terms of achieving the American Dream, said his most important American Dream was "becoming a good husband and a good dad."
He said the accomplishment he's most proud of is being able to give his three kids — ages 7, 4 and 2 — the things he didn't have when he was growing up in Middletown, Ohio.
"Now they're back at the hotel and kids, if you're watching, Daddy loves you very much, but get your butts back in bed," he said.
He then pivoted to discussing how things have not worked out quite as well for many of the kids he grew up with, many of them having since died of overdoses. He said the divide between those in D.C. and rural communities like his has only grown over the decades, until Trump came along.
He said Trump represents "America's last best hope to restore what if lost may never be found again: A country where a working class boy born far from the halls of power can stand on this stage as the next vice president of the United States of America."
The crowd was engaged as he spoke, periodically breaking into chants. At one point he remarked "you guys are a great crowd," prompting them to call back, "yes we are."
Vance also shouted out his mom in the audience, saying she was 10 years sober. She stood up from her seat in the family box, looking visibly emotional as the crowd applauded. They eventually broke into chants of "J.D.'s mom."
Vance recounts path to the podium, sparking chants for 'Mamaw'
By Rachel Treisman
J.D. Vance said he never could have imagined he'd be standing on this stage — then proceeded to share what led him there.
He criticized Biden for supporting NAFTA, a trade deal with China, and the U.S. invasion of Iraq — all done under Republican administrations — which happened during his childhood and teenage years and hurt small towns. The crowd chanted "Joe gotta go," to which he responded "I agree."
"Joe Biden screwed up, and my community paid the price," he said.
Despite those hardships, he said he had a "guardian angel" by his side: his grandmother "Mamaw," who raised him while his own mother struggled with addiction. He described her as a woman of contradictions.
"She loved the Lord, ladies and gentlemen, she was a woman of very deep Christian faith," he said. "But she also loved the F-word. I'm not kidding, she could make a sailor blush."
He recounted when Mamaw learned he was spending time with a kid known for dealing drugs, she threatened to run him over with her car, adding, "No one would ever know."
The crowd burst into chants of "Mamaw" as Vance smiled and pumped his fist.
It was thanks to Mamaw, he said, that things worked out for him. He enlisted in the U.S. Marines after 9/11, four years later attended Ohio State University and then went to Yale Law School, where he met his wife. He later started businesses to create jobs "in the kind of places I grew up in."
He said there is "so much talent and grit... but for these places to thrive, my friends, we need a leader who fights for the people who built this country."
Usha Vance spoke of she and J.D. Vance coming together despite their different upbringings
By Rachel Treisman
Elena Moore
Usha Chilukuri Vance, gave a glimpse into the political newcomer, now Republican vice presidential nominee, her husband, J.D. Vance.
"It's hard to imagine a more powerful example of the American dream, a boy from Middletown, Ohio, raised by his grandmother through tough times, chosen to help lead our country through some of its greatest challenges," she said amid applause and chants of support.
The two met as students at Yale Law School, married in 2014 and have three children together.
During Usha Vance's remarks, she spoke of them coming together despite their different upbringings.
"The J.D. I knew then is the same J.D. you see today — except for that beard." she joked.
"His goals in this new role are the same that he has pursued for our family: to keep people safe, to create opportunities, to build a better life and to solve problems with an open mind," she added.
Usha Vance, 38, enters the national spotlight with a stacked law career. She clerked for Judge Brett Kavanaugh when he was on the U.S. Court of Appeals and for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts from 2017 to 2018.
She became an attorney at the national law firm Munger Tolles & Olson but has reportedly left the firm following Trump's selection of her husband as his running mate. She was a registered Democrat until at least 2014, according to public records.
In his speech accepting the vice presidential nomination, J.D. Vance thanked his wife, calling her "an incredible lawyer and a better mom."
J.D. Vance formally accepts the nomination
By Rachel Treisman
J.D. Vance responded to Trump's calls for unity by saying the message to Republicans is that "we love this country and we are united to win."
He said he believes disagreements "make us stronger," a lesson he's learned in the U.S. Senate, where he's served since early 2023.
"Shouldn't we be governed by a party that is unafraid to debate ideas and come to the best solution?" he asked. "That's the Republican Party of the next four years: united in our love for this country and committed to free speech and the open exchange of ideas."
He then officially accepted the nomination to be vice president, as the crowd roared.
Vance opens with high praise of Trump
By Rachel Treisman
J.D. Vance patiently waited for the crowd to stop cheering his name before he thanked his wife and introduced himself — and ending up in another chant, this time "OH-IO."
"You guys, we got to chill with the Ohio love, we gotta win Michigan too," he said, sparking another round of applause.
Vance called tonight "a night of hope, a celebration of what America once was and with God's grace what it soon will be again, and a reminder of the sacred duty we have to preserve the American experiment to choose a new path for our children and grandchildren."
But he said the night could have been one of mourning instead of celebration, after the attempt on Trump's life over the weekend. He said Trump, a successful businessman, had "anything anyone could ever want in a life," but chose to "endure abuse, slander and persecution... because he loves this country."
Vance urged Americans to watch the video of the would-be assassination, "consider the lies they've told you about Trump and then look at that photo of him, defiant, fist in the air."
"When Donald Trump rose to his feet in that Pennsylvania field, all of America stood with him," he said. "They said he was a tyrant, they said he must be stopped at all costs, but how did he respond? He called for national unity, national calm, literally right after an assassin nearly took his life."
Vance, who was once outspoken in his criticism of Trump, said he'd gotten to know him personally over the last few years and seen firsthand how he is "tough but cares about people."
He described watching earlier this week as a man "feared by America's adversaries" gave his sons goodnight kisses on the cheek, joking that they squirmed the same way his four-year-old does when he does the same.
Here's what 'the ghost of CornPop' means
By C Mandler
Donald Trump Jr.'s speech at the RNC tonight included a reference to "the ghost of CornPop," the main character in a 2017 speech by President Biden that made the rounds on social media nearly two years later.
So who exactly is CornPop?
Biden told the story of working as a lifeguard at a local pool in his home state of Delaware in 1962, when a local gang leader and all-around "bad dude" by the name of CornPop showed up looking for trouble.
Allegedly, CornPop was armed with a razor blade and the president with a 6-foot chain, but eventually, CornPop and his "bad boys" stood down.
The retelling was met with mixed reactions — with many critics in disbelief that Biden actually faced off with a gang leader.
A CNN reporter managed to find an obituary for one William L. "CornPop" Morris of Wilmington, Del., who died in 2016.
Donald Trump Jr. speech focuses on father's assassination attempt
By Ximena Bustillo
Donald Trump Jr. spoke to the Milwaukee crowd about immigration, social issues and inflation. But he also focused on the attempted assassination of his father last weekend during a rally in Pennsylvania.
Trump mentioned Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who was killed at the rally while protecting his wife and daughter. The crowd cheered “Corey!” in support.
Trump spoke about his father’s “character” describing the moments after the shooting when Trump stood up with his fist in the air — and the crowd chanted “fight!” the word that Trump mouthed as he stood up.
“We are like that man, who stood on that platform and felt the bullet piece his flesh, but he stood back up,” Trump said. “And when he did, my father raised his fist, and he looked out at the crowd and what did he say?”
The crowd again, broke out in “fight!” chants. “We will fight with our vote,” Trump said.
Trump then turns to introduce his father’s new running mate: U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
“We grew up worlds apart,” Trump said. “Yet now we are fighting side by side to save the world we love.”
Trump's granddaughter paints a picture of Trump, the family man
By Elena Moore
Kai Trump, the eldest granddaughter of former President Donald Trump, delivered a short but personal testament to her grandfather on the RNC stage.
"I'm speaking today to share the side of my grandpa that people don't often see," she said. "To me, he's just a normal grandpa. He gives us candy and soda when our parents aren't looking. He always wants to know how we're doing in school."
Trump beamed throughout his granddaughter's speech. The appearance adds to a growing list of individuals, mostly women, who have shown viewers a more personal side of the former president.
"Even when he's going through all these court cases, he always asks me how I'm doing. He always encourages me to push myself to be the most successful person I can be," she said. "Obviously, he sets the bar pretty high, but who knows, maybe one day I'll catch him."
It was a notable first moment for the next generation of Trumps.
In an introduction by her father, Donald Trump Jr., the oldest son of the former president, he said it was her "first time ever on a stage" and "first time ever giving a speech."
Though Donald Trump Jr. typically embodies a similarly aggressive and tough persona similar to his father, his introduction was softer and more emotional.
"A lot of proud moments this week for my family, thank you again guys," he said after she spoke. (That said, when Donald Trump Jr. began his remarks, they did once again return to his typical aggressive rhetoric.)
Kai Trump, who just turned 17, will not be old enough to vote this year.
On the Democratic side, we've also seen grandkids play a political role; President Biden's granddaughters have made speeches on his behalf throughout his 2020 campaign.
J.D. Vance has arrived at the podium
By Rachel Treisman
J.D. Vance is on stage to address the convention and the country, days after Trump officially chose him as his running mate.
The junior senator from Ohio was introduced and welcomed to the state by his wife, Usha.
They shared a long embrace as country music played and the crowd cheered.
Did Biden really tell Former President Obama not to kill Osama bin Laden?
By Elissa Nadworny
This was mentioned at the RNC night 3 – and it’s been in PAC ads for Trump before.
According to Obama’s 2020 memoir, Biden, the then vice-president, suggested Obama wait before ordering the mission that killed the al-Qaida leader in 2011.
In 2012, Biden told the story to a room full of House Democrats. He recalled wanting more information. He said he remembers telling Obama, “ Mr. President, my suggestion is, don’t go. We have to do two more things to see if he’s there.”
UNC fraternity brothers take a defiant stance against campus culture
By Elena Moore
A group of fraternity brothers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who held up an American flag that had been lowered during a pro-Palestinian protest earlier this year, addressed the convention Wednesday night.
"When a mob tried to take down the American flag on our campus, we knew we couldn't let that happen. We stood guard, we held up, and we did not let it fall," one of the students said.
Videos of the incident went viral as colleges around the country erupted in largely peaceful campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
The appearance of the students at the RNC followed a montage of mostly male young people counter-protesting at anti-war demonstrations on different campuses around the country.
Republicans have long criticized the politics of young voters on college campuses, arguing it's a Democratic-dominated space.
That said, voters under 30 have traditionally voted for Democrats and side with issues they champion, notably safeguarding abortion rights.
In 2020, voters under 30 voted for President Biden by a 24-point margin.
Parents of an American held in Gaza lead chants of 'bring them home'
By Rachel Treisman
As Orna and Ronen Neutra walked onstage, the room erupted in chants of "bring them home" — the first of several throughout their time at the podium.
The Neutras, who live in Long Island, spoke about — and directly to — their son Omer, an American citizen who was kidnapped from Israel by Hamas on October 7.
He's been held hostage for 285 days and nights, his parents said, wearing t-shirts with his face on them and the number "285" taped to their jackets.
Orna described her son — who she said was born in New York City one month after 9/11 — as an "extremely social person," talented athlete and "natural leader" who "cares deeply about others and helping them grow."
She said he turned 22 in captivity on Oct. 14, 2023.
"Imagine over nine months not knowing whether your son is alive, waking up every morning praying that he too is still waking up every morning," she said, as the crowd broke out in another chant.
Omer's parents noted they are far from alone. Over 1,200 people in Israel were killed in Hamas' attack, and 45 of them were American citizens. Omer is one of eight American hostages — and 120 total — believed to still be in Gaza, his dad said.
"Where is the outrage?" Ronen asked. "This was not merely an attack on Israel, this was and remains an attack on Americans."
He said Trump called them personally right after the attack to express his support for the American hostages, and called for the public's support to "end this crisis and bring all the hostages back home," kicking off another round of chants to that effect.
His mom ended with a message for her son: "Omer, we love you, we won't stop fighting for you."
'People are hungry to be a part of something bigger than themselves,' Vivek Ramaswamy tells NPR
By Clayton Kincade
Vivek Ramaswamy stopped by NPR's special coverage booth on Wednesday night, giving an exclusive interview with NPR's Susan Davis to talk about his thoughts on J.D. Vance and the future of the Republican party.
Ramaswamy opened with remarks about his relationship with Vance, calling him a good friend and father.
"He's a friend and someone I know in a more personal way," Ramaswamy said. "He's as good of a father as he is a friend."
Ramaswamy added that while the two disagree on policy, he appreciates Vance's contributions to the Trump ticket.
"He's an American dream story like me," Ramaswamy said. "He has a policy vision for the country that makes it more accessible."
Davis questioned Ramaswamy on Vance's past derogatory comments toward Trump, but Ramaswamy said it was a strength rather than a weakness.
"He has genuinely evolved in his views," Ramaswamy said. "We may not believe the same thing we did today as we did years ago... we need people who didn't vote for Trump in 2020."
Davis finished the interview by asking about Ramaswamy's thoughts on the future of the party and young voters.
"A lot of people in my generation didn't have the American Dream available to them as promised," Ramaswamy said. "With your own hard work and dedication, you can live the American Dream in the way I have and J.D. have."
"People are hungry to be part of something bigger than themselves, but they can't answer what it means to be an American," Ramaswamy added.
Gold star families blame Biden in an emotional moment
By Rachel Treisman
The screens in the room played a pre-produced video of interviews with people whose relatives — namely, their children — were among the 13 U.S. service members killed in the U.S.' withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
The family members spoke disapprovingly of Biden, saying he checked his watch multiple times during the ceremony for those killed and gave off a sense that he did not want to be there. The crowd booed loudly when he was shown onscreen.
The gold star families then walked out onstage, carrying pictures of their children. The crowd chanted "USA!"
Several then spoke about how Trump hosted them for a day at his golf club in Bedminster, saying he knew their children's names and stories "and spoke to us in a way that made us feel understood, like he knew our kids."
As one parent talked about how Trump made her feel less alone in her grief, someone in the crowd shouted "you're not alone," and others joined in clapping.
At one moment, the crowd chanted "never forget." Many remained standing for minutes as multiple speakers shared their stories and tears at the podium.
The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan is widely considered a low point — and a turning point — for the Biden administration, which officially blames the conditions created by Trump's administration.
One common critique from the parents was that Biden has not said the names of the 13 soldiers killed on that day in August.
Herman Lopez, whose son was killed, went down the list onstage, pausing as the crowd clapped between each one and repeated their names out loud:
- Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah.
- Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.
- Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, Calif.
- Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, Ca.
- Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Neb.
- Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Ind.
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas.
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Miss.
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyo.
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, Calif.
- Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio.
- Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tenn.
Read more about the late service members here.
As the couple spoke, the crowd burst into a loud chant of "Joe must go."
Alicia Lopez spoke emotionally of the couples' other son now serving in the Army, saying "we do not trust Joe Biden with his life" and urging for people to join them in voting for Trump to lead the military and the country.
The intense moment is likely to resonate personally with Biden, who speaks often (to the disappointment of those onstage) of his late son Beau, a military veteran.
Kimberly Guilfoyle returns with another high-volume, high-energy call to action
By Rachel Treisman
Kimberly Guilfoyle, whose enthusiastic delivery of "the best is yet to come" became one of the defining moments (and memes) of the 2020 RNC, returned to the stage at a similar decibel — and wearing a similar shade of red.
Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host who has been engaged to Donald Trump Jr. since 2020, spoke immediately after the former president sat down in the audience.
"I stand before you tonight more convinced than ever: this is the most important election in our lifetime," she said emphatically. "And that is why we must elect President Donald John Trump."
She painted the election as a choice between safety or chaos, wealth or poverty, national sovereignty or open borders, American weakness — or greatness.
"Donald Trump will once again make our country strong, safe and prosperous," Guilfoyle declared. "He will make America feared by our adversaries and respected by our friends. And most importantly he will always put America first."
Guilfoyle took a few digs at Biden, calling him unfit for office and saying, "all Joe had to do was leave it alone and take a nap, but Joe just couldn't help himself."
"Joe Biden can not lead America; he cannot even lead himself off a stage," she added.
Guilfoyle was married to California's current governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, for five years in the early aughts. Newsom, who has defended Biden including in the post-debate spin room, is widely seen as a contender for the presidential race in 2028.
Guilfoyle said "powerful elites in the swamp will say anything to crush and destroy the America First movement."
At the end of her speech, Guilfoyle urged the crowd to "rise up" for Trump, and the audience got to their feet.
"Ladies and gentlemen, lovers of freedom and the American dream, this is our last chance to make America great again," she cried out, as the crowd roared. Trump also gave a standing ovation, and raised his fist in approval.
Mayor of East Palestine, Ohio, remembers tragedy that ravaged his city
By Elena Moore
Mayor Trent Conaway attacked President Biden's response to the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a 5,000-person town southeast of Cleveland.
Conaway said the Biden administration responded late to the crash, which emitted toxic chemicals into the area.
"I guess we weren't their type of folks," he said. "No Hollywood elites or Wall Street billionaires live in East Palestine, just hard-working Americans."
During the same time, Biden made a historic trip to Ukraine — but Trump visited the small Ohio town before Biden did. Trump went on to criticize Biden for going overseas before visiting the crash site.
Though Biden himself did not visit first, the White House later said officials in his administration were at the site within "two hours" after the train derailed.
Notably accompanying Trump to the town last year was his now-running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance — known for growing up in a small city in Ohio.
Conaway continued to criticize Biden's handling of the incident Wednesday night, as he looked toward November.
"Before President Biden derails our entire nation, we need to act," he added.
"We need a leader who values small-town communities as much as big cities; we need a president who loves all Americans."
Republicans imbue attempted assassination of Trump with religious significance
By Jason DeRose
Donald Trump’s first post to social media following Saturday’s assassination attempt was this: “It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. We will fear not, but instead remain resilient in our faith and defiant in the face of wickedness.”
Just hours after the shooting on July 13, Trump’s supporters also began using religious language to describe the shooting, which killed one and wounded two others.
Speaking on Fox News Saturday night, Republican politician and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy said: “I personally believe that God intervened today, not just on behalf of President Trump but on behalf of our country.”
And Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Republican, made these remarks during a press conference about cleanup after hurricane Beryl: “Trump is truly blessed by the hand of God being able to evade being assassinated.”
That theme has continued this week at the Republican National Convention, where Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina used similar language on the opening night.
“If you didn't believe in miracles before Saturday, you better be believing right now,” Scott said as delegates in Milwaukee burst into applause. “Our God still saves. He still delivers and he still sets free. Because on Saturday, the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle. But an American lion got back up on his feet.”
But others who study religion find this talk of divine intervention and blessing both telling and troubling.
NPR was there when Trump did a secret trip to Iraq in 2018
By Elissa Nadworny
A video touting Trump’s secret trip to a U.S. military base as president played a bit ago at the RNC.
NPR’s Tamara Keith was traveling with the president at the time, the day after Christmas in 2018.
The trip to Al Asad Air Base in Western Iraq followed the president's controversial orders to pull back on U.S. troop deployments in Syria and elsewhere.
The video — and the veteran speakers who followed – are part of Trump’s effort to woo members of the military.
Kellyanne Conway says Trump 'does not need to do this, but we need him to do this'
By Rachel Treisman
Kellyanne Conway, Trump's first campaign manger in 2016 and senior counsel in the White House in the years that followed, strode onstage and greeted the crowd with a "Good evening, patriots."
The Trump adviser-turned- Fox News contributor is not officially affiliated with his campaign this time around, but spoke of the sacrifices he and his family made to run for president.
"My relationship with Mr. Trump was forged under fire in a foxhole in 2016, after he asked me to be his campaign manager," she said. "We had no idea that he was making history as the first successful presidential nominee ever to tap a woman to lead a campaign."
She credited Trump with elevating women throughout his career, from New York real estate to the White House, apparently eliding his felony conviction related to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and liability in a defamation case for denying E. Jean Carroll's claims of sexual assault.
Conway recounted looking around at an early senior staff meeting and seeing four other women, with 19 children between them.
"Show me a C-Suite in America where five working moms of 19 young children could have the highest rank in the company and work alongside the president," she said to cheers.
Conway said Trump "sees what's best and what's possible for millions of Americans," and, to the crowd, "sees you for who you are."
She praised Trump for making sacrifices to run again, when he could be spending time at his own golf course and with his children, grandchildren and wife (whom she described as "extraordinary, elegant, beautiful, brilliant," as the crowd clapped enthusiastically).
"He does not need to do this, but we need him to do this," Conway added.
She addressed those who say they want Trump's policies, but not his personality, and said people can't get one without the other. She urged supporters to talk to people who may be skeptical or cynical.
Conway said in 2024 there should be "no more hidden undercover Trump voters."
"It's time to put that flag on your front porch, that red hat on your head, because we don't cave and we don't cower and we do not capitulate," she said. "Instead we get up, we show up, we stand up and we speak up."
Trump walks out to the tune of 'It's a Man's Man's Man's World'
By Rachel Treisman
Megan Pratz
Former President Donald Trump arrived on the floor to a standing ovation, as "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" played over the speakers.
He stood at the top of the stairs up to the VIP platform and waved to the crowd on the floor and throughout the stands to rapturous applause. He then shook the hands of all of tonight's special guests, including Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.
He was again wearing a white bandage over his ear.
J.D. Vance has numerous ties to tech billionaires
By Bobby Allyn
Clayton Kincade
While J.D. Vance is known for his Appalachian memoir Hillbilly Elegy, he also has numerous ties with prominent Silicon Valley billionaires.
Vance became a protégé of Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal, while working in venture capital. Theil would later donate $15 million to Vance's Senate campaign.
Vance also has inroads with America PAC, a new tech-aligned super political action committee. The group has pledged millions to the Trump/Vance campaign and is expected to receive an extra donation boost from Elon Musk, the current owner of X.
NPR's Bobby Allen has the full scoop.
North Dakota Gov. Burgum calls for U.S. energy dominance
By Ximena Bustillo
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum used his speech to criticize “Biden’s war on energy” and “green agenda.” He also went after electric vehicle mandates. But the Biden administration does not have a mandate for electric vehicles.
Energy prices and inflation have been top of mind for voters this election cycle. Burgum blamed Biden for increased prices and advocated for an increase in domestic energy production.
“Energy dominance will be the big stick that President Trump will carry,” Burgum said, referencing the Roosevelt motto. “Yes, President Trump will make sure that America is selling energy to our allies versus buying it from our adversaries.”
However, companies themselves set their production levels based on market forces, not presidential orders. And efforts to influence production are not guaranteed to succeed: Trump famously tried and failed to prop up the U.S. coal industry. Meanwhile, oil production under President Biden has hit record highs, which has led to criticism from climate activists.
Texas Gov. Abbott touts controversial border policies
By Ximena Bustillo
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott focused immigration and border security on the RNC mainstage, claiming that “rapists, murderers and terrorists” are coming through the border.
Multiple studies have found that migrants are less likely to commit a crime than people born in the U.S. For example, Stanford University found that immigrants are 30% less likely to be imprisoned than white Americans.
Abbott also boasted about using razor wire, called "Operation Lone Star", to prevent people from crossing between boarder ports of entry and bussing migrants to other cities.
At the start of the year, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, paved the way for federal officials to remove the wire. The bussing has cost the state hundreds of millions to transport migrants to New York, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Immigration and crime repeatedly linked at RNC night 3
By Elissa Nadworny
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán
Over and over again tonight, immigration and crime have been frequently linked. One speaker, rancher Jim Chilton from Arizona, lives close to the southern border with Mexico and says he’s documented border crime and smuggling himself on hidden cameras. Texas Gov. Greg Abbot says under Biden, illegal immigration has skyrocketed.
Here’s some helpful context on immigration courtesy of NPR's Sergio Martínez-Beltrán:
It is true that under President Biden, the southern border saw a record high in terms of people crossing into the U.S. without authorization, but that number has really gone down since January. In June, there was a 24% decrease in arrests at the border in comparison to May.
When it comes to linking immigration to crime, multiple studies have found that migrants are less likely to commit a crime than people born in the U.S. For example, Stanford University found that immigrants are 30% less likely to be imprisoned than white Americans.
And overall crime in the U.S. is down. The most recent data from the FBI indicates that violent crime, including murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, is way down, after a surge in 2020.
Arizonans living on the border say life was better under Trump
By Ben Giles
Three Arizonans who spoke at the Republican National Convention said their lives in border towns were better off under former President Donald Trump.
David Lara, a San Luis, Ariz. small business owner, as well as Jim and Sue Chilton, ranchers on the southern border in Arivaca, Ariz. accused President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of neglecting their communities.
“They have done nothing to stop it, and everything to make it worse,” Lara said.
“It’s like Biden and Harris want the lawlessness. The fact is that walls work. We must elect Donald Trump to finish the wall, to stop the cartels,” Jim Chilton said, before the RNC crowd drowned him out with chants of “build the wall!”
Lara, who’s also a member of the Yuma Union High School District governing board, said Biden and Harris can’t understand his community because “they have never set foot in my border town.”
“Four years ago, we had a president who believed in borders. We had a president who traveled all the way to San Luis,” Lara added. “We had a president who cared, and we can have that president again. We must reelect President Trump.”
RNC demonstrators hit on new strategy, seek 'prick of conscience'
By Liz Baker
By day three of the RNC, most demonstrators had abandoned the deserted protest areas designated by the city and were focusing on a new strategy: staking out the security checkpoints outside the Fiserv Forum as convention attendees entered for the prime-time speeches.
Republican VIPs surrounded by police and security hustled through the rag-tag gaggle of demonstrators.
"Shame! Shame on you!" screamed anti-abortion activists, who say GOP politicians have not done enough to outlaw abortion nationwide.
"I just got to yell at the Speaker of the House, so that’s a win,” said Eliyahu from Washington, D.C. The 18-year-old declined to give his last name out of privacy concerns, saying he is still recovering from a doxing attack last week.
The small crowd was comprised of people with many different causes and viewpoints, from anti-war activists to parents who lost children to opioid addiction, all trying to capture the attention of the people who could end up governing the country for the next four years.
“If nothing else, we’re the prick of conscience to the delegates going into the convention,” explained Eliyahu, as he picked up his megaphone and looked down the street for the next arrival.
NPR's video and radio coverage of Night 3 is getting started
By Rachel Treisman
NPR's live special coverage of the Republican National Convention starts at 9 p.m. ET. — and tonight you can not only listen, but watch, as reporters offer real-time analysis and context.
The full program will feature NPR's Sue Davis, Ron Elving, Mara Liasson, Danielle Kurtzleben, Liz Baker and Domenico Montanaro.
The pre-show kicked off at 8:30 p.m. ET., so tune in now.
You can catch it on the NPR App, on the live blog, on your local member station and on YouTube.
(And we'll be blogging all night too!)
Former acting ICE director tells undocumented immigrants to 'start packing'
By Rachel Treisman
July 17, 2024 at 8:33 PM EDT
Thomas Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, lambasted Biden for making the border less secure and vowed that Trump would do the opposite.
Homan, a former border control agent who served as acting director from January 2017 to June 2018, said all six presidents he worked with over his 34-year career pledged to secure the border, but Trump was the only one who actually did.
"He created the most secure border in our history, and that's a stone-cold fact," he said. "And guess what? He's gonna do it again."
Homan pointed to statistics about illegal immigration dropping and deportations reaching record highs under Trump.
He then contrasted those results with some of the Biden administration's immigration actions, like canceling the "Remain in Mexico" policy and proposing amnesty for millions of undocumented immigrants — and blamed such policies for a record number of women being sex trafficked, Americans dying of fentanyl and suspected terrorists crossing into the U.S.
The southern border did see a record high amount of people crossing into the U.S. without authorization under Biden, though those numbers have greatly decreased since January.
Homan then directly addressed the undocumented immigrants whom he said Biden released into the country against federal law:
"You better start packing now," he said, as the crowd roared with applause. "'Cause you're going home."
He then spoke to criminal cartels in Mexico, which he said have killed more Americans than "every terrorist organization in the world combined." He said Trump would designate them as such if reelected.
"He's gonna wipe you off the face of the Earth," Homan said. "You're done. You're done!"
The crowd cheered, with many spectators waving "Mass deportation now" signs.
Time for another Trump dancing video, now with audience participation
By Rachel Treisman
Megan Pratz
And we're back with another Trump dancing montage, set to the same song as the one that aired on the first night.
As the speakers played "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People along with video clips of former President Donald Trump dancing, people throughout the crowd imitated his signature dancing style, using two fists and moving them in and out alternatively.
Just out of prison, Peter Navarro says GOP needs to control all three branches
By Anna Yukhananov
Former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro got out of prison earlier on Wednesday and urged people to vote for Trump to avoid persecution by the U.S. government.
Navarro had been in prison for four months for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena for documents and testimony tied to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. His remarks continued a convention theme of the weaponization of justice, similar to the speech of Savannah Chrisley on Tuesday.
Navarro blamed all three branches of government — the executive, legislative and judiciary — for his sentence. He said Trump supporters needed to control all of government to avoid unfair treatment, since all three branches helped put him in prison.
Trump has also argued that the Justice Department is politically influenced — something Attorney General Merrick Garland has fiercely disputed — and must be restructured.
"Yes indeed, this morning I did walk out of a federal prison in Miami. Joe Biden and his department of injustice put me there," Navarro told attendees at the convention to chants and applause. "If they can come for me, if they can come for Donald Trump, they can come for you."
"If we don’t control our government, their government will control us," he added.
Navarro cast his disputes with Congress as challenges to the Constitution’s separation of powers. But judges found no evidence that Trump had formally asserted executive privilege to block cooperation with lawmakers. Steve Bannon, another Trump-era official, is now in prison for a similar charge.
Navarro said Biden's policies created an environment of fear, contrasting it with a more equitable system under Trump as president.
"When politics fail, the investigations and persecutions begin," he said, adding that the government was also going after Catholics, anti-abortion-rights groups and parents.
"I went to prison so you won’t have to. I am your wake up call," he said to cheers from the audience.
Rep. Gaetz brought up voter ID laws. Here's some context
By Elissa Nadworny
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida brought up the fact Trump supports checking IDs for voting in the same way Democrats support ID checks for hunting licenses and welfare.
Here’s a some context on that push for voter ID laws: 36 states have some ID requirements for voters to show at the polls, and 7 of those states require an ID.
For the states that don’t require some sort of ID, often a signature is required and checked against the one on file.
Trump has argued that increasing ID requirements can prevent in-person voter fraud, though little of that actual fraud has been documented. Opponents — including many Democrats — argue voter ID laws present an undue burden on voters and makes the job of elections administrators much harder.
For more on voter fraud, read NPR’s investigation into Republicans' abandonment of one of the best tools the government has to catch voter fraud.
A party without a past: You may have noticed that Bush, Cheney, Romney and Pence aren't at the RNC
By Eric McDaniel
This week's convention has all the trappings of a typical party convention: enthusiastic delegates, flamboyant attire, a cover band. But, like the 2016 and 2020 Republican conventions, past GOP presidential and vice presidential nominees (other than Trump himself) have chosen not to attend.
President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are both outspoken critics of Donald Trump. In a 2021 interview, Bush criticized the party he used to lead, which he said has become "isolationist, protectionist and, to a certain extent, nativist."
Cheney has gone further. In a 2022 campaign ad for his daughter Liz, a major Trump antagonist during her time in Congress, the former vice president said that "in our nation's 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump."
Mitt Romney, the party's 2012 presidential nominee, now a senator from Utah, was the first lawmaker ever to vote to remove a president of the same party during Trump's second impeachment trial.
And Mike Pence, who served as Trump's vice president, ran against his former ticket-mate during this year's presidential primary contest.
According to the congressional testimony of a former White House aide, Trump said that his then-vice president — who faced chants of "hang Mike Pence" from January 6th insurrectionists — deserved the ire of the rioters for refusing to support Trump's attempts to remain in power despite losing the election.
In their stead, the party has filled speaking slots with Trump loyalists and converts — who almost uniformly support the former president's lies about the 2020 election and attacks on the justice system in the wake of his 34 felony convictions in New York state and roughly 60 pending federal felony charges.
Newt and Callista Gingrich address RNC
By Elena Moore
President Biden was the focus of former Republican House speaker Newt Gingrich's speech Wednesday night.
"We have to remember that the greatest threat to American safety is not Biden's brain," he said. "The greatest threat is Biden's policies and the people he appoints to implement."
Honing in on foreign policy, he praised former President Donald Trump's record and juxtaposed his actions with those of Biden, including the U.S. withdrawal of Afghanistan in 2021 and Biden's handling of the Israeli-geopolitical relations.
"The message for this November is clear: You can vote for weakness and war with Biden, or you can vote for strength and peace with President Trump."
Gingrich was preceded by his wife, former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See under Trump, who focused her remarks on faith.
Many speeches have had religious undertones, amplified by Trump's near-death experience on Saturday.
"Our choice is clear. We need strong leadership, bold action and unwavering commitment to preserve our God-given rights," she said.
How and why does the FBI access a smart phone? One of its service providers explains
By Obed Manuel
In the days since the alleged attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, attention has turned to uncovering the motives of the gunman.
One of the ways the FBI has attempted to learn more about 20-year-old Matthew Crooks, the assailant, is by unlocking his phone, which the agency confirmed Monday it had done. No details were made public about what, if anything, was found on it.
In events like this, the FBI turns to service providers like Cellebrite, an Israel-based intelligence firm that sells tools to law enforcement to access smart phones.
Cracking into a phone can be a game of cat and mouse due to upgrades and updates that phone manufacturers introduce, Cellebrite's chief marketing officer David Gee told NPR's Morning Edition.
A phone can serve as a "digital witness," he added, and his company's tech is continually changing to enhance law enforcement's ability to access data on a device.
Gee said Cellebrite's technology can be used to access and extract information from a smart phone.
In "90% of crimes today, the assailant has a phone with them. And so the extraction of that information and then the decoding and processing of that information — it can be photos, it can be location data, it could be encrypted messages — all of the above are extracted and then analyzed and in many cases de-encrypted for use," Gee said.
Cellebrite, Gee said, only works with law enforcement and the technology is used only once a warrant has been obtained.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that sources close to the FBI investigation say Cellebrite's tech was used to access Crooks' phone.
GOP Native American roundtable highlights Republican tribal priorities
By Ximena Bustillo
Indigenous Republicans and those representing tribes at the RNC gathered to discuss the party's priorities for Indian Country. The event was hosted by Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is a Cherokee citizen.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., used his time to advocate for federal recognition of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina. The Lumbee have long turned to federal recognition as a potential electoral issue and have helped North Carolina swing.
Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming said she recently spoke to Trump about missing and murdered Indigenous women.
But several current and former tribal leaders of the Lumbee tribe, the Osage Nation, Navajo Nation and Tunica-Biloxi tribe brought up concerns about outdated laws around land use and taxes that stifle economic development on reservations.
Navarro wraps up his speech
By Megan Pratz
Navarro also went off script to thank his "girl" and kiss her on stage to huge applause.
As the convention speeches unfold, Biden tweets 'I'm sick' — but that's not all
By Rachel Treisman
President Biden, fresh off his COVID-19 diagnosis, acknowledged the news with a two-word tweet.
"I'm sick," he wrote at 7:22 p.m. ET, as RNC speakers were criticizing his policies and physical fitness onstage.
But that wasn't the whole message. Another tweet, threaded below, finished the thought:
"[...] of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election. And if you agree, pitch in here," he added, linking to a fundraising page. The tweet racked up 35,000 likes in 25 minutes.
Citing unnamed people familiar, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the billionaire Tesla CEO plans to commit around $45 million a month to a new super PAC backing Trump's presidential run.
A fired-up Gaetz takes digs, and not just at Democrats
By Rachel Treisman
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, walking onstage to huge applause from the crowd, declared that Trump is "unstoppable" and that if he is reelected, America will be too.
The controversial congressman, fresh off a tense exchange with recently ousted House speaker Kevin McCarthy, hurled a series of insults at the Democratic party and some of his own colleagues too.
He accused Democrats of hiding "the real Biden for years," saying Americans "saw people in the witness protection program more often than we saw unscripted President Biden."
He went on to paint an idyllic picture of the Trump administration. "Inflation has gotten so bad you can no longer bribe Democrat senators with cash alone, you have to use gold bars just so the bribes hold value," he said as the crowd cheered, referencing yesterday's guilty verdict in Sen. Bob Menendez's bribery trial.
Gaetz pledged that "swamp draining will recommence soon," and pledged to be Trump's strongest congressional ally in doing things like passing term limits and banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks. He called himself the only member of Congress who takes no lobbying or PAC money, telling the roaring crowd, "I work for you, not them."
Gaetz also praised Trump's choice of running mate, saying J.D. Vance "looks like a young Abraham Lincoln, but he's from Ohio, like General [Ulysses] Grant. And like General Grant, J.D. Vance knows how to fight."
Rep. Ronny Jackson, Trump's WH doctor, makes the case for his fitness
By Rachel Treisman
Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas, who served as Trump's physician before getting elected to Congress, took to the podium tonight to make the case that the former president is fit to hold the job again.
Jackson, who was elected to the U.S. House in 2020, listed his credentials: He served in the U.S. Navy for 25 years, including as an emergency medicine doctor and combat physician in Iraq, before spending 14 years as a White House physician.
"But most importantly, I served as the appointed physician to the greatest president that this country has ever had, Donald J. Trump," he added. "And now I can say I served a president who literally took a bullet for our country."
He said Trump's will to keep fighting for the country, "even after getting shot down, will go down as an all-time moment in American history."
And he contrasted Trump's strength to that of Biden, saying he knows firsthand that being president is an "unrelenting, 24/7 job" that requires people to make clear decisions at a moment's notice. He said Biden is not up to the task.
"Let's not kid ourselves, Father Time has not been kind to Joe Biden," he said, adding that foreign adversaries won't "respect his 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule."
Jackson blamed Biden's staff and family for what he called a lack of compassion, and for not prioritizing his health and the country's security. He said Vice President Harris — mispronouncing her first name — is "as unfit in character as Joe Biden is in body and mind."
"There is simply too much at stake to have someone who can barely shuffle to a podium be the one that is responsible for the safety and security of our country," Jackson said.
He urged people to support Trump, whom he said will be respected by allies and feared by enemies.
Jackson returned to his role as doctor over the weekend, examining and dressing Trump's ear the day after he was shot at a rally.
“The bullet took a little bit off the top of his ear in an area that, just by nature, bleeds like crazy,” Jackson later told the New York Times. “The dressing’s bulked up a bit because you need a bit of absorbent. You don’t want to be walking around with bloody gauze on his ear.”
The solidarity ear patches are back
By Emily Alfin Johnson
As NPR's James Doubek explained last night, attendees in the Fiserv Forum for the RNC have been seen sporting fake ear patches in support of the former president.
Joe Neglia of Tempe, Ariz., told NPR's Sarah McCammon that he was wearing a "bandage" ( actually appearing to be a piece of paper ) in solidarity with Trump.
Peter Navarro takes the stage
By Megan Pratz
To applause and cheers lasting more than a full minute and echoed throughout the arena, former USTR Peter Navarro takes the stage and quips about the "MAGA tattoo" he got in the federal prison in Miami.
They also chanted the now-signature "Fight, Fight, Fight" that has arisen from this convention.
And soon after, boos resonated as Navarro name dropped "your favorite Democrat, Nancy Pelosi"
Navarro was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena for documents and testimony related to the January 6th Capitol attack. He was sentenced in January to four months in prison. Read more.
RNC in Milwaukee: A look at Wisconsin's political history
By Michelle Maternowski
Sam Woods
Joy Powers
With the RNC taking place in Milwaukee this week, there's a big spotlight on Wisconsin. Not only is the state a critical swing state in the upcoming presidential election, Wisconsin has been influencing national policy for more than 100 years.
Among other things, Wisconsin was the first state to have unemployment insurance, institute an income tax and create public unions. It’s also the birthplace of McCarthyism and helped forge the anti-union movement of the 2010s.
Listen to WUWM’s podcast, Swing State of the Union, for a political history lesson.
Tonight's prime-time convention livestream is starting soon
By Rachel Treisman
A video feed of this evening's proceedings is starting shortly — you can find it at the top of this blog and at NPR.org.
And keep your eyes on that feed, because starting at 9 p.m. ET it will be dedicated to NPR's own coverage of the convention, featuring NPR's Sue Davis, Ron Elving, Mara Liasson, Danielle Kurtzleben, Liz Baker and Domenico Montanaro. They'll be offering news, analysis and fact-checks through the end of the night.
Here's how to follow along.
A guide to the members of the Trump family (and who's in attendance at the RNC)
By Bria Suggs
Former President Donald Trump has appointed his family members to key positions in both his political and business ventures. The RNC has been no different. Here’s what we know about the Trump family and what they’ve been up to for the last few years:
Just to recap: Trump has five children: Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany and Barron, and 10 grandchildren.
Donald Jr., Tiffany and Eric have been seen at the RNC this week. Eric’s wife Lara — who is also the co-chair of the RNC this year — gave the keynote speech last night.
Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner have yet to make an appearance at the RNC this year, despite them both serving as senior advisers during Trump’s presidency.
Ivanka’s absence may be due to a statement she released on social media in 2022 that explained how she would be taking a step back from politics to focus on her family.
“I do not plan to be involved in politics,” she said on Instagram Stories. “While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena.”
Trump has been married to his wife Melania since 2005. She has also been absent from her husband’s current presidential campaign. Her office did release a statement in May, a day after her son Barron's name appeared on a list of Florida delegates, that he would not be a delegate after all due to “prior commitments”. Barron was seen in Miami last week at a campaign rally for his father.
When asked about Ivanka and Melania in an interview with CBS earlier today, Eric said they "will be coming in." One possibility is for when Trump formally accepts the GOP nomination on Thursday night.
Trump’s 17-year-old granddaughter, Kai, is expected to take the RNC stage tonight along with her father Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle, (who is Donald Trump Jr.'s fiancée.)
Trump's camp won't commit to a VP debate, claiming it's unclear who their opponent will be
By Rachel Treisman
The Trump campaign has declined to commit to a vice presidential debate, in a response that highlights the growing tension among Democrats about their party's ticket.
“We don’t know who the Democrat nominee for Vice President is going to be, so we can’t lock in a date before their convention," Trump Campaign Senior Advisor Brian Hughes said in a statement. "To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate.”
Vice President Kamala Harris has agreed to three potential dates for a debate with J.D. Vance hosted by CBS in July or August, and encouraged Vance to do the same when she left him a congratulatory voicemail after his selection was announced on Monday.
The Trump campaign's statement suggests that Biden won't be the nominee, despite the fact that he has earned enough delegates to do so and has maintained he won't step down (despite growing encouragement from certain members of his party). Democrats plan to vote on his nomination before their convention in August.
RNC viewership on night two neared an estimated 15 million
By Clayton Kincade
Around 14.81 million people tuned into the RNC on Tuesday night, according to a press release from Nielsen.
The polling tracked broadcast and cable networks. Notably, around 11 million unique households tuned into the event.
The study did not track other forms of watching the event, like TikTok or X.
President Biden has tested positive for COVID
By Washington Desk
President Biden has tested positive for COVID, his doctor said in a statement, and is experiencing mild symptoms.
Biden had done an interview with Univision Radio in a local restaurant in Las Vegas. Afterward, he tested positive for COVID with a rapid test, the White House said. His symptoms are mild, but he will return to Delaware to self-isolate.
Biden is taking Paxlovid, the White House said. He is expected to continue to carry out his duties while he is isolating.
Janet Murguía, the president of UnidosUS, was first to announce the news. Murguía told an annual conference of the group the news as they waited for Biden to address the group.
She said she had just spoken to Biden on the phone, and he had told her directly.
How the vice presidency has changed over the years
By Joe Hernandez
John Adams called it "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."
Yet vice presidents have been part of some of the most significant chapters in U.S. history — from the assassination of John F. Kennedy to the resignation of Richard Nixon.
Though they have only two officials roles in the Constitution — to succeed the president if the president dies, resigns or is removed from office or to stand in for the president if they can't discharge their duties, and to act as president of the Senate — vice presidents may also serve as advisers to the president and take on informal policy and political roles in the administration.
"That's where a vice president can make a difference, as a fellow politician who can talk truth to power, as an operator who can help the president cover more ground," Joel Goldstein, a professor emeritus at the Saint Louis University School of Law, who has written two books on the vice presidency, told NPR.
Read more about how the vice presidency has transformed into a powerful office.
Where's Mike Pence? Not at the RNC
By Rachel Treisman
When Trump's 2024 running mate takes the stage at the RNC tonight, his previous VP won't be in the crowd — or presumably even in the state.
Former Vice President Mike Pence is not attending the RNC this year, a fact he's made pointedly clear on the social media platform X.
On Tuesday, he posted a series of photos of himself and his wife Karen fishing and riding horses, writing, "Nothing like Montana in the Summertime!"
Nothing Like Montana in the Summertime! God Bless the Treasure State!🎣🐴🏔️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/jKU1k2gwbD
On Wednesday afternoon, he posted photos from what appeared to be a charity event in Fort Wayne, Ind., calling it a "Truly Inspiring Day."
Pence may not be at the convention, but his name has certainly been invoked this week, especially by Democrats critical of Trump's latest VP pick.
The chair of Biden's reelection campaign said Trump picked J.D. Vance because he’ll “do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on Jan. 6: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda."
Vance has said he believes the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, and earlier this year downplayed the severity of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, including doubting Pence's claims that his life was in danger (despite some in the mob chanting to hang him).
The day after Trump was shot at a rally, Pence — who has not endorsed him this time around — issued a statement on X condemning political violence in general.
The following day, the first of the convention, Pence reposted a tweet from Tim Chapman, the president of the conservative nonprofit he founded, in which Chapman said "Day one at the RNC revealed the challenges ahead for conservatives."
RNC souvenirs include everything from Trump Cereal to high-top sneakers
By Graham Thomas
It’s been a big week for Trump-oriented and MAGA-themed vendors at the RNC in Milwaukee. Just outside the hard security perimeter, Antwon Williams’ 365campaign.com booth has been selling MAGA buttons, apparel and other merchandise. Williams, a Republican from Tulsa, OK, has been a fan of Donald Trump since the beginning and has followed him on the campaign trail for years.
“You’re gonna have all the (vendor) stands, but you’re not gonna have one who takes this as serious as us – 365 Campaign,” he says. “We’re kind of a big deal.
”The best seller this week? A shirt with the message: “I’m voting for a convicted felon.” Another shirt at the booth features the words “convicted felon” forming the number 47. If the former president wins in November, he would become the nation’s 47th president. “They want to put him in orange, so we put him in orange in the proper way,” Williams says.
Billy Pollard of Albany, GA has been selling Trump stickers while sporting a “Women for Trump” hat. Pollard says seeing all his favorite Fox News personalities has been the highlight of the convention so far. “They’re superstars -- like the singers and everybody else,” Pollard says.
WUWM also spotted posters for “Trump Cereal” all over the convention grounds. The boxes show a colorful drawing of a smiling Trump holding a bowl and a spoon. Next to the image is the message: “Greatness in every bowl.”
Yet another vendor, called Trump Sneakers, is selling “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT” high-tops. The sides of the shoes have a photo of Trump after the assassination attempt last weekend — his cheek streaked with blood — defiantly raising his fist (these shoes have to be ordered online).
Harris criticizes Vance's abortion views at a Michigan rally
By Deepa Shivaram
As Sen. J.D. Vance prepares to take the stage in Milwaukee tonight, Vice President Harris rallied with voters in Michigan — at an event reaching out to GOP women on reproductive rights.
The Biden campaign also launched a new ad — its first to name Vance — linking him to limits on abortion rights through the story of a woman who became pregnant at age 12 after being raped by her stepfather.
Harris has made reproductive rights the main issue she campaigns on since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. On Wednesday in Kalamazoo, Harris called out Vance for his stance on abortion rights.
“Understand, this is a fellow who in the United States Senate participated in blocking protection for IVF. This is an individual who has said he is for a national abortion ban.” Harris said.
Vance has said abortion policy should be left to the states although he has also said he is open to " some minimum national standard." Earlier this month, he said he supports the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press.
Harris’ remarks were part of a conversation moderated by Olivia Troye, a former national security official in the Trump administration, and Amanda Stratton, a former Republican voter, who experienced multiple miscarriages and had to take abortion medication.
Special counsel Jack Smith appealed the dismissal of the Trump documents case
By Washington Desk
Special Counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday appealed the dismissal of the federal criminal case against former President Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents.
On Monday, U.S. district judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case, concluding in her 93-page ruling that Smith's appointment violated the U.S. Constitution. She said only Congress or the president have the power to appoint a special counsel — not a U.S. attorney general.
Smith had contested this argument, which also went against the precedent from other courts. Cannon's opinion closely tracked reasoning from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in a recent concurrence in another case against Trump.
Read more here.
What to know about Sixwire, the RNC band supplying the dad rock
By Rachel Treisman
Anyone who's tuned into the RNC so far will likely recognize Sixwire, the five-member house band that's brought an enthusiastic series of classic rock covers to the convention floor — including a surprise extended performance after an abrupt teleprompter malfunction on Night 1.
The group has entertained viewers with renditions of such hits as "Life is a Highway," "All Star," "What I Like About You," "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Reelin' In The Years," among other "dad jams."
And while it's only recorded one album (for Warner Brothers, back in 2002), it's not just a random country cover band. Here's what to know about Sixwire:
- lead singer and guitarist Andy Childs, keyboardist and singer Steve Hornbeak, bass guitarist John Howard, guitarist and singer Steve Mandile and drummer Chuck Tilley.
- which its management agency calls "a fitting name to a band fronted by 3 guitarists."
- including the USA Network’s Nashville Star, Fox's Next Great American Band and CMT's Next Superstar. They also played as the backing band for Connie Britton's character on the ABC Drama Nashville.
- including Super Bowls 51, 54 and 56, the Daytona 500 and the NHL All-Star Game. Their management says they were also ESPN’s "first ever 'house band'" for the 2019 NFL Draft, which took place in Nashville.
- Faith Hill, Dolly Parton and Lee Greenwood, who took to the convention floor on Monday to perform his own hit "God Bless the U.S.A." as Trump made his first RNC appearance.
Sixwire is the main event as far as live music goes, but it's not the only artist bringing tunes to the convention hall.
Country singer Chris Janson, who performed at the 2016 RNC, appeared onstage on the first night to sing some of his songs including " Buy Me a Boat." And, of course, there was the pre-produced music video for the parody rap song " Trump Trump Baby " on Tuesday night.
The RNC also created a Spotify playlist back in April, which it called "a weekly installment of carefully curated music to get you pumped for the GOP Convention."
"Our first #GOPlaylist will bring you back to a time when the border was secure, gas was cheap, and life was good," it said on X, formerly Twitter, at the time.
The playlist no longer appears on Spotify. But as Rolling Stone reported, it heavily featured artists who have publicly criticized Trump over the years, including The Weeknd, Dua Lipa, Drake and Daddy Yankee.
The management and estates of a number of musical artists, from Queen to Bruce Springsteen to Aerosmith to the Village People, have denied Trump the rights to use their songs at his campaign events. (Some, like the Rolling Stones and Tom Petty, have even threatened legal action.)
That didn't stop the RNC from airing a montage of Trump dancing to the Village People's "Y.M.C.A" earlier this week, though.
Who is Kai Trump? The former president’s granddaughter announces she's speaking at the RNC tonight
By Joe Hernandez
Former President Trump’s 17-year-old granddaughter, Kai Trump, announced on social media that she’d be addressing the convention Wednesday evening.
"I am honored to be speaking at the RNC at 9 pm (CDT)," Kai Trump said in a post on Instagram.
She is the eldest daughter of Donald Trump Jr., who has five children with his ex-wife, Vanessa.
An avid golfer, Kai Trump recently posted a photo on Instagram of her standing beside her grandfather after winning a tournament at the Trump International Palm Beach golf course.
She also offered words of support for Trump in a post after the assassination attempt against him on Saturday. Alongside a photo of a bloodied Trump raising his fist in the air moments after the shooting, she wrote: “We love you Grandpa. Never stop fighting!”
California Rep. Adam Schiff is calling on Biden to step aside
By Washington Desk
California Rep. Adam Schiff is calling for President Biden to step aside from his bid for reelection, according to a statement obtained by NPR. The statement was first reported by The Los Angeles Times.
In the statement, Schiff, who is currently running for Senate in California, called on Biden to “pass the torch” and “secure his legacy of leadership” by allowing Democrats to defeat Donald Trump.
The statement comes amid a fresh push from skittish Democrats for Biden to step aside over fears that he is unable to beat Trump and could become a drag on the entire Democratic ticket in November.
Their frustrations have been exacerbated in recent days as the Democratic National Committee is preparing to officially make Biden the party’s nominee in a virtual roll call vote that could happen weeks before the party’s convention that begins on Aug. 19 in Chicago.
Here's who is speaking at the Republican National Convention tonight
By The Washington Desk
As is tradition, vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance will be tonight's headliner. Vance, the junior senator from Ohio, got the nomination on Monday and has been in attendance since. He'll be introduced by his wife Usha Vance.
Here's who else is set to speak, according to those familiar with tonight's events:
- Rep. Brian Mast (FL)
- Rep. Nancy Mace (SC)
- Rep. Ronny Jackson (TX)
- Ric Grenell, former Acting Director of National Intelligence
- Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL)
- Former Amb. Callista Gingrich
- Former Speaker Newt Gingrich
- Peter Navarro, former Director of U.S. Office of Trade & Manufacturing
- Rep. Monica De La Cruz (TX)
- Thomas Homan, former Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
- David Lara, everyday American
- Jim Chilton, everyday American
- Gov. Greg Abbott (TX)
- Sarah Philips, everyday American
- Mayor Trent Conaway
- Gov. Doug Burgum (ND)
- Kellyanne Conway, former Counselor to the President
- Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (FL)
- Retired Staff Sergeant David Bellavia, everyday American
- Scott Neil, everyday American
- Kimberly Guilfoyle
- Rep. Michael Waltz (FL)
- Christy Shamblin, Cherly Juels, and Herman & Alicia Lopez
- Shabbos Kestenbaum, everyday American
- The Neutra Family, everyday American
- Sergeant William Pekrul, everyday American
- Donald J. Trump, Jr.
- Usha Chilukuri Vance
- Vice Presidential Nominee Sen. JD Vance
We'll be live blogging the evening's speeches all night right here, and NPR journalists will bring you live special coverage via both video and radio starting at 9 p.m. E.T. Here's how to tune in.
With his choice of Vance as VP, Trump doubles down on his version of isolation
By Franco Ordoñez
Trump has made it very clear that, if elected, he wants to shake up U.S. foreign policy even more than he did in his first term.
With Vance as his running mate, the two men share a vision on the direction of an evolving Republican party. They have argued that many foreign conflicts have failed to serve U.S. interests.
The choice of the 39-year-old Ohio senator and former Marine already has allies on edge as well as many moderate Republicans who are concerned by how Trump has pulled the Republican Party away from its hawkish roots on foreign policy.
But while Trump and Vance promote an America First approach, that doesn’t translate to blanket isolationism.
‘Hillbilly Elegy’ viewership jumps after Vance named Trump’s vice president pick
By Jonathan Franklin
Two days after President Trump’s announcement of choosing J.D. Vance as his running mate, viewership of the film adaptation of Vance's memoir Hillbilly Elegy has increased by 1,180%, according to Luminate.
The Netflix film, released in 2020, was watched for 19.2 million minutes on Monday, compared to 1.5 million minutes watched the day prior, Luminate reported.
Hillbilly Elegy stars Amy Adams and Glenn Close. Gabriel Basso plays Vance’s character in the film, while Gyula Owen Asztalos plays the younger version of Vance.
Asztalos reacted to the news of the spike in viewership on Instagram.
“Did not think this was going to come back,” Asztalos wrote on his Instagram story as he re-shared a screenshot from an article discussing the surge.
Vance's memoir was widely praised when it was first released in 2016. The memoir is now ranked No. 1 on Amazon's bestseller list after Vance was announced as Trump's running mate at the RNC on Monday.
Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro is expected to address the RNC after leaving prison
By Joe Hernandez
Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro is slated to speak at the RNC Wednesday evening, just hours after leaving prison.
“Today, July 17, Peter Navarro is going to be released from federal prison. The best is yet to come!” read a post on Navarro’s X account Wednesday morning.
Last year, a federal jury found Navarro guilty of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued as part of the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Navarro was sentenced to four months behind bars and reported to prison in March after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal.
Vice President Harris accepts another potential debate date from CBS
By Washington Desk
Vice President Harris has accepted an offer of another potential vice presidential debate date from CBS — Monday, Aug. 12 — a campaign official tells NPR’s Deepa Shivaram. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss dates that are still in flux.
The network had previously offered Tuesday, July 23 or Tuesday, Aug. 13. Harris had accepted those dates too.
The campaign is urging the Trump campaign to agree to one of the dates, now that it has named Sen. J.D. Vance as the running mate for former President Donald Trump.
The RNC is hurting business for some Milwaukee restaurants
By Jimmy Gutierrez
Brent Brashier, the owner of Doc’s Smokehouse, a restaurant in downtown Milwaukee, says he was excited for the RNC. He set up a beer garden and staffed up for the big event, which is taking place just a few blocks away.
But it’s been a big disappointment. The crowd, Brashier says, is a “dud.”
“I’ve read a lot of things where they’ve said there’s gonna be 50,000 people here, but this looks like a weak Admirals [Milwaukee hockey team] game,” Brashier says. “There’s just not a lot of people down here.”
More from WUWM: 'A complete dud': Restaurants and businesses around Fiserv Forum are struggling
As the GOP softens its abortion stance, Eric Trump says it matches his father's position
By Joe Hernandez
One question about a potential second Trump presidency is whether Congress would pass — and Trump would sign — a national abortion ban, following the decision by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Eric Trump was asked this week in an interview with NBC whether several changes to the Republican platform — including the GOP dropping its call for a federal abortion ban — indicated that his father was moving to the center on certain social issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage.
“I think he’s always been there on those issues, to tell you the truth. I think that’s reflective of who my father is and what he believes in,” Eric Trump said. “This country has real holes in the roof, and you’ve got to fix those holes, and you’ve got to stop worrying about the little spot on the wall in the basement.”
In a statement, Brent Leatherwood, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, criticized the recent changes to the GOP’s platform.
“Christians must be clear-eyed about the challenges we are facing in our wider culture,” Leatherwood said. “Just this week the RNC’s national platform was changed to be ‘more inclusive’ of LGBTQ beliefs, backing away from long-held positions related to biblical views on marriage and the family, as well as the removal of its decades old inclusion of support for federal pro-life legislation.”
In response to Eric Trump’s comments, Abby Johnson, CEO and founder of And Then There Were None and ProLove Ministries, said: "You need a solid foundation to fix the entire building. A wishy-washy foundation often leads to the collapse of the entire structure and it's my view that the GOP needs to stand firm against abortion, protect life at all stages of development, and reject compromise."
Trump supported a 20-week federal abortion ban as president, but said on the campaign trail earlier this year that he wouldn’t sign a federal abortion ban if elected to a second term.
How to watch the Republican National Convention live, tonight
By Emily Alfin Johnson
NPR's live special coverage from the RNC will be simulcast on the radio and on video tonight.
Coverage kicks off on the radio and on camera with NPR's Sue Davis, Ron Elving, Mara Liasson, Danielle Kurtzleben, Liz Baker and Domenico Montanaro.
You can catch it on the NPR App, on the live blog, on your local member station and on YouTube.
** We're trying something a little new for us: You'll be able to see the faces that belong to your favorite NPR voices!
Are RNC delegates exploring Milwaukee outside of the convention site?
By Maayan Silver
Kathy Doyle is an RNC delegate from Pennsylvania. She says she flew over Lake Michigan but will probably not visit the lakefront because sightseeing around Milwaukee “hasn’t been encouraged.”
She says delegates have packed schedules and have been advised not to draw attention to themselves. “I think just for our own protection, because of a lot of the political rhetoric that's out there that triggers some people, and they perceive people as real threats. So they may cause harm to them. [In the security zone] we feel safe. While we're here, you can see there's police officers on every corner and also in our hotels, just for our protection.... It’s not the city, it's not the state, it's just the event. It's considered high risk."
Tara Peters, an RNC delegate from Missouri, has been to the Harley-Davidson Museum and has explored by foot. "You have a beautiful town," she says. "You have all been extremely over-the-top kind. People are being very gracious.... So, I don't know if you guys are getting paid or you got a really big pep talk before we got here, but you are rocking it."
She says she hasn't yet tasted Wisconsin cheese, but "I promise you I will have cheese before I leave Wisconsin."
Why Democrats may vote on Biden’s nomination before the DNC
By Deirdre Walsh
Tamara Keith
The co-chairs of the Democratic National Convention's rules committee said in a letter Wednesday that they plan to move ahead with an early virtual vote sometime in early August.
Leah Daughtry and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota said it was the "wisest approach" to make sure the Democratic candidates are on the ballot in every state.
The DNC is not trying to "fast-track" the vote, but rather ensure that the Democratic candidates are on the ballot in Ohio and other states, Leah Daughtry and Gov. Tim Walz of the convention's rules committee explained in their Wednesday letter.
"Unless Democratic nominees for President and Vice President are selected and certified to Ohio by August 7, we are likely to face litigation about the efficacy of our filings," they said. And they said there are a string of other early deadlines for ballot access paperwork that follow, such as Washington state on Aug. 20.
Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the first lawmaker to publicly call for Biden to step aside, argued in a written statement on Wednesday that the nomination should be formalized at the convention.
"Those so eager to overly protect President Biden ignore his own words inviting anyone questioning his nomination to do so at the convention. Short-circuiting the normal convention process jeopardizes the White House, Senate and House," Doggett said.
Read more: Why Democrats may vote on Biden’s nomination before the convention
Having slammed him in the past, Trump’s critics line up to offer their support
By Joe Hernandez
Earlier this year, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Trump’s main rival in the Republican primary, compared him to a “bully” and said he foments “hate, division and chaos.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lobbed restrained criticism at Trump during DeSantis’s own failed bid for the GOP presidential nomination.
But on Tuesday, both of them endorsed Trump for a second term.
Haley told prospective voters that they “don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him," while DeSantis urged supporters to “make the 45th president of the United States the 47th president of the United States.”
According to NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson, Trump’s control over the Republican Party has forced many Republicans who once criticized the former president to come around to backing him.
“They decided they weren’t going to be like Mike Pence, Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney,” she said, listing some of the Republicans who’ve offered more full-throated indictments of Trump.
“They were not gonna go that route,” Liasson added. “They wanted to stay relevant in the Trump Republican Party.”
Even the Republican nominee for vice president previously offered blistering criticism of Trump. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, who once called Trump “noxious” and said he “can't stomach” him, is now Trump’s running mate.
Listen for more analysis on the NPR Politics Podcast.
Texas woman denied an emergency abortion speaks at today's DNC counter-programming
By Sarah McCammon
Amanda Zurawski, a Texas woman who was denied an emergency abortion and was among a group of patients who sued Texas over its abortion ban, is appearing alongside Democratic leaders at a press conference hosted by the DNC in Milwaukee this morning, calling out Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance for his opposition to abortion rights.
Zurawski says, "If Donald Trump and JD Vance are elected they will make my devastating story, the stories I’ve heard across the country, the reality for far too many more American women."
Iran rejects U.S. accusations it poses a threat to Trump
By Peter Kenyon
Iran’s Foreign Ministry is dismissing accusations that Iran presents a threat to former President Donald Trump.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nassar Kanaani called such assertions a product of “malicious political motives and objectives.”
The denial followed a statement by the White House's National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson that the NSC had warned the Secret Service of an increased threat to Trump from Iran.
Separately, the Iranian spokesperson said Iran does intend to legally pursue Trump over his “direct role” in the assassination of Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani was the longtime commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who was killed in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad in 2020 at the direction of then-President Trump.
For the first time ever, the Teamsters addressed the RNC
By NPR's Instagram Team
A post shared by NPR (@npr)
The last speaker Monday night was Sean O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters — one of the largest labor unions in the country, with over 1.3 million members nationwide. More on his remarks here.
RNC represents the culmination of a decades-old movement in the Republican Party
By Ben Bradford, WFAE
They feared changing values around sex, civil rights, women’s rights and gay rights.
They believed the establishment was too moderate, too accommodating.
They dismissed the machinery of government and the media as controlled by a liberal elite.
They were known as the New Right, and 50 years ago they won a victory in the Republican Party.
As the Republican Party pushes to dramatically reshape government and roll back cultural mores, it may feel like a sudden and extreme pivot in American politics.
But this surge stems from seeds planted a half-century ago.
WFAE's Ben Bradford explains.
Who is Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of Trump's running mate?
By Joe Hernandez
When the announcement came at the RNC this week that Trump’s running mate would be Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, the newly minted candidate was standing on the convention floor alongside his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance.
She met her now-husband at Yale Law School, where they were both students and took classes together before starting to date. They married in 2014 and have three children.
In a campaign ad for Vance’s senatorial campaign in 2022, she called J.D. “an incredible father” and “my best friend.”
Usha Vance, 38, was raised by Indian immigrant parents in San Diego, according to the Associated Press. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Yale University and her master’s of philosophy from the University of Cambridge through the Gates Cambridge Scholarship.
After graduating from law school, she clerked for Judge Brett Kavanaugh from 2014 to 2015, when he was on the U.S. Court of Appeals, and for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts from 2017 to 2018.
She became an attorney at the national law firm Munger Tolles & Olson but has reportedly left the firm following Trump's selection of her husband as his running mate.
Usha Vance was a registered Democrat until at least 2014, The New York Times reported.
In an interview with Fox News last month, she said of the possibility of her husband becoming Trump's pick for vice president that she wasn’t “raring to change anything about our lives right now, but I believe in J.D. and I really love him, and so we’ll just sort of see what happens with our life. We’re open.”
Milwaukee mayor gives update on fatal shooting, says Trump called to thank him for security
By Susan Bence
Emily Files
At a Wednesday morning press conference, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he anticipates a thorough investigation of the officer-involved fatal shooting of a 43-year-old Milwaukee man three-quarters of a mile from the RNC security perimeter.
Columbus, Ohio, police officers who are in town to help with RNC security shot the man, who police say had a knife in each hand and refused police commands.
Johnson said, "The likelihood is that any officer who saw a citizen about to be attacked... would have taken the same action."
Johnson said former President Donald Trump called him to “share his gratitude for the security and for law enforcement preparations.”
J.D. Vance: What you need to know
By Emily Alfin Johnson
While we're still waiting on the schedule for Night 3, traditionally Wednesday night's headliner is the vice presidential nominee of the party.
On Monday, J.D. Vance, junior senator from Ohio, got the nomination. (Fun Fact: Vance's first RNC he's ever attended.)
Vance, who was a bestselling author before he got into politics, would be one of the youngest vice presidents. He's currently 39 and will be 40 by the time the election rolls around.
Here's what else to know about him:
- He and his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, have three kids. More on Usha Chilukuri Vance here.
- He's been in the U.S. Senate since 2023 representing his home state of Ohio.
- He hasn't always been a fan of the former president, but he's since condemned his own criticism of Trump.
Where he stands on the issues:
- Vance's position on abortion
- Vance on aid to Ukraine
- Vance on immigration
- Vance's statements on election integrity
Women headline a night at the RNC that framed Trump as compassionate, not combative
By Elena Moore
Ashley Lopez
The speech Lara Trump originally wrote was not the speech she delivered Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Instead, she recalled the moment she realized what had happened to former President Donald Trump at his rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
"Our family has faced our fair share of death threats... none of that prepares you as a daughter-in-law to watch in real time someone try to kill a person you love," she said.
"None of that prepares you as a mother to quickly reach for the remote and turn your young children away from the screen so that they're not witness to something that scars the memory of their grandpa for the rest of their lives."
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders shared her own moments with Trump earlier in the evening, recalling her time as White House press secretary. She served as another humanizing voice for Trump, painting the picture of a compassionate and supportive boss.
Perhaps the most notable presence was from Trump’s top rival in the Republican primary, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley — who was added to the speakers list on Sunday. More on that here.
RNC Night 2: Focus on safety; Appearances from DeSantis, Haley, Rubio & Cruz
By Ashley Lopez
Prefer to listen to a quick update? Here's this morning's episode of the NPR Politics Podcast. (Length: 16 minutes)
Before Day 3 gets underway, here's a quick recap of Day 2, which devoted devoted five hours to how Trump and the Republicans plan to "Make America Safe Once Again."
Many of Tuesday night's speeches were focused on issues like criminal justice, border security and the country’s opioid crisis.
But underlying that message was an attempt to humanize the president, primarily by women in Trump’s close personal and political orbit, (more on that here.)
In addition:
- Various ordinary Americans were invited to take the stage to talk about their experience with crime in recent years — including those allegedly committed by people who entered the country illegally.
- Tuesday’s lineup also included a slew of Trump’s former political rivals, including businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley who vied for the GOP nomination this year against Trump.
- There were also many of Trump’s rivals from the 2016 GOP presidential primary — including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Everyone, including Haley, gave Trump a resounding endorsement.
Subscribe to the NPR Politics Podcast to get the team's daily roundup fresh each morning.
Good morning ☕️
By L. Carol Ritchie
Emily Alfin Johnson
And happy Wednesday! It's the third day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
If you're looking for a quick recap of yesterday's events while you go about your morning routine, today's episode of Up First has you covered.
Republican Crime and Safety Platform, Democrats' Plans To Keep Biden Off Ballot (Length: 12 minutes)
More of a morning email person? There's a newsletter version too.
RNC Night 2 done: Come back tomorrow for more coverage
By NPR staff
That's a wrap.
If we have any updates overnight from Milwaukee, or from the ongoing investigation into Saturday's shooting, we'll share them here.
We'll be updating the NPR Politics Podcast with the latest from Milwaukee, so make you're subscribed to get the latest episode.
Otherwise,Live updates will start again around 8 a.m. ET/7 a.m. CT and continue through the evening. The theme for tomorrow's convention is "Make America Strong Once Again."
Subscribe to the Up First podcast and newsletter to get the morning's top news.
Lara Trump shares a family perspective on the assassination attempt
By Elena Moore
Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump, ended the second night of the Republican National Convention by repeating calls for voters to coalesce behind Trump.
Trump's daughter-in-law, who is also a co-chair of the RNC, has taken on an increasingly sizable role in Republican politics.
Similar to remarks from Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Lara Trump intertwined both praise for the former president's record and personal anecdotes of who he is as a member of the Trump family. She also spoke at great length about how she and her family reacted to the news of the assassination attempt on Trump.
"Our family has faced our fair share of death threats... none of that prepares you as a daughter-in-law to watch in real time someone try to kill a person you love," she said. "None of that prepares you as a mother to quickly reach for the remote and turn your young children away from the screen so that they're not witness to something that scars the memory of their grandpa for the rest of their lives."
Towards the end of her remarks, Lara Trump also highlighted Trump's decision to hold his fist up and mouth the word "fight" after being shot.
The remarks caused the audience to chant "fight" repeatedly. The chant by supporters has been heard throughout the convention.
Though the VIP booth was flanked by several of Trump's children, missing was former first lady Melania Trump. Typically, the nominee's spouse speaks on the second night of the program.
However, last week it was reported that Melania Trump is expected to attend at some point during the convention.
Sen. Marco Rubio: “Trump has changed the party and inspired a movement”
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was among many of Trump’s former political rivals-turned-allies who spoke at the RNC on Tuesday.
Like many others, Rubio talked about the attempted assassination against Trump this past weekend.
“We were brought to the precipice of the abyss and, by the hand of God, reminded of what truly matters in our lives and in our country,” he said.
The relationship between the two Floridians has gone through ups and downs over the years.
As fellow candidates vying for the Republican nomination during the 2016 presidential election, they traded several personal insults. During one debate, Rubio made comments about the size of Trump’s hands. Trump often made comments about Rubio’s height, nicknaming him “Little Marco.”
Rubio’s presidential bid had been a favorite among the Republican establishment. His campaign focused on spending and tax cuts, immigration and repealing the Affordable Care Act.
Like other establishment favorites, though, Rubio was defeated by Trump. Since then, the ice between the two men has thawed and Rubio has become a vocal ally of Trump’s.
“By giving voice to everyday Americans, President Trump has not just transformed our party, he has inspired a movement,” he said Tuesday.
Rubio also spoke of Corey Comperatore, who was shot and killed during the assassination attempt this past weekend. He called him a “hero” and said he represented many Americans who support the former president.
“These are the Americans who wear the red hats and wait for hours under a blazing sun to hear Trump speak,” he said. “And what they want, what they ask for is not hateful or extreme. What they want is good jobs and lower prices. They want borders that are secure.”
Trump to Sanders: 'You're tough and they attack you because you're good at your job'
By Jeongyoon Han
Trump, Sanders told the crowd, stood by her side when she said she was attacked by news outlets and members in her community while working in his administration.
"Our president pulled me aside, looked me in the eye and said, 'Sarah. You're smart. You're beautiful. You're tough and they attack you because you're good at your job,'" she recalled.
And she continued, “With God as our guide and President Trump back in the White House, we will show the world that America is the place where freedom reigns and liberty will never die,” Sanders said, which the crowd followed with a collective chant, “U-S-A.”
In closing her speech, Sanders encouraged the audience to stay energized to preserve the country for future generations. “We will — with President Trump back in the White House,” Sanders said.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders shows the human side of Trump
By Megan Pratz
When she served as White House Press Secretary, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas brought her three young children to work on Take Your Kids to Work Day. She shared a charming story about her son, Huck, running toward then-President Trump across the Rose Garden as he came to greet the children in attendance.
"Being the gracious person he is, President Trump bent down to give him a big hug," Sanders remembered during her speech at the RNC Tuesday night.
"And right in front of everyone, Huck sidestepped the president, completely ignoring him in front of everyone and ran straight into my arms," she continued to laughter throughout the audience.
Sanders served as a humanizing voice for Trump on a night that is traditionally reserved for the presidential nominee's spouse. Melania Trump, the former first lady, is not scheduled to speak.
Sanders shared anecdotes from her time in the White House that painted the picture of a compassionate boss.
Speaking about the widespread criticism she faced as Trump's press secretary, she listed incidents like being kicked out of a restaurant and having her car spit on.
"In those moments, it was President Trump who defended me," Sanders said.
"'Never let them stop [you from] fighting."'
‘This fight is for your children’: Mom of teenager poisoned with fentanyl speaks for Trump
By Sergio Martínez-Beltrán
The mother of a California teenager who died of fentanyl poisoning in 2022 said it was President Biden’s handling of the southern U.S. border that contributed to her losing Weston.
Anne Fundner said her family did “everything right,” but that fentanyl still found her son.
“I hold Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom and every Democrat who supports open borders responsible for the death of my son,” Fundner said. “For that alone, they should be voted out of office.”
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, nearly 150 people die every day of poisoning by synthetic drugs like fentanyl.
A recent report by a U.S. House committee found that China is providing monetary support to companies manufacturing and exporting fentanyl.
In 2023, California reported seizing over 62,000 pounds of fentanyl, “a 1066% increase since 2021.”
Fundner said Trump needs to be reelected so he can close the border and block fentanyl from coming into the U.S.
“This fight is not for me, my son is gone,” Fundner said. “This fight is for your children.”
Family of Maryland hiker killed by noncitizen blames Biden
By Sergio Martínez-Beltrán
The family of Rachel Morin, a woman killed last year on a hiking trail in Maryland by a noncitizen, called on Republicans to unite in re-electing Trump.
Michael Morin, Rachel’s brother, blamed the Biden administration for his sister’s death.
“Open borders are often portrayed as compassionate and virtuous,” Michael Morin said during his speech Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention. “But there is nothing compassionate about allowing violent criminals into our country and robbing children of their mother.”
A native from El Salvador, who has been in the country without authorization, has been charged with Rachel Morin’s death.
Republicans have used Morin’s and other recent cases to drive their point that migrants coming into the U.S. without authorization are dangerous.
But data doesn’t support this.
According to a 2024 study by Northwestern University, migrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the U.S.
The National Bureau of Economic Research found that immigrant men are incarcerated at a lower rate than U.S.-born men.
Mother gets raucous applause for impassioned speech about her murdered son
By Ashley Lopez
Madeline Brame, whose son was stabbed to death in 2018 in New York City, criticized Democratic district attorneys during a fiery speech Tuesday night.
Brame said the men who killed her son “were facing justice” until the election of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in 2021.
She accused Bragg of dismissing and reducing serious charges against violent criminals — such as the people who killed her son, who was a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.
Brame said she felt betrayed by Democrats who have backed “soft on crime prosecutors.”
“They betrayed us,” she said. “They stabbed us in the back.”
She also criticized the Biden administration for what she said amounted to “turning their backs on poor minority communities.”
“My eyes have been opened,” she said. “Just like so many others.”
Brame was one of several people invited to speak at the RNC about their experience with violent crime and drug abuse, as part of tonight’s emphasis on making the country safer.
Gaetz and McCarthy both address their heated floor moment
By Luke Garrett
Elena Moore
Two days into the Republican National Convention, the Trump campaign continued to tout unity within the Republican Party.
Yet on the floor of the RNC, ahead of a packed evening of speeches, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz had a tense exchange.
While McCarthy took part in an interview with CNN, Gaetz walked up to the former speaker and yelled comments at him.
"I was asking him what his speaking slot was," Rep. Gaetz told NPR soon after the confrontation. "Since he was trying to slander me in some interview to CNN, I thought maybe he should share those views on the stage. Because if he did, he’d get booed off the stage in a crowd like this."
Gaetz, a longtime critic of McCarthy, notably led the movement to oust him as speaker last year.
When asked about party unity, Gaetz doubled down on his criticism of McCarthy.
"I think we are doing great work to unify the party," Rep. Gaetz said. "I think Kevin is mostly here because he has FOMO."
Later on the floor, McCarthy brushed off the interaction when asked about it, adding he didn't know it was Gaetz while it happened.
"I just assumed someone was asking for a selfie or something," McCarthy said. "Afterwards, I saw it, it's totally in his head — the poor guy — he's losing his mind," he added.
McCarthy resigned from Congress at the end of the year, shortly after losing his speakership.
The former speaker was also asked about party unity, and highlighted Tuesday's speaker list.
"The Republican Party is more united than ever before," he said. "Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are here saying, 'Join together.'"
The Mayor of MAGAville has a moment: 'Ice Ice Baby' parody song gets a spotlight
By Clayton Kincade
The music video for the rap song "Trump Trump Baby," a parody of Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" written by Forgiato Blow, featured during an interlude between speeches on Tuesday night.
The music video features a Tesla Cybertruck with a Trump-branded wrap, as well as a luxury convertible in the same coating. It also features Trump supporter and RNC speaker Amber Rose, as she and Blow dance in and around the vehicles during the video.
The song features lyrics like "lock Joe Biden up and throw the key away," as well as "I demand reparations from every idiot who voted for Joe Biden, boy period." The song also takes a particular hit at the news media, saying "the media is the enemy of the people, the Democrats and the fake news always cheating."
In general, the anthem is a direct attack to Biden's and Democrats' social policies.
"We voting Trump Trump baby," the chorus says.
Harris and Vance spoke today
By Sarah McCammon
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance over the phone today and said she looks forward to debating, according a source familiar with the phone call.
It was reported Monday that Harris left Vance a congratulatory voicemail following Trump’s announcement that Vance would join the ticket. She also reportedly called in the hopes of encouraging Vance to participate in a debate to be held by CBS News in August in Washington, D.C.
A debate between the two has not been confirmed, yet, however.
NPR's Ashley Lopez contributed to this report.
Reality star Chrisley says parents, in federal prison for fraud, were victims of political persecution
By Anna Yukhananov
Former reality TV star Savannah Chrisley used her real estate tycoon parents' incarceration to question the fairness of the federal judicial system.
"You may have seen my family on TV; but for the past decade, we've been consumed with a different kind of drama," she said during a segment at the Republican National Convention on a night dedicated to safety, including criminal justice.
Her comments mirror those of Trump, who accused prosecutors of bringing indictments against him due to a political agenda and vowed to reshape the Department of Justice if he is elected again. Among many cases against him, he faces criminal charges in Fulton County, Ga., over election interference.
"My family was persecuted by rogue prosecutors in Fulton County due to our public profile — I know, Fulton County, they know how to do it, don't they — due to our public profile and conservative beliefs," Chrisley continued.
Chrisley is best known for Chrisley Knows Best, a USA Network show about her wealthy southern family that aired until 2023 and focused primarily on her parents, real-estate tycoon Todd Chrisley and his wife Julie.
She said her parents were defrauded by a dishonest business partner who then cooperated with federal authorities.
A jury found the couple guilty of conspiring to defraud community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans by submitting fake documents, among other counts, according to the AP. Todd and Julie were ordered to pay millions in restitution, and were sentenced to 12 and seven years, respectively. They reported to prison in January 2023.
"I'll never forget what the prosecutors said in the most heavily Democrat county in the state, before an Obama-appointed judge," she said on Tuesday. "He called us the Trumps of the South."
"He meant it as an insult. But let me tell you, boy do I wear it as a badge of honor," she added, to cheers from the convention's audience.
She said federal prosecutors have targeted Trump for his politics, while treating President Biden's son Hunter more leniently. She also criticized the four-month prison sentence for Steve Bannon, a former Trump White House aide, for refusing to comply with a congressional investigation.
Trump himself was found guilty by a jury of falsifying records to cover up a hush money payment.
"Donald J. Trump has only one conviction that matters," Chrisley said. "And that is his conviction to make America great again."
Republicans continue using term ‘invasion’ when talking immigration
By Sergio Martínez-Beltrán
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said on Tuesday night the country was facing an “invasion” at the southern U.S. border.
“Every day, Americans are dying, murdered, assaulted, raped by illegal immigrants that the Democrats have released,” Cruz said, without providing data evidence.
Cruz did mention the names of some of the victims of crimes committed by unauthorized migrants, like Laken Riley.
She was killed in February last year while jogging in Georgia. The suspect is Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan immigrant who entered the U.S. without authorization in 2022.
Cruz said that was an example of the “11.5 million people” who have “crossed our border illegally under Joe Biden.”
But Cruz’s characterization of the activity at the southern border is not true. According to the Office of Homeland Security Statistics, about 2.4 million migrants have been allowed to stay in the country since January 2021. During that same period, there were over 6.3 million migrant encounters, a record number, the Migration Policy Institute reported.
Immigrant-rights groups have pushed back on Republicans using the term “invasion” when referring to immigrants.
That same word was used by a gunman who entered a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in 2019 and killed 23 people.
Before the shooting, he posted online, “This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”
Out-of-state officers fatally shot a man blocks from RNC, angering Milwaukee residents
By Associated Press
Five Ohio police officers in Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention shot at a man who was wielding two knives near the convention, killing him, said Milwaukee's police chief.
Milwaukee Chief Jeffrey Norman said Tuesday at a news conference that the man who police shot had a knife in each hand and refused police commands.
Thousands of officers from multiple jurisdictions are in Milwaukee providing additional security for the convention.
The shooting fueled anger from residents who questioned why out-of-state officers were in their neighborhood located about a mile from the convention site.
A vigil is being held for the man tonight in Milwaukee.
More coverage: Out-of-state officers shot and killed a man wielding two knives blocks away from the RNC
Nikki Haley fully endorses Trump at RNC
By Ashley Lopez
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said former President Donald Trump has her “strong endorsement” while addressing delegates at the RNC Tuesday.
Haley, who was a late addition to the RNC speaking list, was the last candidate to get out of the GOP nomination fight this year, which caused considerable tension between her and the former president.
While taking the stage in Milwaukee, Haley was greeted by a mix of cheers and boos.
She addressed those convention-goers by telling them, “Donald Trump asked me to speak at this convention in the name of unity.”
“It was a gracious invitation and I was happy to accept,” Haley said.
Haley has been slowly increasing her support for Trump since leaving the race earlier this year.
Earlier this month, she released the 97 delegates she won in the race and encouraged them to vote for Trump. Haley’s decision to speak at the convention is a show of her full-throated support of Trump, which she said at the outset of her speech.
“I will start by making one thing clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement. Period,” she said.
During her speech, she also addressed voters who still have issues with Trump.
“You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him,” Haley said. “Take it from me.”
Trump fans are sporting fake ear patches in support
By James Doubek
Attendees at the RNC have been seen sporting fake ear patches in support of the former president.
On Monday, Trump made his first public appearance since the attempted assassination, wearing a bandage over his right ear. He said a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear on Saturday.
Joe Neglia of Tempe, Ariz., told NPR's Sarah McCammon that he was wearing a "bandage" (actually appearing to be a piece of paper) in solidarity with Trump.
Marketers have been quick to seize on any new opportunity to sell Trump products, with booths of T-shirts, hats and buttons being a staple of his rallies. Now, pro-Trump radio hosts advertised their "official MAGA ear patch" for sale on their website. (NPR could not find it for sale on their site.)
Who wants an official MAGA ear patch? Available now on our website https://t.co/es7byCclKC pic.twitter.com/6ImKUtNPE3
Others have also moved to quickly merchandise the assassination attempt. A Trump-branded company that pays license fees to the former president is selling sneakers with an image of Trump's bloodied face for $299.
In 2020, merchandise played a significant role in the Trump campaign's fundraising, as NPR reported at the time.
Vivek Ramaswamy: We will return you to your country of origin
By Sergio Martínez-Beltrán
Vivek Ramaswamy, a former GOP presidential candidate and son of immigrants from India, said Tuesday night that a second Trump presidency would see unauthorized migrants returned to their countries of origin.
That's “not because you are bad people but because you broke the law," he said, adding that the U.S. “was founded on the rule of law.”
Ramswamy’s comments echo part of the new 2024 GOP platform which says “the Republican Party is committed to sending Illegal Aliens back home and removing those who have violated our Laws.”
Trump has also vowed mass deportations, and has said he’d use the military to accomplish this. it’s unclear what that would look like, and immigration observers say that could be unconstitutional.
Former opponents of Trump slated to speak tonight
By Jeongyoon Han
They once ran against him in the Republican presidential primary. Now, they’re speaking tonight — all expressing support for their ex-opponent, former President Donald Trump.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley are speaking tonight on the second day of the RNC, which typically celebrates the younger and rising stars of the party.
Trump’s rivals from 2016 — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Sen. Ted Cruz are also slated to speak. In many ways, they all represent different flavors and different camps within the growing Republican tent. And they’re expected to deliver speeches that call for unity behind Trump as Republicans — and as a way to secure their spot in the party for years to come.
Ramaswamy gave the first speech among his counterparts to a roaring crowd.
“If you want to seal the border, vote Trump. If you want to restore order and law in this country, vote Trump. If you want to reignite the economy in this country, vote Trump. If you want to revive national pride in this country, vote Trump. If you want to make America great again, vote Trump,” he said.
“Donald Trump is the president who will actually unite this country — not through empty words, but through action. Because you know what? Success is unifying. Excellence is unifying. That’s who we are as Americans.”
But some of the candidates weren’t always Trump's strongest supporters.
"I wouldn't call myself a disciple of Donald Trump," Ramaswamy told NPR last year. "I would embrace the label of 'America First' to point out that 'America first' is bigger than Donald Trump. It does not belong to Donald Trump."
"Donald Trump is running for his issues, Nikki Haley is running for her donors' issues, I'm running for your issues, your family's issues, and solely to turn this country around," DeSantis said in a video posted shortly before the Iowa caucuses began on Jan. 15.
But Ramaswamy immediately endorsed Trump in January after he dropped out after a weak showing in the Iowa caucuses, as did DeSantis. Haley, who was Trump’s strongest opponent in the primary, dropped out of the race early March when it became clear Trump would earn enough delegates to win the nomination.
Vivek Ramaswamy sends message to Black Americans, immigrants and young voters
By Ashley Lopez
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy spoke directly to some key voting blocs Republicans are hoping to make inroads with in this year’s election.
Ramaswamy, who dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination after a disappointing showing in the Iowa Caucus earlier this year, has been a staunch ally of former President Trump.
As a 38-year-old, he has also postured himself as a younger version of Trump who could carry on the MAGA agenda.
During his speech at the RNC, he said Trump is the only president “who will actually unite the country” and appeal to voting blocs who are more likely to vote for Democrats.
“Our message to Black Americans is this: the media has tried to convince you for decades that Republicans don’t care about your communities — but we do,” he said. “We want for you what we want for every American: safe neighborhoods, clean streets, good jobs, a better life for your children and a justice system that treats everyone equally regardless of your skin color and regardless of your political beliefs.”
Ramaswamy also tried to appeal to people who immigrated to the U.S. legally, which he said is what his parents did. He also said that if Trump is elected, Republicans are going to return "illegal immigrants" to their country of origin.
“Because you broke the law,” he said to raucous applause.
Ramaswamy also spoke to younger voters. As a fellow millennial, he told millennial voters that the U.S. government may have “sold us a bill a goods,” but the U.S. is still the “last best hope” and deserves a “better class of politicians.”
“We can't just be cynical about our country,” Ramaswamy said.
When addressing Gen Z voters, he said they are “going to be the generation that saves actually saves this country.” Ramaswamy encouraged young people to embrace conservative ideals.
“You wanna be a rebel … show up on your college campus and try calling yourself a conservative,” he said.
Vance enters the arena
By Elena Moore
The bluegrass song "America First" played as Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican Vice Presidential nominee, made his way through the arena and greeted supporters.
Vance took his spot in the VIP area, near a handful of members of Congress closely aligned with former President Trump, including New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.
Trump has arrived at the RNC
By Jeongyoon Han
Former President Donald Trump has walked onto the convention floor. The crowd's applause thundered and all eyes were on him as he walked into the arena.
Holding up his fist and clapping at the crowd, Trump took a moment to acknowledge those in the convention hall. His surprise appearance comes right after Sen. JD Vance, his running mate, arrived.
Trump then entered the VIP section, with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, and Vance by his side.
Indiana Senate candidate: 'If you came here illegally... you're going back where you came from'
By Brandon Smith, IPB News
Indiana U.S. Senate candidate Jim Banks used his prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention Tuesday to praise former President Donald Trump.
Banks spoke during an hour dedicated to Senate candidates and called Trump the greatest and strongest president of his lifetime.
“We need President Trump back in the White House if we’re going to make America great once again,” Banks said.
Banks touched on his own background — “born in a trailer park, the son of a factory worker and a nursing home cook.”
He also briefly mentioned policy, focusing on immigration and mass deportation.
“If you came here illegally under Joe Biden, you’re going back to where you came from under Donald Trump,” Banks said.
Read the full report from WBOI in Indiana.
'Badger' Priebus talks up cheese, beer, and ballot success at Milwaukee convention
By Chuck Quirmbach
Reince Priebus, who served as Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff for less than a year, added Tuesday night’s home state flavoring to the Republican National Convention.
Priebus lost a State Senate race in Wisconsin in 2004, but went on to chair the Wisconsin Republican Party and Republican National Committee before working for Trump.
He chairs the host committee for the Milwaukee convention, raising tens of millions of dollars for the event.
Priebus, 52, was raised in Wisconsin, and greeted delegates by calling himself a “long-time Badger,” referring to Wisconsin’s state animal and nickname.
He told delegates about the beaches of Lake Michigan, a locally popular snack known as cheese curds, and said he knew delegates “would have a few beers” while they’re in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee was once the home of several major breweries. Miller Beer is still brewed in the city, as well as several smaller brands.
Priebus predicted Trump would win Wisconsin in November, after losing to Democrat Joe Biden by about 20,000 votes in 2020.
Lake makes her U.S. Senate pitch to RNC as Arizona's 'mama bear'
By Ben Giles
In Arizona, Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Kari Lake is widely expected to win the state’s GOP primary at the end of July.
On Tuesday night, she was one of several swing-state Senate candidates who spoke during an hour-long block of the Republican National Convention.
Lake’s speech never strayed from her usual talking points: attacking the “fake news” media, pillorying her political rival — Rep. Ruben Gallego, the presumptive Democratic nominee for the Senate seat — as a carbon copy of President Joe Biden, while also describing herself as a “mama bear” who will fight for Arizona’s children and families in Washington, D.C.
“Actually, I can think of one thing more dangerous than a grizzly bear,” Lake said, “and it’s a middle-aged fed up mother in D.C.”
“And I haven’t even started my hot flashes yet, guys, just wait.”
Lake, who still denies her 2022 gubernatorial loss to Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, also touched on the overarching themes of the evening, crime and public safety, by highlighting drugs being smuggled across Arizona’s southern border.
“The Grand Canyon State has become the fentanyl state, and it’s not ok with this mom,” Lake said. “I’m not OK with that.”
Lake ended her speech with a message of unity, claiming that the media is attempting to divide Americans.
“The fake news wants us to believe we’re 50/50 at each other’s throats,” Lake said. “They’re creating division and anger. Americans are actually much more united than people believe.”
Babydog takes a paw-litical stance
By Clayton Kincade
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice brought Babydog, his English bulldog, to the RNC stage, where she promptly stole the spotlight.
"She makes us smile, and she loves everybody," Justice said during his speech. "How could a message possibly be any more simpler than just that?"
Justice then used Babydog to predict the future of the nation.
"Babydog says we'll retain the majority in the House, we're going to flip the United States Senate and overwhelmingly we're going to elect Donald J. Trump and J.D. Vance in November," Justice said.
Babydog has her own X account, where supporters can buy Babydog-themed merch and follow along with her "paw-litical" adventures. Justice has used Babydog's image and likeness before in a COVID-19 vaccine drive called "Do It For Babydog."
Nevada's Sam Brown warns Biden has brought America 'humiliation, defeat, and to the brink of more war'
By Ben Giles
July 16, 2024 at 8:09 PM EDT
Nevada Republican Sam Brown highlighted, like former President Donald Trump, his own brush with death in a U.S. Senate campaign speech at the Republican National Convention.
The retired Army captain faces incumbent Nevada Sen. Jackie Rosen in a closely watched race that could determine control of the Senate in 2025.
Brown said his own race, as well as the presidential vote in November, could also determine America’s place in the world standing.
“Look at my face,” said Brown, who was badly burned when a bomb exploded under his armed vehicle while serving in Afghanistan in 2008.
“This is the high cost of war. If Joe Biden stays in office, more service members will pay this price,” Brown added. “He has brought our national humiliation, defeat, and to the brink of more war.”
“I’ve been through the fire. President Trump has been through the fire. But hope is not extinguished, it is reignited. And we are more united than ever to save America’s future.”
Senate candidate who attended Butler rally praises Trump’s ‘strength and resolve’
By Ashley Lopez
Dave McCormick, a U.S. Senate candidate from Pennsylvania, says he had a “front row seat” to the assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump this past weekend in Butler, Pa.
McCormick, a businessman who served as CEO of one of the world’s largest hedge funds, said this past Saturday was a “sad and frightening day,” particularly by the families affected by the shooting.
“I witnessed, firsthand from a front row seat in Butler, President Trump’s remarkable strength and resolve in a terrifying and unpredictable moment,” he said. “The president rose brilliantly to the moment.”
He said, “We all thank God that President Trump is okay.”
McCormick is currently in one of the most expensive Senate races in the country challenging Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. He called this year’s election cycle a choice between “strength and weakness.”
Some Democratic lawmakers want the DNC to cancel plans for a virtual roll call vote. Here's why
By The Washington Desk
A group of Democratic lawmakers has drafted a letter asking the Democratic National Committee to halt plans to hold a virtual roll call vote before the party’s convention, calling it a “terrible idea” that would sap party morale.
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., drafted the letter on behalf of a group of lawmakers — some of whom want President Biden to step aside from the ticket, some who want him to stay on, and others who have not taken a position yet. NPR obtained copies of the letter from two different Democratic sources. The letter is currently circulating among lawmakers, and has not yet been sent to the DNC.
In the draft letter, the lawmakers say that the party’s formal nomination of its candidates should happen at the Democratic convention, as it always does. The convention this year is set to open on Aug. 19.
Read more about the effort here.
Immigration takes center stage during second night of RNC
By Sergio Martínez-Beltrán
Tonight’s RNC theme — “Make America Safe Again" — gives speakers the opportunity to talk about immigration, which has been at the center of the presidential campaign.
Bernie Moreno, Ohio’s Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, accused President Biden of encouraging illegal migration to the country.
“Joe Biden’s border czar Kamala Harris, and the Democrat Senate have put the welfare of illegals ahead of our own citizens,” Moreno said during his speech.
But over the last few months there have been a decrease in the number of unauthorized crossings through the Southern border. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, last month there was a 24% decrease in arrests at the border in comparison to May.
According to a June NPR/PBS News/Marist National Poll, 18% of voters said immigration was on top of mind come November. Meanwhile, 54% of voters said they see Trump stronger than Biden on the issue of immigration.
During Tuesday’s speeches, Kari Lake, Arizona’s GOP U.S. Senate candidate accused her Democratic counterpart of voting “to let the millions of people who poured into our country illegally cast a ballot in this upcoming election.”
But that’s not true.
U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., voted against a measure requiring proof of citizenship to vote.
Fox News denies blackballing Don Jr.
By David Folkenflik
Donald Trump Jr. claimed Tuesday he had been blackballed by an outlet favored by the GOP faithful: Fox News. The network denies the claim.
The younger Trump made his remarks at the Republican National Convention in an interview with Axios’ Mike Allen, just after former President Donald Trump announced his selection of Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio as his running mate. The choice did not appeal to Fox founder Rupert Murdoch.
The editorial pages of Murdoch’s U.S. newspapers, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, cast doubt on Vance for the selection. Fox noted Vance had previously suggested Trump “ might be America’s Hitler ” and called him “ cultural heroin.”
Even so, Vance gave his first interview to Fox’s Sean Hannity, an adviser of Trump. It drew more viewers than NBC’s interview of President Biden at the same time.
Trump Jr., who touted Vance, told Axios that Murdoch, 93, did not have the same influence he once did.
“There was a time where if you wanted to survive in the Republican Party, you had to bend the knee to him or to others,” Trump Jr. said. “I don’t think that’s the case anymore.” (An aide to Murdoch declined comment.)
A review by Media Matters found that Trump Jr. had not appeared for an interview on Fox in more than two years until this week.
At the convention on Monday night, the younger Trump was interviewed by Fox’s Aishah Hasnie as part of a cluster of reporters surrounding him.
“Prior to the Axios event, Fox & Friends asked him to appear on the show on Wednesday and he has since accepted that booking,” a Fox spokesperson said in a statement sent to NPR. “He is and always has been welcome on all Fox News Media platforms.”
Fox has yet to announce whether it will broadcast the convention addresses of two fired former stars: Kimberly Guilfoyle (who is engaged to Don Jr.) and Tucker Carlson.
At RNC, Trump called the “most pro-Israel president”
By Ashley Lopez
Matt Brooks, the CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, accused President Biden and Democrats of not sufficiently supporting Israel and heralded Trump as the most “pro-Israel president” that the country has had.
“With President Trump,” he said,” we will repair the U.S.-Israel relationship that has deteriorated the past four years.”
Among other things, Brooks touted Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem during his presidency as well as the Abraham accords — a set of deals that were brokered in 2020 to normalize relations between Israel and a number of Arab countries.
Brooks also criticized President Biden’s decision to pause a shipment of arms to Israel in April. He said the president was “withholding critical weapons that Israel needs to defend itself.”
Since the attack on October 7, the Biden administration has approved more than a hundred arms sales and shipments to Israel, which has caused friction among some members of his own party.
The theme tonight is "Make America Safe Again," so many speakers tonight are portraying a less safe country under President Biden. To this end, Brooks mentioned growing instances of antisemitism in the U.S. and told convention-goers that Trump would “put a stop to the rising tide of antisemitism,” while holding a kippah modeled after a red MAGA hat.
The Trump campaign hones its message at the RNC
By Franco Ordoñez
July 16, 2024 at 7:20 PM EDTTrump campaign senior advisor Chris LaCivita was asked about how the campaign is framing the important issues during a talk with students hosted by the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service.
Modern day politics are very visual, he said, so Trump's campaign needs to help voters visualize contrasts between candidates.
One way the campaign is doing this is by framing issues as “strength vs weakness” and “success vs. failure.”
“Inflation versus non inflation,” he said. “Five and a half bucks for a gallon gas to two and a half bucks a gallon of gas. The price of groceries than to what it is now.”
He said both those examples “are very visual things.”
He mentioned the border as well: “Look no further than what happens on the border on a daily basis."
Over 18 million people tuned into night 1 of the RNC
By Jonathan Franklin
Nielsen estimates that 18.13 million viewers tuned into the first night of the RNC on Monday.
This number is an increase from the first night of the RNC in 2020, which brought in 17 million viewers and was primarily virtual due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former President Trump’s attended the RNC last night, marking his first public appearance since the attempted assassination against him on Saturday.
The Trump campaign says it's not changing strategy in wake of assassination attempt
By Franco Ordoñez
There have been many questions about whether the Trump campaign would shift its message to one of unity following the assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump.
But Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told a group of students at an event hosted by the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service, that the campaign isn't changing strategy.
“There's obviously an opportunity to bring the country together,” he said. “It's a very important thing. But let's not forget, we're in the middle of a campaign and you have to win.”
LaCivita said the focus needs to be on key issues such as inflation, the economy and the border, and less on characterizing opponents as dangers to the country.
At the official RNC protest areas, only crickets
By Liz Baker
The City of Milwaukee set aside two public parks outside the convention security zone for protesters this week, but the scene at both spots was sleepy as the RNC heads into its second day of prime-time programming.
When NPR visited the protest stage Tuesday afternoon, the only people there were bored staff members, standing by to check in speakers for their 20-minute scheduled time slots. They said only three or four people bothered to show up all day.
"Nobody's coming here because there's no audience," shrugged one worker, who declined to give his name because he is not approved to speak to the press.
A handful of people were present at each of the security checkpoints, hoping to catch the attention of delegates reentering after lunch.
"Considering the fact that Trump's here, it's been fairly tame, to be honest with you," says Thomas Fugate, an alternate delegate from Texas who says he's accustomed to much bigger protests in front of the state capital in Austin.
As he walked back into the convention center, one lone demonstrator across the street screamed anti-Trump slogans through a megaphone, her voice easily overwhelming those of the three street preachers also occupying her corner.
Trump campaign continues to challenge expanded access to voting
By Rick Pluta, The Michigan Public Radio Network
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign – along with the Republican National Committee and the Michigan Republican Party – are continuing to challenge expanded voter access in states and filed a federal lawsuit Monday over Michigan voter registration rules.
The lawsuit says Gov. Gretchen Whitmer expanded voter registration locations without getting required approval from the Legislature and did so to benefit Democrats. The governor issued directives that designated federal Small Business Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs offices as voter registration sites.
“They’re using federal resources … to turn that into a get-out-the-vote effort for the Biden campaign,” said Christina Bobb, the Trump campaign senior legal counsel for election integrity. “So the purpose of the lawsuit is to point out the fact that they’re breaking the law in doing that and they need to not do that.”
But Democrats say Republicans and the Trump campaign are using the courts to game the system.
“This is part of their overall strategy of creating confusion and churn and making it look like there’s some problem with the election system when there’s not,” Mark Brewer, an attorney and former Michigan Democratic Party chair, told the Michigan Public Radio Network. He predicted the lawsuit would be dismissed by a federal judge, although that could be appealed.
The complaint says that the expanded voter registration locations “…injures the Trump Campaign, the RNC, and MRP as well as their members, voters, and candidates by undermining confidence in the integrity of the electoral process and discouraging participation in the democratic process, which will harm the electoral prospects of Republican candidates.”
“We are reviewing the lawsuit,” said Whitmer Communications Director Bobby Leddy in an e-mail.
“The governor, the secretary of state, state government have broad authority under federal and state law to register voters,” Brewer said. “And that’s all this is. It’s giving people the opportunity to register to vote and participate in democracy.”
Trump campaign: J.D. Vance will be everywhere
By Franco Ordoñez
President Trump and his team have an aggressive schedule planned for his new running mate, J.D. Vance.
Speaking at a event hosted by the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service, senior adviser Chris LaCivita praised J.D. Vance for his smarts and political instincts.
Citing Vance's youth and energy, LaCivita said the campaign has a “very aggressive schedule” planned for the 39-year-old.
“ J.D. is a person we can plug in really anywhere,” LaCivita said. “And I think he's going to attract a younger set of voters. I think he's going to bring in, obviously, a lot more of the working class and it's going to attract a wider coalition of voters to Trump.”
But LaCivita also emphasized that Trump is driving the campaign and that people aren't voting for a vice president.
“They're voting for a president,” he said.
Video coverage of tonight's speeches is starting soon
By Rachel Treisman
A video livestream of tonight's events will be available at 6 p.m. ET, courtesy of the Associated Press. Here's the lineup of who is speaking and when.
You can tune in from NPR.org as well as right here on this live blog, which will be updated with news, color and fact-checks throughout the evening.
NPR reporters will also offer analysis during a live special broadcast starting at 9 p.m. ET until the night ends. Catch that online, on the NPR app or your local NPR station.
Before Saturday, the NSC had warned of a separate Iranian plot against Trump
By Washington Desk
The National Security Council had warned the Secret Service and the Trump campaign that there was an increased threat to former President Donald Trump coming from Iran, and the Secret Service had boosted protection for Trump in light of that — even before the Saturday assassination attempt, a national security official confirmed to NPR.
There are no identified ties between the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, and any foreign or domestic accomplices or co-conspirators.
But Iranian threats against Trump officials date back to the killing of Qassem Soleimani, and in a statement, NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said that the threats have been a matter of the highest priority.
Reality star Savannah Chrisley will speak tonight, likely about her incarcerated parents
By Rachel Treisman
One of tonight's scheduled speakers is Savannah Chrisley, who comes not from the world of politics but reality television.
Chrisley, 26, has appeared on the teen pageant circuit, season 11 of The Masked Singer and the movie Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens, among others.
She is probably best known, however, for Chrisley Knows Best, a USA Network show about her wealthy southern family. The show, which aired from 2014 to 2023, focused primarily on her parents, real-estate tycoon Todd Chrisley and his wife Julie.
But Todd and Julie were accused of funding their lavish lifestyle through dishonest means, and in June 2022 were found guilty on federal charges including bank fraud and tax evasion.
A jury found the couple guilty of conspiring to defraud community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans, among other counts, according to the AP.
Prosecutors alleged they submitted fake documents to banks when applying for loans, and used a company they controlled to hide income to keep the IRS from collecting unpaid taxes owed by Todd.
Their accountant, Peter Tarantino, was also found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States and willfully filing false tax returns.
Todd and Julie were ordered to pay millions in restitution, and were sentenced to 12 and seven years, respectively. They reported to prison in January 2023.
Their sentences were reduced several months later to 10 and 5 years each. Federal appeals judges threw Julie's sentence out entirely this past June over a calculation issue and sent the case back to a lower court for re-sentencing.
Savannah, who hosts a podcast called "Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley," has since spoken out about the hardships associated with her parents' incarceration, from taking on guardianship of her younger brother and niece to the living conditions they are facing in prison.
"The heat index was 105-110 degrees, and there's no air conditioning outside the visitation room," she said earlier this month, about the Kentucky facility where Julie is living. "Mom said she got physically sick from the heat. It's beyond inhumane."
Savannah is slated to speak on the night of the convention dedicated to safety, including criminal justice.
She told FOX Business this week that her speech will discuss the U.S. Department of Justice, which she described as "so broken that the only option we have is to completely deconstruct it and build it back."
Arrests have been few at the RNC so far
By Rachel Treisman
A handful of people have been arrested at or near the convention site since the start of this week, according to Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
Johnson told reporters on Monday that two people were arrested near the convention site the previous evening.
"Some individuals had a drink or two too much, they were intoxicated and ended up having some interaction with police," he said. "But that, again, I think, is routine and really uneventful."
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that one person was arrested near a convention welcome party and the other after driving into a security barrier nearby.
Johnson said on Tuesday that two more arrests occurred on Monday afternoon and evening.
One involved an individual climbing a fence into a restricted area, which he said was "his second arrest related to the RNC in two days for incidents around the convention." The other involved an individual who was "blocking traffic and didn't move when officers repeatedly asked her to do so."
"Overall, it was a calm day," Johnson said.
He added that there were no injuries or property damage reported from demonstrations on Monday, and that "many registered groups and individuals didn't even show up" to the designated parade route.
Milwaukee residents plan counter-programming to RNC
By Sam Woods
Jimmy Gutierrez
A group of Milwaukee residents are organizing events this week as counter-programming to the RNC. They’re calling it The Great Milwaukee Block Party.
Organizer Stephanie Roades says the Great Milwaukee Block Party is for Milwaukeeans dissatisfied with the RNC's presence in Milwaukee and the city government's role in bringing the convention here.
"It’s one thing to protest something that happens to your city but it’s a whole different kind of heartache when your city invited it here so we wanted to protect ourselves, we wanted to protest our own city," she says.
The party consists of concerts, workshops, bike rides, teach-ins and everything in between.
More from WUWM: The Great Milwaukee Block Party: A 'joyful rebellion' against the RNC
Vance supports Trump’s vision to ‘drain the swamp,’ campaign spokesperson says
By Destinee Adams
Like former President Trump, his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio wants to "drain the swamp."
In a 2021 podcast, Vance advised Trump to, “fire every single mid-level bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state, replace them with our people,” and then potentially defy the Supreme Court if the president was sued.
Vance's words sound like a "winning message," Caroline Sunshine, deputy communications director for the Trump campaign, told NPR's Morning Edition.
“We can see exactly why J.D. Vance has been selected for vice president," she said.
Vance once considered himself a "Never Trump guy," but changed his mind running for the Senate in 2022 and was endorsed by Trump shortly after.
“JD Vance is very honest with the American people that, yes, at one point he was considered what would be called a critic of President Trump. But as we know, when you love something, you're not afraid to criticize it, right,” Sunshine said. “We’re allowed to change our mind, especially when new facts are presented to us, when new information is presented to us. Well, President Trump was a Democrat before he was a Republican.”
Listen to her full interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep.
Here are a few viral moments from RNC Day 1
By Bria Suggs
As delegates, attendees and journalists prepare for the second day of the RNC, those watching from home are still discussing the night before on X (formerly known as Twitter). Let’s go through some of the most viral moments.
-
Mike Johnson’s teleprompter fails : In this clip, you can hear Johnson start his sentence with, “It is now my honor to introduce the attorney general … and there goes the teleprompter.” Johnson stopped speaking, followed by laughter from the audience and music, before leaving the stage.
- Pastor James Roemke impersonates Trump : Before giving a benediction last night, the pastor made an impersonation of Trump’s voice and mannerisms.
"If I may, before the benediction, give you this promise," Roemke said.
He then switched into a Trump-sounding voice along with Trump-like hand gestures.
"You're going to be so blessed," Roemke said. "You're going to be tired of being blessed. I guarantee it... Believe me."
Trump appeared to be amused with a smile, and the audience burst into laughter and applause.
Wisconsin college Republican leaders highlight election security and abortion strategy shift
By Royce Podeszwa, WPR
During a panel on WPR’s “ Wisconsin Today ” recorded ahead of this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, party leaders at various Wisconsin universities shared optimism over where they see the party going.
Among issues discussed, the College Republicans panel agreed that while they liked the idea of a younger president, they said age mattered less than someone’s ability to do the job.
Here's what they had to say.
As RNC focuses on safety, here’s a quick look at U.S. crime data
By Bill Chappell
Tuesday’s session of the Republican National Convention will focus on safety, organizers say. As we wait for the official program to begin, here’s a look what crime trends look like in the U.S., where violent crimes have been on a decline.
In the first quarter of 2024, both violent crime and property crime fell sharply compared to 2023’s first quarter, the Justice Department said as it released the FBI’s Quarterly Uniform Crime Report last month.
The data extends a trend from “last year’s historic decline in violent crime,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. That was particularly true for the most serious types of violent crime.
“Murder decreased by 26.4 percent, rape decreased by 25.7 percent, robbery decreased by 17.8 percent, and aggravated assault decreased by 12.5 percent” from the same period in 2023 and 2024, the FBI said.
The fall in homicides has been on track to be “among the biggest single-year homicide drops since at least 1960, the Council on Criminal Justice said in January. But the group also noted that “murder counts remained 18% higher last year than in 2019.”
While some types of property crime also fell the data is a bit mixed. The Council on Criminal Justice said 2023 continued a spike in car thefts. Across 34 cities that reported data, it said, the motor vehicle theft rate rose by 29 percent.
Tuesday’s discussions of safety are also expected to touch on immigration, as former President Trump and other Republicans have repeatedly accused migrants of driving U.S. crime rates up. And while some migrants have committed crimes, the vast majority do not — and in March, a study on historic incarceration rates found that immigrants “are significantly less likely to commit crimes” than people born in the U.S., as NPR recently reported.
Here’s what some businesses in the RNC security zone are experiencing
By Jimmy Gutierrez
Emily Files
Businesses in downtown Milwaukee are being impacted in different ways by the RNC and its security barriers.
Fat Tuesday, a frozen daquiri bar right across from the Fiserv Forum, has been busy with RNC attendees and tips have been good, according to an employee who spoke with WUWM.
But outside of the immediate area around Fiserv Forum, where the major RNC events are taking place, downtown Milwaukee is unusually quiet. The owner of Doc’s Smokehouse, a barbeque restaurant three blocks from Fiserv, said the RNC has been a “complete dud.” Doc’s is still open to the public, but security barriers have made it more difficult to access.
“If we’re expecting 50,000 [people], I haven’t seen them,” said Brent Brashier. Brashier told WUWM that if Tuesday night is as slow as Monday, the restaurant might close for the rest of the week.
Tenacious D ends its tour early after controversial Trump shooting comments
By Rachel Treisman
Tenacious D, the comedy rock duo comprised of actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass, have canceled the remainder of their "Spicy Meatball" tour after comments Gass made following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
Onstage at a show in Sydney, Black presented Gass with a birthday cake and asked him to make a wish, the Associated Press reported. Gass replied, "Don't miss Trump next time" — a reference to the previous day's shooting that circulated widely across social media.
On Tuesday, Black said in a statement posted to Instagram that he was "blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday," adding that he doesn't condone any form of hate speech or political violence.
"After much reflection, I no longer feel it is appropriate to continue the Tenacious D tour, and all future creative plans are on hold," he wrote, thanking fans for their support and understanding.
The tour was due to continue through Australia and New Zealand before returning to the U.S. in September.
Gass also issued an Instagram apology on Tuesday, calling his improvised line "highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake."
"What happened was a tragedy, and I'm incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgment," he added. "I profoundly apologize to those I've let down and truly regret any pain I've caused."
Here's who is speaking tonight at the RNC
By Ben Giles
Speakers slated to take the stage on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention will drive home Tuesday’s theme: “Make America Safe Once Again.”
But they’ll also shine a light on swing state races that could determine control of the U.S. Senate, and promote a message of unity from former President Trump’s onetime political rivals for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, according to a source familiar with the RNC schedule.
Michael Morin, the brother of Rachel Morin, the mother of five killed in Maryland in 2023 by an immigrant from El Salvador, is expected to reinforce the GOP’s message that the surge of immigrants entering the U.S. through the southern border is a danger to Americans throughout the country.
And Madeline Brame, a New York City mom who’s criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for failing to aggressively prosecute the attackers who stabbed her son to death in 2018, will echo the classic GOP criticism of Democrats as soft on crime.
Earlier in the evening, an hour's worth of Republican U.S. Senate candidates will take the stage, including Arizona’s Kari Lake, Ohio’s Bernie Moreno, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and Nevada’s Sam Brown.
Republicans are hoping to highlight the need not just to elect Trump, but also seize control of Congress to ensure the former president can aggressively pursue his agenda.
Later in the evening, three of Trump’s 2024 presidential primary opponents will spread a message of GOP unity: Former tech CEO Vivek Ramaswamy, former ambassador Nikki Haley, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Other former Trump critics who are now counted in Trump’s corner include Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, both of whom are also scheduled to address the RNC.
Lara Trump, the new co-chair of the Republican National Committee, will headline the evening shortly before 10 p.m. CT.
Here's the full list, subject to change as we get closer, provided by a source familiar with the schedule (all times local):
- Chairwoman Anne Hathaway, Committee on Arrangements
- Gov. Bill Lee (TN)
- Julie Harris, President of National Federation of Republican Women
- Hayden Padget, Young Republicans Chairman
- Matt Brooks, CEO of Republican Jewish Coalition
- Reince Priebus, Chairman of Host Committee
- James Crawford, Chair of the Potawatomi Nation
- Perry Johnson
- Kari Lake
- Eric Hovde
- Bernie Moreno
- Former Rep. Mike Rogers (MI)
- Dave McCormick
- Jim Banks
- Gov. Jim Justice (WV)
- Sam Brown
- Tim Sheehy
- Hung Cao
- Sen. Rick Scott (FL)
- Rep. Jeff Van Drew (NJ)
- Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY), House Republican Conference Chair
- Rep. Tom Emmer (MN), House Majority Whip
- Rep. Steve Scalise (LA), House Majority Whip
- Rep. Mike Johnson (LA), House Majority Leader
- Vivek Ramaswamy
- Savannah Chrisley
- Mayor Eric Johnson
- Sen. Ted Cruz (TX)
- Randy Sutton, everyday American
- Attorney General Brenna Bird (IA)
- Former Ambassador Nikki Haley
- Gov. Ron DeSantis (FL)
- Sen. Eric Schmitt (MO)
- Sen. Tom Cotton (AR)
- Michael Coyle, everyday American
- Erin Koper, everyday American
- Anne Fundner, everyday American
- The Morin Family, everyday Americans
- Madeline Brame, everyday American
- Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (AR)
- Dr. Ben Carson, former Housing & Urban Development Secretary
- Sen. Marco Rubio (FL)
- Co-Chair Lara Trump, Republican National Committee
After a pause, Democrats are in Milwaukee counter-programming the convention
By Tamara Keith
After a temporary pause following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the Biden campaign and the Democratic Party are back to regularly scheduled programming in Milwaukee. Deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks was joined by Sen. Cory Booker and others for a press conference to counter-program the Republican National Convention.
They weighed in on Trump’s pick for vice president, J.D. Vance. Booker said it “worries” him and “presents a stark contrast” between Trump’s first vice president and his current one. Vance has said he would have done what former Vice President Mike Pence refused to do on Jan. 6, halt the count of electoral college votes so Trump could continue trying to stay in office.
And when asked how the campaign’s rhetoric has changed since President Biden and others called for the temperature to be turned down on political rhetoric, Fulks said, “It hasn’t changed.”
He said the campaign has been focused on the issues: the economy, reproductive freedom, workers' rights, the tax code and more.
“This is how democracy works. We’re going to continue to have a candid conversation about the stark contrasts,” said Fulks. “There are two very very different visions for this country.”
The Biden campaign and Democratic volunteers had also paused in-person campaigning, but that is resuming as well.
How to watch tonight's RNC events
By Rachel Treisman
Day 2 of the RNC is well underway, with the afternoon's offerings ranging from discussion panels to movie screenings to fundraising receptions.
In the early evening, participants will return to the convention floor for another night of speeches, videos and songs.
NPR will be covering the latest developments, with context and analysis, all day on this live blog. We'll have a video feed of the floor proceedings beginning around 6 p.m. ET, and our correspondents will hop on the radio for live special coverage starting at 9 p.m. ET.
You can tune in on NPR.org, the NPR app and your local NPR station. Here's more information about our coverage and where to find it.
And, of course, we'll do it all again tomorrow and Thursday.
'Morning Joe' hosts blast MSNBC for pulling their show after Trump shooting
By David Folkenflik
Rachel Treisman
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough lashed out at the decision to take his popular Morning Joe show off the air yesterday in the wake of the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, warning the co-hosts would quit if it happens again.
MSNBC had denied an earlier report on CNN saying that executives were concerned about the freewheeling punditry on the show, which is consistently hostile to Trump.
Instead, the network told NPR that Morning Joe would be replaced by ongoing coverage from NBC News that would run across NBC and its digital platform NBC News Now, as well as on MSNBC.
Yet, as Scarborough noted in directly addressing viewers this morning, that replacement didn’t uniformly happen.
"We don't know why that didn't happen, our team was not given a good answer as to why that didn't happen," he said, adding, "We've talked about it off the air, we'll talk about in on the air because we talk about everything on the air."
Scarborough’s cohosts Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist chimed in too: All three said they wished they could have been on air yesterday and will be ready if the same scenario arises again.
"Next time we're told there's going to be a news feed replacing us, we will be in our chairs," Scarborough said. "And the news feed will be us or they can get somebody else."
MSNBC has not responded to NPR's request for comment.
Notably, Scarborough has been an adviser to President Biden off-the-air as well as a champion of him on it. Brzezinski, who is married to Scarborough, is also the sister of Biden's ambassador to Poland.
Scarborough: “Next time we’re told there’s going to be a news feed replacing us…the news feed will be us or they can get somebody else to host the show.” pic.twitter.com/Df7MpU0bc9
Young conservatives push GOP on climate
By Lina Tran
Emily Files
Benji Backer, a 26-year-old Appleton, Wisconsin native, is at the RNC this week to urge the Republican Party to change its stance on climate change.
“We don't see climate change as a partisan issue,” Backer told WUWM. “We see it as a human issue, we see it as something that has to be solved whether we're Republican or Democrat."
Backer is executive chairman of the American Conservation Coalition, a nonprofit that boasts more than 50,000 young conservative members.
During the convention, Backer says members of his team will be filming social media content with politicians and delegates and promoting stories of leaders who are spearheading environmentalism in the party.
The American Conservation Coalition is also hosting a reception on Tuesday at Milwaukee’s Mitchell Park Domes that aims to gin up enthusiasm for Republican-friendly climate policy.
“Like most people in Gen Z, I don't really know what to do when it comes to this fall's election,” Backer says. “I have strong conservative principles, but I also don't feel represented by this year's election and the presidential candidates that we have.”
More from WUWM: Meet the young conservative pushing the Republican Party on climate
What we know about the Trump shooter
By Jaclyn Diaz
Dave Mistich
More than two days out after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, authorities are still wrestling with who the gunman was and what may have driven him to act.
- The FBI says Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who shot at Trump at a Butler, Pa., political rally on Saturday, is believed to have acted alone.
- Investigators said Crooks’ family is cooperating with the investigation.
- Corey Comperatore, 50, of Sarver, Pa., was killed shielding his family from the attack.
- Investigators have said Crooks' father purchased the weapon used in the attack — an AR-style 556 rifle; officials are now trying to determine how Crooks got it.
➡️ More on the investigation.
Secret Service will learn from 'failure' at Trump rally shooting, DHS chief says
By Obed Manuel
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said there was a "failure" Saturday when a shooter carried out an alleged assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and killed one attendee.
With months to go in the election, Mayorkas told NPR's Morning Edition that the Secret Service, which operates under DHS, will take the "take the lessons learned" and be better going forward.
"The threat environment in which we are living is extremely dynamic, constantly evolving. The former president and our current president are commonly under threat," Mayorkas said. "We take each and every threat seriously and we make security adjustments that are warranted. We began to make security adjustments with respect to the former president months ago, and those continue."
On top of securing Biden and Trump, the Secret Service is in charge of the ongoing Republican National Convention and now independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It will also be in charge of the Democratic National Convention.
Mayorkas said the agency is "the best protective service in the world" and pointed to the NATO summit commemorating the alliance's 75th anniversary.
"People do not hear of all of the successes of the United States Secret Service that occur every single day. By no means do I intend to minimize the gravity of what occurred on Saturday and how that can never happen. And we have to make sure it never happens again," Mayorkas said. "But the United States Secret Service secures events of incredible magnitude and complexity all of the time."
Mayorkas said that, due to a pending FBI investigation and independent review, he could not speak to the specific issues from Saturday. He also did not say who might be held accountable for the security failure but expressed support for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
"We are focused on learning from the event and adapting those lessons to be stronger and better. And that is the focus," Mayorkas said.
Leaked video shows Trump criticizing vaccines on phone with RFK Jr.
By Rachel Treisman
A leaked video of a phone call between third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump shows the former president expressing doubt about vaccines and recounting the attempt on his life and his subsequent phone call with President Biden.
Kennedy's son, Bobby Kennedy III, appears to have posted the nearly two-minute clip on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday morning. Kennedy's son has since deleted his tweet, but not before several other accounts reposted the video, which he said was taken on Sunday, the day after Trump's attempted assassination.
Trump after the assassination attempt discussed how he agrees with RFK Jr. on vaccines:
“I agree with you, man. Something's wrong with that whole system, and it's the doctors you find.
Remember I said I want to do small doses. Small doses. When you feed a baby, Bobby, a… pic.twitter.com/gDpYUuNTjQ
Kennedy has centered his political campaign on a conspiratorial view of the world, including promoting the misleading claim that vaccines are harmful. Trump, on the other hand, oversaw the initial U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the federal government's development of the first vaccines against the virus.
The video shows Kennedy standing in a room with an American flag, holding up an iPhone and listening intently as Trump talks on speakerphone.
As the recording starts, Trump can be heard saying: “I agree with you, man. Something's wrong with that whole system, and it's the doctors you find."
"Remember I said 'I want to do small doses. Small doses,'" Trump added, echoing childhood vaccine-related comments he made on the debate stage in 2015.
"When you feed a baby, Bobby, a vaccination that is like 38 different vaccines, and it looks like it's meant for a horse, not a you know, 10-pound or 20-pound baby."
Trump referenced previous such conversations with Kennedy — against whom he has regularly leveled personal attacks this election season — saying, "You and I talked about that a long time ago." Kennedy said "Yup," the only time he spoke in the video.
Trump and Kennedy met in Milwaukee on Monday, hours before Trump officially became the Republican nominee. The meeting sparked plenty of rumors, which Kennedy sought to quell in a tweet later that day.
"Our main topic was national unity, and I hope to meet with Democratic leaders about that as well," he wrote. "No, I am not dropping out of the race."
The Biden administration announced on Monday that Biden had directed the U.S. Secret Service to provide protection to Kennedy in light of the attempt on Trump's life, something Trump also urged in social media posts that day.
Trump also talked about his near-death experience in the phone call with Kennedy, saying the bullet felt "like the world's largest mosquito."
"It was a, what do they call that, an AR-15 or something, that's a big gun," added Trump, who made his first public appearance at the convention on Monday night with a large white bandage covering his ear.
Trump also recounted his phone call with Biden after the shooting, saying, "It was very nice, actually."
He said he told the president that he had turned his head at the right time while showing off a chart about immigration numbers at the rally, adding: "I didn't have to tell him the chart was about all the people pouring into our country."
The video started circulating on social media on Tuesday morning, prompting Kennedy to apologize via tweet.
"When President Trump called me I was taping with an in-house videographer," he wrote. "I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately. I am mortified that this was posted. I apologize to the president."
Teenage Republicans in awe of RNC
By Nadya Kelly
The Republican National Convention has drawn thousands of newcomers to Milwaukee. This includes students Caleb Edenburn, chairman of the North Carolina Teenage Republicans (NCTARS) and Youthan Love, chairman of North Carolina Federation of College Republicans. They say they are excited to witness history firsthand.
“We’ve just been in awe of this whole event,” Edenburn says. “Being from Charlotte, the RNC in 2020 wasn’t as big of an event as it would’ve been otherwise, and we’re all so happy to be together again."
The RNC took place in Charlotte in 2020, scaled back due to COVID. Now that the RNC is in Milwaukee this year, Edenburn and Love are looking forward to making connections with other young Republicans, hearing from politicians they admire and seeing all that the convention has to offer.
“Being here for my first national convention with one of my really close friends — it’s a great experience,” Love says. “I’ve definitely been looking forward to it all year, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for the Republican Party.”
How a day starts at the RNC: breakfast, then barbecue and watching ‘Reagan’ (again)
By Bill Chappell
Tuesday’s RNC session doesn’t officially kick off until 5 p.m., but attendees have plenty to do before then. State delegations are putting on breakfasts each morning, and today, discussions are planned on topics from Israel to the roles of Republican women and Black convention delegates.
The day’s overall theme is safety. But bikers are also a theme: At the Harley Davidson Museum, the Utah Republican Party is hosting a BBQ, Bikes, & Blues Western States Event. There’s also a midday “Freedom Riders” reception at the Drink Wisconsinbly Pub, featuring Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and athlete Riley Gaines. It’s backed by the American Principles Project and Orange County Choppers.
Attendees also have multiple chances to see the film Reagan, featuring Dennis Quaid and John Voight (you can see a trailer here ). The movie, whose release date is slated for Aug. 30, is playing repeatedly at two hotels near the convention at Fiserv Forum. Attendees have 13 chances to see it this week, according to the official events calendar.
Vance's 'Hillbilly Elegy' gets a boost from VP announcement
By Liz Baker
J.D. Vance's book Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis is in the top two spots (paperback and hardcover) on Amazon's bestseller list after the author was announced as Trump's running mate at the RNC on Monday.
The memoir was widely praised when it was first released in the summer of 2016, quickly rising on the bestseller list as Trump rose in the polls. Readers reached for the title for an explanation as to why the Republican candidate's amplification of white, working-class grievance resonated with so many Americans, boosting Vance's public and eventually political profile.
This time, the book's rise to the top is likely due to curiosity over the vice presidential nominee's background, and reviews for the title have taken on a political tinge, with a deluge of new zero-star ("Garbage") and 5-star ("Honest and riveting") ratings since yesterday's announcement.
RNC attendees walk past dioramas of climate doom
By Bill Chappell
They are essentially life-size dioramas of doom — with real people inside them. Storefront windows in a downtown Milwaukee building have been converted into art installations, each expressing ideas about dangerous weather and humanity’s role as both perpetrator and victim.
The display, by the advocacy group Climate Power, was strategically chosen to lure people walking to the nearby Republican National Convention. Some windows have actors inside them, playing roles that seek to call attention to fossil fuel and public policy, and the fallout of extreme weather events such as deadly heat, flooding, landslides.
One installation shows an office with a group of executives sitting around a meeting table, all leaning forward to put their heads in the sand. Others show actors trying to cope with heat — and large power bills.
The apocalyptic scenes are based on reality, Annie Saunders, the artist behind the displays, said in a news release.
“Among the greatest powers and functions of art are its ability to evoke emotions, provoke thought, and confront people with truths they’d rather not hear,” Saunders said.
Climate Power was created ahead of the 2020 election by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Sierra Club. Among its current goals, the group says, it wants “to hold Big Oil executives and their MAGA allies accountable for fueling the climate crisis while gouging Americans at the pump.”
The group is pushing for another Biden term, saying the widely touted Project 2025, a conservative agenda for a potential second Trump presidency, would seek to reverse progress on climate issues.
China objects to being made an issue in U.S. elections
By John Ruwitch
Officials in Beijing have been following closely what’s being said by former President Donald Trump’s pick for vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance, and they are not pleased.
On Tuesday, Beijing said it opposed China being made into an issue in the U.S. presidential election race. This came after Vance told Fox News that China is the biggest threat.
Vance said that, if elected, Trump would negotiate to end the war in Ukraine "so that America can focus on the real issue — which is China. That's the biggest threat to our country, and we're completely distracted from it."
Vance has been a big booster of Trump’s “America First” foreign policy and a critic of Beijing. He has advocated for a pivot in focus, and resources, toward Asia to counter China.
Asked at a briefing in Beijing for China’s response to Vance's remarks, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said : "We are always opposed to making China an issue in U.S. elections."
Delegates excited to envision a future under Trump
By Nadya Kelly
On Monday, enthusiastic attendees dressed in red, white and blue swarmed around the Fiserv Forum — taking pictures, diving in and out of restaurants, and connecting with peers.
Washington state delegate Dave Tegeler used to be part of the Tea Party movement, but he joined the Republican Party because he felt it better responds to the needs of the people. He said connecting with fellow Republicans has helped him remain optimistic about the country’s future.
Maine delegate Heather Sprague is also looking forward to the future. As a Republican delegate for a blue state, Sprague is passionate about representing a population that she believes often goes unheard.
More from WUWM: With RNC underway, delegates reflect on the GOP's vision for America
RNC Day 2 theme is safety
By Liz Baker
The RNC has not released its schedule for Tuesday yet, but the theme of the day is "Make America Safe Once Again," to focus on putting an "end to the endless crime spree and drug flow that plague America," according to a Trump campaign press release.
Included under this theme is immigration policy — Trump blames unauthorized migrants for importing violent crime and drugs into the country and has pledged to end Biden's immigration policies, which he sees as soft on crime.
Two of the GOP's top platform items are closing the border to stop "the migrant invasion" and "mass deportation," and today's speakers will likely reflect those priorities.
Trump himself is not expected to speak until the end of the convention on Thursday. But his appearance on the RNC stage last night drew a lengthy standing ovation from delegates — his bandaged ear a prominent reminder of the attempted assassination at a rally on Saturday.
'The NPR Politics Podcast' rounds up the first day of the RNC
By Asma Khalid
Franco Ordoñez
Domenico Montanaro
In the latest episode of the podcast (length: 17 minutes), NPR's Asma Khalid, Franco Ordoñez and Domenico Montanaro talk through the VP news, Biden's interview with NBC's Lester Holt and the latest on where the Trump documents trial stands.
Subscribe to the podcast to get the team's daily roundup fresh each morning.
Good morning ☕️
By Emily Alfin Johnson
L. Carol Ritchie
Bill Chappell
We're back with Day 2 of the RNC.
If you're looking for a quick recap of yesterday's events while you go about your morning routine, today's episode of Up First has you covered.
RNC Day 2, Secret Service, Biden Campaign (Length: 12 minutes)
More of a morning email person? There's a newsletter version too.
Night 1, done: Come back tomorrow for more RNC coverage
By Emily Alfin Johnson
Rachel Treisman
That's all folks.
If we have any updates overnight from the ongoing investigation into Saturday's shooting, or from Milwaukee, we'll share them here.
We'll be updating the NPR Politics Podcast with the latest from Milwaukee, so make you're subscribed to get tonight's episode.
Otherwise,Live updates will start again around 8 a.m. ET/7 a.m. CT and continue through the evening. The theme for tomorrow's convention is "Make America Safe Once Again."
Subscribe to the Up First podcast and newsletter to get the morning's top news.
Night one has wrapped up
By Rachel Treisman
RNC Chair Michael Whatley capped off the night's events by congratulating Vance and thanking Trump for being the party's nominee, sending the room into yet another standing ovation and chants of "we love Trump."
He then declared that the convention stands in recess until Tuesday at 5 p.m.
A priest offers a benediction and Trump impression
By Rachel Treisman
After hours of speeches, songs and videos, a priest came onstage to offer a benediction — and an impression of Trump.
"You're going to be so blessed, you're going to be tired of being blessed, I guarantee it," he said, moving his hands in a signature Trump fashion.
Trump, in the audience, was smiling.
Head of Teamsters, which has yet to endorse, says 'we are not beholden to... any party'
By Rachel Treisman
The last speaker of the night was Sean O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters — one of the largest labor unions in the country, with over 1.3 million members nationwide.
O'Brien said he travels across the country weekly to meet with his members, and sees "the American worker being taken for granted." He said he was onstage "because I refuse to keep on doing the same things my predecessors did."
"Today, the Teamsters are here to say we are not beholden to anyone or any party," he declared, as the crowd cheered. "We will... work with a bipartisan coalition ready to accomplish something real for the American worker."
The Teamsters have recently endorsed a slew of Democrats, including Biden in 2020, though O'Brien noted it has endorsed Republican candidates including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
The group has not yet endorsed a candidate in the 2024 race and is not expected to until closer to November.
O'Brien then doubled down, calling it an honor to be the first Teamster in its 121-year history to address the Republican National Convention despite what he called pushback from both parties.
"You can have whatever opinion you want, but one thing is clear: President Trump is a candidate who is not afraid of hearing from new, loud and often critical voices," he said. "And I think we all can agree whether people like him or they don't like him, in light of what happened to him on Saturday he has proven to be one tough S-O-B."
The crowd burst into prolonged applause as the cameras panned to Trump, smiling and wearing a bandage over his ear.
O'Brien also spoke of the Teamsters' outreach to Republican candidates and voters, which he said has increased in recent years and under his leadership.
"At the end of the day, the Teamsters are not interested if you have a D, R or an I next to your name," he said. "We want to know one thing: What are you doing to help American workers?"
Biden: 'I feel safe' with Secret Service
By Ben Giles
President Joe Biden said he’s confident in the Secret Service in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
“I feel safe with the Secret Service,” Biden told NBC’s Lester Holt Monday evening.
Biden also praised the agents who “risked their lives” to save Trump’s life.
“They were ready to give their lives to the president,” Biden said. “The question is, should they have anticipated what happened? Should they have done what they needed to do to prevent this from happening? That’s the question that’s — that’s an open question.”
Biden reiterated that he’s been briefed by the intelligence community, the FBI and the Secret Service on the incident.
“I’ve asked for a totally independent analysis,” Biden said. “And we’ll see what happens when that comes back.”
Model Amber Rose says she traded her fear of judgment for a red hat
By Rachel Treisman
Amber Rose, who identified herself as a model, entrepreneur and mother, took the stage to encourage viewers to vote for Trump to give their children a better life.
Rose, the reality TV star, rapper and former romantic partner of one-time Trump ally Kanye West — and who publicly called Trump "an idiot " in 2016 — acknowledged that "you may be wondering why I'm up here telling you this."
"I care about the truth," she said. "The truth is that the media has lied to us about Donald Trump."
Rose, who is multiracial, said she long "believed left-wing propaganda that Trump was a racist." She recalled researching Trump, initially to prove her dad — whom she called the first Trump supporter she know — wrong, but then realized "these are my people, this is where I belong."
"I realized Trump and his supporters don't care if you're Black, white, gay or straight, it's all love," she added.
Rose says she let go of her "fear of judgment" and "being attacked by the Left" to "put on the red hat too." She thanked her dad, who was in the audience, and recalled meeting Trump, describing him as "kind and generous and funny as hell."
She said America was better under Trump, and called for voters to put him back in office. Her remarks drew a standing ovation from the crowd, including Trump himself and others in his box.
Blackburn touts new, shorter GOP platform
By Sarah McCammon
Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn touted the newly adopted Republican platform and continued the evening’s focus on the economy by attacking President Biden's energy and economic policies. She promised that Republicans will to work to extend Trump-era tax cuts ; fire IRS agents that were hired as part of a controversial effort by the Biden administration to step up tax collection; and remove business regulations which she said often "include racist DEI requirements” and which she said burden small businesses.
Blackburn, who served as chair of the party’s platform committee, also spoke earlier in the day to present the document to the delegates, which she called a "different kind of platform, one that is dedicated to the forgotten men and women of America." Blackburn added that Trump had “personally reviewed, edited and approved our platform,” which was revised and shortened this year at Trump’s request.
Biden 'not suprised' judge dismissed classified documents case against Trump
President Joe Biden said he was “not surprised” U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.
Biden told NBC’s Lester Holt it was clear that Cannon was following a path laid out by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who used a concurrence in a separate case against Trump to make the argument that the manner in which special counsel Jack Smith was appointed was unconstitutional.
“Clarence Thomas said in his [concurrence] that independent prosecutors appointed by the attorney general aren’t legit. That’s the basis on which this judge moved to dismiss,” Biden said.
Biden noted that he had no complaints when he was once the subject of an independent prosecutor — former special counsel Robert Hur.
“They looked at me and concluded I didn’t do a damn thing wrong,” Biden said. “But my generic point is that, it’s … the basis upon which the case was thrown out, I find specious, because I don’t agree with Clarence Thomas’ [concurrence] or the Supreme Court’s decision on immunity.”
Trump makes his first public appearance after shooting at RNC
By Sarah McCammon
Two days after surviving an assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump made his first appearance at the Republican National Convention on Monday night.
Wearing a large bandage on his right ear, which was grazed by a bullet on Saturday, the former president and presumptive Republican nominee walked onto the convention floor as singer Lee Greenwood performed his hit, “God Bless the USA.”
Trump was greeted with cheers of “USA” and “We love Trump” from RNC delegates as he entered the hall in Milwaukee.
Trump was flanked by several family members and dignitaries including his newly chosen running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.
“He is here tonight to show his courage, his defiance … you will not take this man down,” Greenwood said.
Trump appears with a bandage covering his ear
By Rachel Treisman
Toward the end of the night, Trump appeared on video feed above the stage, wearing a suit, red tie and white bandage on his ear.
Charlie Kirk speaks of a 'mutilated' American dream
By Sarah McCammon
Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, blamed President Biden’s policies for the economic challenges many younger Americans are experiencing.
“Donald Trump refuses to accept this fake, pathetic, and mutilated version of the American dream,” Kirk said.
Kirk has campaigned for Trump and worked to build Republican support and mobilize young voters through events and an active social media strategy.
But Kirk himself is no longer a kid; he noted that since his last speech at a Republican convention, “I’ve become a husband and father.” Kirk warned, however, that parenthood and family life feels “increasingly out of reach” for younger Americans who struggle to afford housing and other essentials.
During the speech, Kirk made what appeared to be a sardonic allusion to liberal activism among many college students, telling the crowd, “I visit college campuses so you don’t have to.”
Biden has struggled during this campaign with younger voters — a group that was once key to his base. He’s seen a notable and unexpected drop in support among younger Black and Latino men. In polls, Gen Z and millennial voters overall express concerns about the economy, immigration, and the war between Israel and Hamas.
Biden blames Trump for 'inflammatory' political rhetoric
By Ben Giles
When asked if there was anything he could do to tone down rhetoric that may inspire acts of violence, President Joe Biden on Monday said it’s former President Donald Trump, not himself, who’s fanned those flames.
In his interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, Biden reiterated his past comments made in the wake of the assassination attempt against Trump at a Butler, Pa. campaign rally.
“There’s no place for violence in politics in America,” Biden said. “None.”
But Biden said he would continue to focus on Trump and the “threat to democracy” the former president poses if reelected.
“I’m not the guy that said I want to be a dictator on day one. I’m not the guy who refused to accept the outcome of the election,” Biden said as examples of the kind of statements Trump’s made – “that’s the kind of language that’s been inflammatory.”
“I’ve never seen a circumstance where you ride through certain rural areas of the country and people have signs there standing, big Trump signs saying “F Biden,” and a little kid standing there putting up his middle finger,” Biden added. “That’s the kind of stuff that is just inflammatory, a kind of viciousness.”
Holt later asked if the assassination attempt had changed the trajectory of the race.
“I don’t know,” Biden said. “And you don’t know either.”
Sen. Tim Scott touts Trump's 2017 tax cuts, but who did they benefit?
By C Mandler
South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott touted Trump-era tax cuts during his RNC speech, but did working-class Americans see those benefits?
Scott called them "the biggest tax cuts ever for working people and single moms," but according to projections from the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, the richer Americans are, the more they stood to benefit from the controversial 2017 cuts, which were passed along a party line vote.
The Tax Policy Center predicted that in 2025, the last year before many of the cuts are set to expire, the average household would have a tax bill that is $1,600 lower than before the bill was passed, but households in the top 1% of the income distribution would get a cut of about $61,000.
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was the last major U.S. tax overhaul, and the tax cuts are set to largely expire next year — meaning that whoever is elected in November would have major influence over tax reform for years to come.
Biden acknowledges 'legitimate' questions about his age, but says he's staying in the race
By Ben Giles
July 15, 2024 at 9:54 PM EDTAs the first night of the RNC unfolds, President Biden sat for a new televised interview, where he bristled at questions about whether he needed to do more to convince his party that he’s got what it takes to run for a second term.
Some Democrats in Congress continue to call on Biden to decide whether or not to remain in the presidential race. He said Monday he’s already made up his mind.
NBC’s Lester Holt asked the president who he listens to when it comes to “deeply personal decisions,” like whether to continue campaigning against former President Donald Trump.
“Me,” Biden said.
“I’m old,” Biden later said. “But I’m only three years older than Trump, No. 1. And No. 2, my mental acuity has been pretty damn good. I’ve gotten more done than any president has in a long time in 3½ years. I’m willing to be judged on that.”
“I understand why people say, ‘God, he’s 81 years old. Whoa. What’s he gonna be when he’s 83 years old, 84 years?’ It’s a legitimate question to ask,” he added.
Biden clapped back at Holt under questioning about his poor performance in the presidential debate.
“I screwed up,” he acknowledged.
When asked if he’d watched tape of the debate, Biden quipped, ”I was there. I didn’t have to see it, I was there.”
Holt asked if Biden would be willing to debate Trump again before an agreed-upon second debate in September.
“I’m gonna debate him when we agreed to debate,” Biden said.
Holt followed up, asking Biden if he viewed a third debate as an opportunity to “get back on the horse?”
“I’m on the horse, Biden said. “Where have you been? I’ve done 22 major events and thousands of people, overwhelming crowds. A lot’s happening.”
A 'union Democrat' explains why he's voting for Trump
By Rachel Treisman
Convention viewers heard from New York union leader Bobby Bartels, who said he's been a Democrat his whole life but grew disillusioned by politicians' empty promises.
He credited Trump with using his money and reputation to help repair a long-broken Central Park ice rink, specifically using local union labor. He told a story about Trump, who was not president at the time, passing by the site on a hot summer morning and — when asked if he'd buy the workers coffee — gave them cash and told them to buy sandwiches and drinks for everyone.
"Now more than ever we need a president who knows how to get things done," Bartels said.
As WNYC has reported, the Wollman Ice Rink sat in disrepair for six years before Trump offered to help in the mid 1980s, an experience he used in his 2016 campaign to prove he could get things done. The Trump Organization operated the rink (one of several public concessions it operated in New York at that time) until the city canceled its contracts in 2021.
The crowd roared with applause when Bartels said he, along with many other local union members, would be voting for Trump in November.
Union votes can be key in deciding the presidential race, and notably helped Biden win in some crucial swing states in 2020. The United Auto Workers endorsed him again earlier this year, calling Trump "a scab." Another powerful union, the Teamsters, isn't expected to make any endorsement until closer to November.
NPR's radio special coverage is kicking off now
By Rachel Treisman
NPR political reporters in Milwaukee and beyond will be providing live analysis and commentary for the rest of the evening's speeches, starting at 9 p.m. ET.
You can listen on NPR.org, the NPR app and your local station. And don't worry, this live blog — and its video stream, which includes speeches, musical interludes and pre-produced RNC videos — aren't going anywhere just yet.
Of the Trump assassination attempt, Scott says 'the devil came to Pennsylvania'
By Ben Giles
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott used biblical imagery to describe former President Donald Trump’s brush with death at a Butler, Pa. campaign rally over the weekend.
“If you didn’t believe in miracles before Saturday, you better be believing right now,” Scott said in his RNC remarks.
Scott, who praised the USA as a country that “still believes in the king of kings and the lord of lords,” described the 20-year-old who shot at Trump as a “devil.”
“The devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle,” Scott said. “But an American lion got back up on his feet, and he roared!”
Otherwise, Scott recycled past campaign speeches with claims of racism in liberal cities and criticism of President Joe Biden as “asleep at the wheel."
Katie Britt, of SOTU rebuttal fame, makes an appeal to fellow parents
By Rachel Treisman
Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, wearing a cross necklace, took to the stage to address her "fellow moms and dads across America."
As she put it, raising kids was already difficult in the digital age, and blamed the Biden administration for making it more expensive to feed and house them.
She also took a dig at Biden, saying "the current president is not capable of turning things around," alluding to concerns about his age and mental fitness in a line met by considerable applause.
"His weakness is costing us, our opportunity, our prosperity, our security, our safety," she said. "Each diminished, all in decline, just like the man in the Oval Office."
The first-term senator, 42, rose to national prominence earlier this year when she delivered the Republican response to Biden's State of the Union, in a speech memorably delivered at a kitchen table.
The setting, plus Britt's somber tone, unblinking expression and emphatic delivery drew much lampooning in the days that followed.
Britt, capping off her upbeat speech onstage, said that Republicans will "put parents, families and hard-working Americans first, defeat decline, dust off our dreams and forge our future, because families across our nation deserve better."
Republicans slam gas and grocery prices. Here's what the numbers show
By Rachel Treisman
A series of Trump supporters slammed "Bidenomics" in a lengthy prerecorded video, pointing to the high cost of living as a reason to vote Republican.
It included several interviews at a gas pump, where a sticker showed the price of a gallon of gas as $2.20 under Trump and $5.03 under Biden. Similar stickers were placed in grocery store aisles, showing the higher costs of items like carrots, apples and potatoes under Biden compared to Trump.
An analysis by member station WLRN and Politifact in March concluded that gasoline prices have been unusually high under Biden — thanks in large part to the impacts of Russia's invasion of Ukraine realigning the oil market — but have fallen since the start of his term.
Recent reports from AAA show that the national average gas price for the July 4th weekend was the lowest since that holiday weekend in 2021.
Trump has been found to exaggerate how much the prices of food and gasoline have risen under Biden, the WLRN/Politifact fact-check found.
Inflation — including grocery store prices — has dropped since its June 2022 peak, though many Americans are still frustrated by how much it costs to put food on the table.
Here's more on how the economy has looked under Biden and Trump.
If elected, Vance would be one of the youngest vice presidents ever
By Rachel Treisman
J.D. Vance doesn't add much diversity to the Republican ticket by way of gender or race.
But as a 39-year-old millennial, he is considerably younger than Trump — and most of the vice presidents who have held the position he's now seeking.
Vance, who turns 40 on August 2, would be one of the youngest vice presidents in U.S. history if elected.
The U.S. Constitution stipulates that an individual must be at least 35 years old to serve in the role.
The youngest-ever vice president was John Breckenridge of Kentucky, who was 36 when he took office alongside President James Buchanan in 1857. (He was later elected to the U.S. Senate and eventually expelled for joining the Confederate Army. )
Richard Nixon was 39 when Dwight Eisenhower selected him as his running mate in 1952, and 40 years old when the pair entered the White House.
Dan Quayle became vice president at age 41, and Theodore Roosevelt, John Calhoun and Daniel Tompkins were all 42 at the start of their tenure.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, the distinction of oldest vice president goes to Alben Barkley, who was 71 when he took office with President Harry Truman.
Vance's age is especially noteworthy in a race where both presidential nominees would be the oldest to take office if elected.
Trump is 78 and Biden — who is facing extra scrutiny after his weak debate performance last month — is 81. There's no upper age limit for the presidency, thanks in large part to the Founding Fathers.
Marjorie Taylor Greene riles the crowd up against Transgender Visibility Day
By Rachel Treisman
One of the evening's first speakers is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican and staunch supporter of Trump.
Greene described the weekend assassination attempt in clear religious overtones, saying, "Evil came for the man we love and admire so much — I thank God his hand was on President Trump."
Greene was warmly received by the crowd, at one point responding "I love you too" to a holler from the audience.
Greene's speech hit on well-worn Republican talking points, accusing the D.C. establishment of selling out everyday Americans and spending money to strengthen Ukraine's borders instead of its own.
"They promised normalcy and gave us Transgender Visibility Day on Easter Sunday," she said to loud boos.
"Let me state this clearly: There are only two genders. And we are made in God's image," she said, as the crowd cheered.
She wrapped up with a call to elect Trump.
"As God as my witness he will finally give us the country that we deserve," she said over loud cheers. "Because Donald John Trump is the leader America deserves."
Greene has made headlines this year for her as-yet-unsuccessful efforts to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson over his reliance on Democrats to pass legislation, from appropriations bills to support for Ukraine.
And she's among the Republicans who have faced backlash in recent days for her response to the weekend attempt on Trump's life.
In a series of social media posts, Greene blamed Democrats, "the media" and Biden himself for the rhetoric and events that led to the assassination attempt (she specifically slammed Biden for referring to putting Trump "in a bullseye," comments he walked back on Monday).
False claims about assassination attempt spread rapidly online
By Bobby Allyn
Researchers say false claims about the attempted assassination of former President Trump have spread rapidly on social media.
The research group NewsGuard found that the word “staged” appeared more than 300,000 times, and the phrase “inside job” was mentioned more than 80,000 times on X following the violence at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally.
The conspiracy theory that the shooting was a so-called “false flag” event planned with the Secret Service to fuel Trump’s reelection campaign was part of the false narratives viewed more than 100 million times on X in a 24-hour period, an analysis by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue showed.
That’s drastically higher than the 35 million impressions reviewed from false flag conspiracy theories connected to the Uvalde school shooting in Texas in 2022, according to the institute.
Another false theory that the head of the Secret Service ordered a sniper not to shoot the gunman spread online, despite having no basis in reality.
Experts with the institute found that many of the conspiracies began on fringe message board 4Chan, or on the popular messaging service Telegram, before migrating to more mainstream social media platforms.
X owner Elon Musk himself endorsed a conspiracy theory about the shooting, falsely suggesting that security failure may have been “deliberate.”
In its report, the institute said it is difficult to undo the damage done by the influx of false narratives about the shooting.
“The spread of false information and conspiracy theories which threaten to further erode trust in institutions and democracy, and may also have the potential to incite violence, provides yet another example showing that significantly more work is needed on the part of social media platforms,” the institute wrote.
Wisconsin U.S. senator, on home turf, keeps up the attack on President Biden
By Chuck Quirmbach
Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican, who narrowly won reelection in 2022, gave a 4-minute speech in which he mentioned that a school house in Ripon, Wis., was a key birthplace of the Republican Party in 1854.
The senator, now in his third term, then turned to modern themes of criticizing the Biden administration’s record on the U.S.-Mexico border and on inflation. Johnson also continued conservative attacks on trans athletes.
Johnson has been a stalwart supporter of Donald Trump during Trump’s presidency, and for the last four years.
Biden says it was a 'mistake' to use the term 'bullseye' in reference to Trump
By Clayton Kincade
President Biden said in an exclusive interview with NBC’s Lester Holt that “it was a mistake” for him to use the term “bullseye” in reference to former President Donald Trump, but Biden defended his decision to call out Trump for his rhetoric.
Biden used the term before the attempted assassination of Trump in a call with donors on July 8. Biden specifically said that "it's time to put Trump in the bullseye," according to a campaign source with knowledge of the call.
“It was a mistake to use the word — I didn’t say crosshairs — I meant bullseye, I meant focus on it, focus on what he’s doing, focus on his policy, focus on the number of lies he told in the debate,” Biden said in the interview.
Sen. J.D. Vance — now Trump's pick for his running mate — accused Biden of using rhetoric that led to the assassination attempt on Trump.
Asked whether he had reflected on his own choice of language after the attack, Biden defended his decision to paint contrasts between him and Trump — and said Trump had engaged in more dangerous rhetoric.
"He talks about there’ll be a bloodbath if he loses, talking about how he’s going to... suspend the sentences of all those who were arrested and sentenced to go to jail because of what happened at the Capitol,” Biden said in the interview.
Cue the dancing Trump montage
By Rachel Treisman
Trump's presence loomed large on the convention floor long before he stepped foot on it.
The opening speakers offered prayers and calls for both his recovery and reelection. And then came a montage of clips of Trump, fists raised, shimmying and boogying at various rallies and public appearances to the tune of "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People.
Trump frequently dances to the disco hit at his rallies.
The RNC chair, kicking off the evening, says the party's top priority is to win
By Rachel Treisman
Michael Whatley, who chairs of the Republican National Committee, began his remarks by acknowledging the attempt on Trump's life over the weekend.
He offered prayers for Trump, those injured and the family of Corey Comperatore, who was killed in the shooting at a Pennsylvania rally.
"We must unite as a party, and we must unite as a nation," he said. "We must show the same strength and resilience as President Trump and lead this nation to a greater future."
Whatley said when he took over as head of the RNC he pledged to do three things to make that happen: get out the vote, protect the ballot and hold a "world-class convention."
"As long as I am your chairman these will be the RNC's only priorities, because our number one objective is to win this election," he added.
The RNC voted in March to make Whatley the chair and Lara Trump the co-chair of the committee.
Whatley, RNC general counsel and the former chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, is a longtime Trump ally who was hand-picked by the former president to lead the RNC after former chair Ronna McDaniel stepped down in March, a decision she said was made "to allow our nominee to select a Chair of their choosing."
What Vance's nomination means for his home state of Ohio
By Sarah Donaldson, Ohio Public Media
Former President Donald Trump put an end to months of guesswork Monday, tapping Republican U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio as his running mate during this year’s presidential election.
Ohio was once considered a political bellwether, and local GOP politicians and business leaders are celebrating the state’s potential renewed relevance on the national stage.
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said Vance brings “new generational perspective” to the ticket, while GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno described Vance as a “dynamic, visionary leader.”
Steve Stivers, a former congressman and president of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, called Vance a “rising star” in the party.
“We're very excited that there is an Ohioan in the conversation. The road to the White House has gone through Ohio for, you know, about a hundred years, and it looks like it's going through Ohio again this year, which is really exciting,” he said.
More U.S. presidents came from Ohio than any other state – eight of the 46 presidents come from the Buckeye State, though no vice presidents have.
If Trump and Vance win in November, Gov. DeWine will select someone to fill Vance's current senate seat until 2026.
Vance, like Trump, denies the former president's 2020 election loss
By Ben Giles
In Sen. J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump has found a fellow election denier as his running mate — one who's already sown seeds of doubt about the upcoming presidential election.
While running for the Senate in 2022, Vance said on the campaign trail that he thought the 2020 election was “stolen from Trump.” And earlier this year, Vance told ABC News he still questions the results of the 2020 election.
“Do I think there were problems in 2020? Yes, I do,” he told George Stephanopoulos in February.
Vance, who at the time was being floated as a potential vice presidential nominee, also said that President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump should not have been immediately certified.
"If I had been vice president, I would have told the states, like Pennsylvania, Georgia and so many others, that we needed to have multiple slates of electors and I think the U.S. Congress should have fought over it from there," Vance said. "That is the legitimate way to deal with an election that a lot of folks, including me, think had a lot of problems in 2020. I think that's what we should have done."
In a statement, Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said Trump picked Vance as his running mate because he’ll “do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on Jan. 6: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people.”
The Biden campaign also criticized Vance for attempting to “whitewash” the attack on the U.S. Capitol — Vance said in May he was “truly skeptical” that former Vice President Mike Pence was ever in any real danger that day.
“I think politics and politics people like to really exaggerate things from time to time," Vance said at the time.
As for the upcoming presidential election, Vance said in May he’ll only accept the results of the presidential election “if we have a free and fair election.”
That stance aligns with Trump, who avoided a commitment to accepting November's results during June’s presidential debate.
When asked multiple times to pledge to “accept the results of this election, regardless of who wins,” Trump dodged, while reiterating false claims about “fraud and everything else.”
"If it's a fair and legal and good election, absolutely," Trump said.
How to follow along with tonight's events at the RNC
By Rachel Treisman
A slew of elected officials, voters and celebrities are slated to take to the convention floor over the next few hours.
NPR will provide coverage and analysis of the first evening of speeches right here on this live blog, as well as on the radio starting at 9 p.m. ET.
- LISTEN: You can listen on many public radio stations
- FOLLOW: Keep up with all our election coverage, including updates from the RNC and live streams in the NPR App's Election Tab.
- WATCH: Using our live stream at the top of this page
And stick with us for the next few days, as we'll be covering the convention all week — including Wednesday and Thursday night, when Vance and Trump are expected to speak.
Delegates at RNC say they are excited about Vance VP pick
By Ashley Lopez
July 15, 2024 at 7:18 PM EDT
Former President Donald Trump’s pick for his running mate, J.D. Vance, was a favorite for the ticket among many delegates at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.
Becky Currie, a delegate from Mississippi, said she particularly likes that Vance, 39, represents a younger generation of Republicans.
“I like J.D. Vance because he's a strong young man who's going to be president after Donald Trump and he'll be able to carry on this legacy,” she said. “I think that that's going to make him be the best vice president choice we have.”
Currie, a registered nurse, said she thinks Vance’s age has become an asset in a race that has increasingly centered the age of the parties’ two nominees.
Even though Trump is 78, Currie said she’s confident in his abilities — especially in comparison to President Biden, who is 81.
“I know people that are 90 that are just sharp as a tack, but there's some that are not,” Currie said. “And I think Joe Biden has some dementia and I think Donald Trump is sharp. But, you know, we're going to have J.D. Vance to back him up. So the country is in good hands.”
Julia Sublett, a delegate from Tulsa, Okla., was also pleased that Trump picked Vance to run as his vice presidential nominee. She said out of all the proposed names for the position, J.D. Vance was her favorite.
“He was my number one choice,” she said. “He kind of proves that anyone can make it in America. I mean, he's got the story of coming from nothing. You know, his family was addicted to drugs and overcame everything. So it just shows that anybody can do it.”
Where J.D. Vance stands on abortion, Ukraine, Jan. 6
By Lexie Schapitl
In his first two years in the Senate, J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, has established himself as a populist voice, at times clashing with Republican leadership.
But on issues like abortion, immigration and election integrity, he's closely aligned with Trump. Here's a look at where Vance stands on key issues:
Abortion
Vance describes himself as “pro-life,” but during his 2022 Senate campaign said he would like the issue to be left to the states.
I'd like it to be primarily a state issue,” Vance said in an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Ohio is going to want to have a different abortion policy from California, from New York, and I think that's reasonable.”
But in the same interview, Vance signaled openness to “ some minimum national standard.”
In a 2022 debate with Democratic Senate candidate Tim Ryan, Vance said he would support “a number of different exceptions” but did not specify what exactly those exceptions would be.
NPR has reached out to Vance’s staff for clarification on the federal role in abortion policy and what exceptions he supports.
Earlier this month, Vance said on NBC's Meet the Press that he supports the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone.
The anti-abortion group Students for Life Action gave Vance an A- on their “ Pro-Life Generation Report Card.”
Aid to Ukraine
Vance is one of the leading congressional Republican voices against U.S. aid to Ukraine. In an April op-ed, Vance wrote that he “remains opposed to virtually any proposal for the United States to continue funding this war.”
In the same op-ed, he encouraged Biden to pursue a negotiated peace with Putin.
In September 2023, Vance was among a group of Republican senators who opposed President Biden’s request for additional Ukraine aid.
“The American people deserve to know what their money has gone to,” the senators wrote. “How is the counteroffensive going? Are the Ukrainians any closer to victory than they were 6 months ago? What is our strategy, and what is the president’s exit plan? What does the administration define as victory in Ukraine?”
John Conway, a leader of the group Republicans for Ukraine, called Vance’s selection as Trump’s running mate “a huge disappointment to all Republicans who want to see Ukraine win, Russia lose, and Putin defeated.”
“Sen. Vance has a long history of confusing free, America-loving countries like Ukraine with tyrannical, corrupt, anti-American dictatorships like Russia,” Conway said in a statement to NPR. “The establishment of the Republican Party cannot continue to ignore the millions of Republicans who value American national security and understand that Ukraine is America’s friend and Putin is America’s enemy.”
Election Integrity
During his 2022 Senate primary campaign, Vance said, "I think the [2020] election was stolen from Trump.”
Speaking on CNN i n May, Vance downplayed the severity of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying he was "truly skeptical" that former Vice President Mike Pence's life "was ever in danger," despite chants from the crowd that Pence should be hanged.
“I think politics and politics people like to really exaggerate things from time to time," Vance said.
Immigration
Vance has taken a hard line on immigration; he has often decried a "crisis" at the southern border and called for funding and constructing a border wall.
Speaking on Fox News in June, Vance said he believes the U.S. should conduct "large-scale deportations."
Who is J.D. Vance, Trump's VP of choice?
By Rachel Treisman
Stephen Fowler
Donald Trump's vice presidential pick is J.D. Vance, a relative newcomer to politics and fierce critic-turned-champion of the former president.
"As Vice President, J.D. will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN," Trump wrote in his social media announcement on Monday.
Vance is a Marine Corps veteran, author and former venture capitalist from Middletown, Ohio. He has represented the state in the U.S. Senate since January 2023.
The Yale Law School graduate and investment banker first rose to national prominence in 2016 with the publication of his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, a bestselling account of his upbringing — and the plight of the white working class — in Appalachia, plagued by poverty, abuse and addiction.
The book, which also faced its share of social and historical critiques, was adapted into a movie in 2020.
Vance went on to found " Our Ohio Renewal ," a since-shuttered nonprofit with focus areas including education and opioid addiction.
"The success of the book has given me the flexibility, but also I think the platform to talk about some of the issues that are most important to me," Vance told NPR in December 2016.
The organization dissolved in less than two years. Next, Vance co-founded a venture capital firm headquartered in Cincinnati and aimed at funding startups in underserved cities.
In 2021, after months of hinting at his political ambitions, Vance launched his bid for the U.S. Senate.
He won a crowded primary race in May 2022 with the help of a last-minute endorsement from Trump, of whom he had once been unabashedly critical.
Vance went on to win the general election and assume his seat in the Senate, where he has been a leading defender of Trump and many of his policies, including opposing abortion rights and aid to Ukraine, calling for stronger border policies and downplaying the effects of climate change.
The father of three is married to his Yale Law classmate Usha Chilukuri Vance, who has previously clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Judge Amul Thapar.
If the Trump-Vance ticket prevails, Vance — who will turn 40 in August — would be one of the youngest vice presidents in U.S. history.
Biden, Harris react to Vance VP nomination
By Clayton Kincade
President Joe Biden told reporters on Tuesday that he thinks Sen. J.D. Vance is "a clone of Trump on the issues — I don't see a difference." An official statement from the Biden campaign team has said Vance will "enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda," including Project 2025 and a nationwide ban on abortion.
After the announcement, Vice President Kamala Harris called Vance and left him a voicemail congratulating him, a source told NPR's Deepa Shivaram. NPR granted the source anonymity due to the private nature of the call.
Vance officially nominated as Trump's running mate at RNC
By Ben Giles
Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio has officially been nominated at the Republican National Convention as former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate.
Vance made his way through the crowd of delegates shortly before 4 p.m. CT, pausing briefly to greet the Ohio delegation to the RNC. Jon Husted, the lieutenant governor of Ohio, introduced Vance as a man well-suited to fulfilling the “sacred trust” of the office of vice president.
“Such a man must have an America-first attitude in his heart,” Husted said. “He must embrace his obligation to the American family, the American worker and the American soldier. He must believe that America is exceptional.”
“J.D. Vance is such a man.”
Bernie Moreno, the GOP nominee for the other U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, then made the motion to nominate Vance by acclamation. The delegates overwhelmingly voiced their support.
Trump announced the pick earlier Monday on Truth Social, calling Vance “the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States.”
Vance is seen as a rising star in Republican politics, having won his Senate seat — with Trump’s endorsement — in 2022 after gaining fame for his controversial memoir, Hillbilly Elegy. On Truth Social, Trump touted Vance’s service in the Marine Corps and experience as a Yale Law School graduate, in addition to his success as an author.
The former president has described Vance, once an outspoken Trump critic, as a “genuine convert” to his “Make America Great Again” cause.
Despite once calling Trump “reprehensible” and an “idiot,” Vance has become one of Trump’s strongest defenders in Congress, as well as a supporter of the former president’s false claims of election fraud.
Vance said in May he’ll only accept the results of the presidential election “if we have a free and fair election.”
A Trump-Vance win would leave an open spot in the U.S. Senate
By Rachel Treisman
If Trump wins the presidency, Vance would have to resign his seat in the U.S. Senate — where he is currently serving his first term — to take on the VP job.
In that case, it would fall to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to appoint his successor.
Under Ohio law, the governor appoints the person to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate until the next election, which would be in November 2026. Otherwise, Vance's term would run through 2028.
DeWine, a Republican, butted heads with Trump during Ohio's Senate primary earlier this year and has not explicitly endorsed the former president.
But he praised Trump's selection of Vance on Monday, saying the Ohio senator's "unique life story will resonate with Republicans and Independent voters across this country."
In a statement released on X, DeWine described Vance as a "father, military veteran, best-selling author, and has served Ohio well as our U.S. Senator." He said Vance, who is 39, will also "bring a new generational perspective to the ticket."
Vance now on the convention floor
By Jeongyoon Han
Vance, Trump's vice president pick, is making his way on the convention floor, pausing to take selfies and shake hands with people. The crowd is clearly excited to welcome the Ohio senator and congratulate him on the selection.
J.D. Vance once shunned Trump as 'noxious.' Now he's his running mate
By Rachel Treisman
The man who Trump chose as his running mate was once a vocal critic of the former president, calling him such choice insults as "noxious," "cultural heroin" and "might be America's Hitler."
Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio rose to fame in 2016 with the publication of his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, a widely read — and also criticized— look at his life growing up surrounded by poverty and addiction in the Rust Belt.
At that time, he made no secret of his dislike for then-candidate Trump — including in an August 2016 interview on NPR's Fresh Air.
Vance acknowledged that many of his friends and family members were planning to vote for Trump, but said he personally did not see Trump as qualified. He repeated variations of the same idea: "Trump is not going to actually make any of these problems better."
Vance said at the time that he would either vote third party, "hold my nose and vote for Hillary Clinton" or "write in my dog because that's about as good as it seems."
"But I think that I'm going to vote third party because I can't stomach Trump," he added. "I think that he's noxious and is leading the white working class to a very dark place."
Listen to the full interview here.
The writer and venture capitalist waded into politics himself several years later, running for the U.S. Senate in 2022. Vance won that race after an endorsement from Trump, and has been one of Trump's most vocal supporters in Congress ever since.
As NPR's Stephen Fowler explains : "In Trump’s world, past statements are almost never fatal if overwritten by present and future actions. Vance has morphed into a key Trump ally since taking office, and an omnipresent surrogate during his New York hush money trial."
Trump has called Vance a "genuine convert" to his cause, and said in his social media announcement on Monday that Vance "will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN."
Trump's family weighs in on Vance as VP pick
By Jeongyoon Han
Elena Moore
Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of former President Donald Trump, is pleased by his father's decision to pick Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate.
"I don't think it's a secret that that's sorta been my guy for quite some time. He's done an incredible job in the United States Senate. He articulates the message so well," said Trump Jr., who was an early advocate for Vance to be on the ticket. He spoke to reporters at the RNC in Milwaukee.
Vance is a first-term senator who first rose to fame after publishing his controversial memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which focused on his upbringing in a white-working class family and highlighted experiences of poverty and addiction.
"This is going to be a Rust Belt election," Trump Jr. added, referencing the need to win swing key states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. "That's [Vance's] battleground. That's his home. Those are his people."
Several of Trump's children were present during the roll call vote, including his second son, Eric Trump and his wife, Lara Trump, who also co-chairs the Republican National Committee.
"I think [Vance is] going to be a force," she told reporters. "I think he's very much like Donald Trump. I think he has a vision... for the future of this country that is aligned with the America First policies that my father-in-law put forward. And I think he's going to be a great running mate," she said.
White House declines comment on J.D. Vance tweet blaming Biden rhetoric for Trump's attempted assassination
By Washington Desk
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined comment on a statement that J.D. Vance had made on X after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, where Vance said that Biden’s rhetoric about Trump “led directly” to the shooting.
“We are not going to politicize this moment. It is wrong to politicize this moment,” Jean-Pierre told reporters, saying that political violence of any kind was not acceptable.
Asked whether Biden would adjust his rhetoric going forward to refrain from calling Trump a threat to democracy, Jean-Pierre emphasized that Biden and the White House would continue to speak against political violence.
Biden’s campaign issued a statement about Vance after Trump announced his pick as his running mate, saying Vance “denies the results of the 2020 election and makes excuses for political violence,” referring to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
Campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said the Biden-Harris campaign was focused on “uniting the country, creating opportunity for everyone, and lowering costs” while the Trump-Vance campaign had a “harmful agenda” that would “take away Americans’ rights, hurt the middle class, and make life more expensive – all while benefiting the ultra-rich and greedy corporations.”
States have sent police and National Guard personnel to Milwaukee
By Bill Chappell
As they work to maintain safety and security at the 2024 Republican National Convention, federal and local authorities in Milwaukee are not alone. A number of outside states have sent personnel to bolster the security footprint.
California, for instance, has deployed 61 law enforcement officers to Wisconsin, while Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz authorized the Minnesota National Guard to add to public safety efforts in Milwaukee.
The Michigan State Police sent 35 uniformed personnel to help with security and crowd management.
“Public safety transcends party lines,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Sunday. “California is proud to support our law enforcement colleagues in Wisconsin during this important political event.”
The out-of-state deployments were planned before the sniper attack on former President Trump’s rally on Saturday. They were orchestrated through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, or EMAC, a mutual aid program that streamlines the ability of U.S. states and territories to help one another in emergencies.
Roughly a third of the California contingent are police officers from Bakersfield, Fresno and Long Beach. Another 40 people are being sent from the California Highway Patrol.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency for the Milwaukee area due to the RNC back in May, temporarily granting arrest powers to law enforcement officers who leave their normal jurisdictions to help during the convention.
The Homeland Security Department also previously designated the RNC, which runs through July 18, as a national special security event. The Secret Service says the step allows “significant resources” from federal, state and local levels “to ensure a robust security plan is in place.”
The Secret Service has made 'adjustments' to security for Biden, Trump and Harris
By Washington Desk
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters that Biden and Trump are “constantly” subject to threats and said the Secret Service had enhanced protection for the two leaders, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Personnel and other protective resources have been added at the RNC,” he said.
He declined comment on the “adjustments” that had been made to security for the leaders.
He described a “heightened threat environment” and said rhetoric and “preposterous” rumors about the attempted assassination was contributing to the threat environment.
He said the DHS was in the process of selecting a person to lead the independent review of the assassination attempt, a review he said he hoped would begin quickly so that immediate and longer-term corrective actions could be quickly identified.
He said the investigation would be led by someone outside of government so that the public can be confident it is independent.
Mayorkas declined to get into any details about the attempted assassination because of the pending review.
Mayorkas said he had 100% confidence in the United States Secret Service and its director, Kim Cheatle. He said he plans to speak to congressional leaders about resources for the agency. Similarly, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden has confidence in Cheatle.
NYT photojournalist appears to capture the moment a bullet whizzed past Trump
By Joe Hernandez
A photojournalist who was on the scene covering Trump’s rally on Saturday appeared to capture an image of the exact moment a bullet whizzed past the former president’s head.
Photos: See how the Trump rally shooting unfolded
The image was taken by New York Times photographer Doug Mills, one of four media photographers permitted in the buffer zone around the stage.
Mills told NPR’s All Things Considered that at first he didn’t realize the loud pops he heard were gunshots, but then he saw that Trump was bleeding.
“I kept taking pictures and then I realized that he had grimaced and then he grabbed his ear and then he took his hand off his ear and there was blood on his ear and then he went down,” he said. “And I was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s been shot.’ ”
Mills continued to snap photos as Secret Service agents surrounded the former president, and as Trump defiantly pumped his fist in the air in the moments after the attempted assassination.
As Mills was preparing to send his photos back to the newspaper, he realized that he might have been taking pictures while the shooting occurred. He asked his photo editor to take a close look at the images filed.
“She said, ‘There’s actually a picture with the bullet going behind him,’ ” Mills recounted.
Trump officially has enough delegates to clinch the nomination
By Washington Desk
At 3:21 p.m. ET, Eric Trump announced the allocation of Florida’s 125 delegates to his father, former president Donald Trump, officially tipping him over the top to become the presidential nominee for the 2024 Republican Party.
See NPR's delegate tracker here.
March on RNC ends peacefully
By Jimmy Gutierrez
Emily Files
July 15, 2024 at 3:30 PM EDT
A downtown Milwaukee march that drew more than a thousand people to protest the RNC ended peacefully Monday afternoon.
Protesters carried signs in support of Palestine, abortion rights, immigrant rights, and more.
The march wove through downtown Milwaukee, crossing into the Secret Service’s “soft perimeter” which allows pedestrians through but requires vehicles to be screened.
Some protesters had to climb over concrete barriers in the street to get in and out of the security zone.
Coalition to March on the RNC organizer Alan Chavoya told WUWM those concrete barriers were probably the biggest practical “hurdle” the marchers faced. They also encountered a group of anti-abortion protesters, which Chavoya said motivated his protest group to “get loud.”
Trump picks Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance to be running mate
Former President Donald Trump announced Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, via his social media platform Truth Social.
“As Vice President, J.D. will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” he posted. “Congratulations to Senator J.D. Vance, his wife, Usha, who also graduated from Yale Law School, and their three beautiful children. MAGA2024!”
More on Vance here.
'Irresponsible' to blame assassination attempt on Democrats' rhetoric, GOP strategist says
By Obed Manuel
In the hours after an alleged assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, several conservatives tried pinning the blame for the shooting on Democrats' rhetoric about the former president.
Among them was J.D. Vance, U.S. senator from Ohio and possible vice presidential pick for Trump, who posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the Biden campaign's portrayal of Trump as an "authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs" led to the alleged attempt.
Heath Mayo, a GOP strategist and founder of the conservative group Principles First, took issue with Vance's message and others like it. Principles First calls itself a grassroots movement of conservatives concerned about GOP leadership, including Trump.
"We still don't even know all the facts about the shooter, and for a sitting senator to come out that quickly in the wake of such a tragic event, to pin blame on another political party, it's just irresponsible," Mayo said. "And it isn't fit for someone who sits as a United States senator. I think we should all kind of take a pause, take a moment, let the temperature come down a little bit and start to really understand who this person was and why they were acting."
Mayo said the Trump campaign's messaging about unity since the shooting has been encouraging to him, but added he is wary of how the Trump campaign may proceed.
"Pattern and practice do not make me very hopeful about how long they're going to be able to maintain a message of unity and hope," Mayo said, adding that he hopes the campaign can remain disciplined.
Regardless of political affiliation or the frustration people are feeling about the election, Mayo said he believes people should come together and watch how they speak to each other during this campaign season.
"This should not be a political issue. It should not be one party versus the other at a moment like this," Mayo said. "There's an American dead because of what happened that day. It's a tragedy."
Trump has selected his VP, to be announced this afternoon
By Megan Pratz
According to a source familiar with the plans who is not authorized to speak about the plans publicly, former President Donald Trump has selected a vice presidential candidate.
The announcement will be at 4:37pm ET/ 3:37pm CT in Milwaukee, at the Republican National Convention during the formal VP nomination process.
We'll have the latest for you here as we learn more.
March on RNC in progress
By Emily Files
Jimmy Gutierrez
Teran Powell
More than a thousand people are marching through downtown Milwaukee, protesting the RNC and the Republican Party.
The march started around 12:15 p.m. from Red Arrow Park, moving south past city hall. The group is now looping back north on Water Street, making its way to MLK Drive and Highland Avenue, about a block from Fiserv Forum where the main RNC events are taking place.
Marchers are chanting “Free Palestine,” “Show me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!” and “Fiserv, Fiserv, here we come! Donald Trump here we come!”
The march encountered anti-abortion protesters on Highland Avenue.
Meanwhile, the Secret Service-designated protest zones at Zeidler Park and McKinley Avenue are mostly empty.
This post was edited at 1:45 pm CT to update counter-protest line.
Artists on the schedule for tonight at the RNC
By Anastasia Tsioulcas
Ever since his 2016 campaign, former President Trump has struggled to attract support from high-profile musicians and entertainers — and the lineup for tonight’s convention opener indicates that the current political season hasn’t been any easier for him in that regard.
The featured musical guest for the RNC’s opening night is country singer Chris Janson, who also performed for the Republican gathering eight years ago. Janson is not a particularly well-known artist among mainstream audiences: The highest position he has ever reached on the Billboard Hot 100 chart is No. 41, twice (in 2015 for his song “Buy Me a Boat” and again in 2020 for the tune “Done”), while Buy Me A Boat went to No. 18 on the Billboard 200 album chart nine years ago.
Also on tonight’s docket: Amber Rose, a model/reality TV star/influencer/erstwhile rapper and former romantic partner of one-time Trump ally Kanye West. Back in 2016, she gave an interview to The Cut in which she called Trump an “idiot ,” expressing a fervent desire that he not be elected.
Since then, however, she seems to have done an about-face, although she has not yet publicly articulated a reason for her switch. In May, she posted a photo of herself on Instagram posing with the former president and Melania Trump. In a video published on social media last month, she cooed, " MAGA, baby! " while showing off Trump-related swag.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to get Secret Service protection in light of Trump assassination attempt
By Washington Desk
Update: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters at the White House daily briefing that Biden has directed that the U.S. Secret Service provide protection to Robert F Kennedy Jr in light of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump this weekend.
In a post on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump called for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to get U.S. Secret Service protection.
Since the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s father), major party candidates and their spouses have received protection from the Secret Service "within 120 days of a general presidential election," as well as former presidents (unless they turn down the protection) and other individuals "per Executive Order of the President."
In this case, "major presidential and vice presidential candidates" is defined by the Secretary of Homeland security.
Last year, Kennedy asked for Secret Service protection. According to a screenshot of a letter from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that was posted on Kennedy's campaign website, his request was denied.
Mayorkas wrote in July 2023 that, based on consultation with an advisory committee that included leaders of the House and Senate, he determined "Secret Service protection for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not warranted at this time."
A quick overview of the 2024 Republican Party platform
By Megan Pratz
Rachel Treisman
The Republican Party released its 2024 platform last week, after skipping it in 2020. Click here to read the 16-page document in full.
Dedicated to the "To the Forgotten Men and Women of America," it reads like the transcript of a Trump rally speech.
The Republican National Committee’s Platform Committee adopted former President Donald Trump’s platform, a document that leans into Trump’s preferred “America First” stances and steers away from traditional GOP social issues.
The platform starts with 20 promises, largely pulling from the tag lines of the former president, including “STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION” and the simplistic “END INFLATION.” Trump’s campaign sought to pare down the party platform.
More recently, Trump has made sure to try to distance himself from the controversial (and lengthy) Project 2025 policy document put together by some of his allies.
Notably, the promises don’t mention anything about abortion, as Trump attempts to de-emphasize the issue and appeal to swing voters. In the entire platform, the word appears just once, in a statement about the party's dedication to protecting "the issue of life." It reads: "We will oppose Late Term Abortion."
After appointing the Supreme Court justices who helped overturn the constitutional right to abortion, he has said the issue should now be up to states.
Other social issues appear more frequently, including promises related to limiting federal funding for schools teaching so-called critical race theory and keeping "men out of women's sports."
What to know about Project 2025, which Trump has disavowed
By Franco Ordoñez
Former President Donald Trump wants to distance himself from Project 2025, while the Biden campaign is doing everything it can to tie Trump to the conservative plan to transform the American government.
“I know nothing about Project 2025,” Trump wrote on his social media website Truth Social. “I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”
The 900-page plan, pulled together by the prominent conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, serves as a conservative guidebook to expand presidential powers and overhaul the federal workforce so that it can be replaced with partisan loyalists.
It’s not Trump’s plan, but it is a plan made for Trump, whom leaders have described as the “embodiment” of their efforts. And it outlines legal pathways Trump could take to implement some of his biggest policy goals.
Project 2025 also outlines transition and recruitment plans to help ensure Trump does not repeat some of the mistakes made early in his first administration when his team was caught unprepared to staff and take over the government from the outgoing Obama administration.
“If we learned anything from President Trump's 2016 presidential transition effort, it wasn't as smooth as others,” said Ryan Williams, who worked for Mitt Romney on his 2012 presidential campaign. “Usually, presidential campaigns have fully functioning transition operations ready to go.”
While Trump has sought to deny a connection, there is plenty of overlap between Project 2025 and his agenda.
It proposes mass deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants. So does Trump.
Trump has called for cuts to the federal agencies like the Department of Education. Project 2025 calls for its elimination.
But, there are also differences. Read more about them here.
Marchers gather to protest RNC
By Emily Files
Jimmy Gutierrez
Hundreds of people from Milwaukee and beyond gathered at Red Arrow Park this morning, preparing to protest the Republican National Convention and the Republican Party.
Monday’s march is likely to be one of the largest organized protests during the RNC.
The mood was calm, even joyous, as protesters gathered with Palestinian flags and signs saying “Fight the Racist and Reactionary Republican Agenda.” Marchers told WUWM reporters that they expected the protest to be safe, saying they’ve been gearing up for years and have their own trained security personnel.
During a press conference before the march, organizers declined to comment on the assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, saying it wasn’t relevant. Speakers decried Trump and the Republican Party’s plans for abortion access, immigration and the war in Gaza.
A handful of counter-protesters, with signs saying “BLM are racist thugs” were also there.
The march is scheduled to begin at noon local time and follow a route through the “soft” security perimeter that goes about a block away from Fiserv Forum, where the main convention events are happening.
Coalition to March on the RNC co-chair Omar Flores says his group is also planning to protest at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.
Investors bet big on Truth Social and the 'Trump Trade'
By Maria Aspan
Financial markets are wagering that former President Donald Trump will win big in November after he survived an attempted assassination in Pennsylvania this weekend.
Shares in the parent company of Trump’s Truth Social network surged Monday morning, the first day of trading after the attack. Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, trading under the stock ticker symbol DJT, the former president’s initials, opened up nearly 50% higher this morning, before retreating somewhat; by late morning, they were trading at around $39, or up more than 25% from their Friday close.
Trump Media’s shares have been extremely volatile since March when it made its stock market debut by merging with a listed shell company. It lost over $300 million in the first quarter and had almost negligible revenue.
But Trump owns a majority stake in the company, and retail investors have flocked to it to show their support for him. They also hope that usage of his Truth Social platform will rise if he’s elected.
And in the wake of Saturday’s attack, all kinds of investors are betting that Trump now has a better chance of victory in November.
The so-called “Trump trade” is a series of stock-market bets on investments that are expected to do better under a second Trump presidency. On Monday, those bets include a surge in the price of bitcoin, as investors hope for a more crypto-friendly president.
Biden is being briefed on the latest in the rally shooting investigation
By Deepa Shivaram
President Biden and Vice President Harris are being briefed in the White House Situation Room on the latest developments in the investigation into the Trump rally shooting, the White House told reporters.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is slated to update reporters at the White House daily briefing later this afternoon.
Biden's briefing includes Mayorkas, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, among other top officials and Biden aides.
Protesters say they'll be at the RNC as planned
By Liz Baker
July 15, 2024 at 11:55 AM EDT
Organizers of the largest expected protest against the Republican National Convention say the shooting at Donald Trump’s campaign event has not impacted their planned rally and march on the convention’s opening day.
“I think Trump breeds a lot of hate, and I think the shooting has nothing to do with us and we will continue the march as planned,” said Omar Flores, spokesperson for the Coalition to March on the RNC, adding that they do not anticipate counterprotests from people upset about the assassination attempt on Saturday.
Organizers expect more than 5,000 people to attend the protest on Monday, “a lot more” than they initially planned. Flores attributes this in part to Biden’s performance in the first debate.
“With Biden honestly not looking so hot right now in terms of polling and how he’s been doing as a whole, it makes the threat of a Trump presidency a lot more imminent,” he added, “which has actually been really good for the turnout for our march.”
How to watch the RNC tonight from home
By Emily Alfin Johnson
Today's schedule includes two official sessions, including screenings of the movie Reagan (which will hit theaters later this summer and stars Dennis Quaid as the 40th president), as well as several events for different state delegations.
You can find the full schedule here.
The official theme of the evening is "Make America Wealthy Once Again".
NPR will have live analysis and coverage from Milwaukee on air and in a video livestream starting at 8 p.m. CT. Monday night.
- LISTEN: You can listen on many public radio stations
-
FOLLOW: Keep up with all our election coverage, including updates from the RNC and live streams in the NPR App's Election Tab.
- WATCH: NPR's YouTube page.
NPR will also have special coverage throughout the convention as major announcements and speeches happen.
We'll keep you posted here with details as we have them.
Trump campaign says it will retool its message to focus on unity
By Franco Ordoñez
Former President Donald Trump and his campaign are retooling his messaging for the Republican National Convention. As NPR”s Franco Ordoñez reports, the campaign is shifting its message after Saturday’s assassination attempt.
Former President Trump is tweaking his speech to focus more on unity and less on attacking President Biden, according to a source familiar with the campaign’s plans who is not authorized to speak publicly.
President Biden, who is also calling for lowering the temperature of political rhetoric, ordered a review of the security plan for the Republican National Convention.
Trump gave a series of interviews to newspapers Monday where he says he’s alive only because he turned his head slightly.
He told the New York Post "I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead."
He says he remembers hearing the whizzing sound before feeling the bullet ripping through his skin.
Photos: See how the Trump rally shooting unfolded
Trump tells Fox News' Brett Baier he'll announce his VP pick tonight
By Ximena Bustillo
Former President Donald Trump is expected to announce his pick for vice president tonight, according to FOX News’ Brett Baier.
The announcement, which Trump had previously come by Monday will end months-long speculation over who would be his running mate.
A few names have been floated as potential contenders including GOP Senators J.D. Vance, Tim Scott, Marco Rubio; Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.
Why the RNC is in Milwaukee
By Emily Files
The Republican National Convention is happening in Milwaukee four years after the Democratic National Convention was mostly canceled here due to COVID-19. Milwaukee’s preparations for the DNC in 2020 made it “turnkey” ready for the RNC, according to city officials who lobbied for the RNC in 2024.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, a Democrat, supported the RNC coming to Milwaukee because of its potential economic benefits. The city’s tourism arm, VISIT Milwaukee, estimates the RNC could bring $200 million in spending to Milwaukee.
Another selling point for Milwaukee is Wisconsin’s role as a swing state in presidential elections. In 2020, Biden won Wisconsin by about 20,000 votes. Both Democrats and Republicans are working to boost their margins in Wisconsin ahead of the November election.
Ripon, Wisc., is known as the birthplace of the Republican Party.
Long wait at vehicle screening checkpoints
By Graham Thomas
Emily Files
Commuters say they are waiting an hour or more to get into the Secret Service-operated “soft” vehicle screening perimeter. WUWM spoke to drivers waiting in line at the Plankinton Avenue and Michigan Street checkpoint at about 8:45 a.m..
An employee of a business in the former Grand Avenue Mall said it took him one hour to go one block in the heavy downtown traffic. Another driver who works at Boston Lofts apartment complex said he had been waiting for an hour and 20 minutes to go through the checkpoint. The Secret Service is inspecting vehicles' trunks and engines. WUWM reporters observed the screening process for cars taking about two minutes each.
Judge dismisses Trump classified documents case
By The Washington Desk
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has dismissed the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump over the manner in which special counsel Jack Smith was appointed.
“The Superseding Indictment is DISMISSED because Special Counsel Smith’s appointment violates the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution,” wrote Judge Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by the former president.
Special counsel Jack Smith had contested this argument, and other federal courts had upheld the constitutionality of special counsels.
The Justice Department had no immediate comment.
Here's where all the big Trump cases stand in the months leading to the election:
Trump plans a ‘different speech' at convention, saying shooting changed campaign
By Bill Chappell
The speech former President Donald Trump delivers to his party faithful this week will be “a lot different” from the one he had been preparing before a shooting at his rally in Pennsylvania Saturday. His remarks will focus less on President Biden and more on unity, he said.
“The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger,” Trump told the Washington Examiner, in an interview before traveling to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Trump said he had originally planned to target Biden’s policies this week, in what is expected to be an acceptance speech for his party’s presidential nomination.
“Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now.”
Trump said he was still absorbing the magnitude of what happened in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, when he was injured in a sniper attack that killed one person and injured two others. The former president says he narrowly avoided a dire injury, as a bullet hit the upper part of his right ear. He was saved, he said, by a random turn of his head, to glance at a screen.
“That reality is just setting in,” Trump told the newspaper. “I rarely look away from the crowd. Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?”
Now, Trump said, he’s working on a speech that’s geared less at stirring up his base and more at shifting the tone of the campaign.
“It is a chance to bring the country together. I was given that chance,” he said.
He added, “The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago.”
Trump’s comments mirror the sentiments of President Biden, who discussed “the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics” in a national address Sunday night.
“We can’t allow this violence to be normalized,” Biden said. “I believe politics ought to be an arena for peaceful debate.”
Guns can be carried in the convention area, but Milwaukee's mayor says security is tight
By Obed Manuel
Though Wisconsin state law will allow for guns to be carried near the Republican National Convention, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson says he believes the event will be safe.
The RNC is set to kick off two days after an alleged assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, who is slated to speak on Thursday. Some 50,000 attendees are expected to attend.
The U.S. Secret Service designated the RNC a national special security event, the highest available to the federal government. The agency also said it will not change its security plans after Saturday’s shooting.
Despite this, Johnson said that he and local law enforcement feel confident in the Secret Service’s plan due to the 18 months it took to prepare. The event, he said, will have more security “than what was present at Mr. Trump’s rally the other day, when the assassination attempt took place.”
Johnson added that the event was able to bring in thousands of other officers from jurisdictions across Wisconsin and the United States. He also pointed to a local ordinance passed prohibiting certain items, like tennis balls, canned food and other items that could be thrown, from being brought into certain public areas at the convention.
Still, Wisconsin’s open carry laws mean firearms can be legally carried around the convention area.
“We would have preferred to have been in a position where we might be able to restrict that sort of use, especially given the national security event that we have going on here today, however, state law supersedes local ordinances and we were not able to do that,” Johnson said.
More from WUWM: Understanding Wisconsin's weapon laws ahead of Republican National Convention
Here's who is expected to speak at the convention
By Emily Alfin Johnson
A list of headliners and keynote speakers released by the Trump campaign and the RNC on Saturday includes several members of the Trump clan (including Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle), celebrities and business leaders.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who initially was not invited to the RNC, is now slated to speak on Tuesday.
Many people speculated to be Trump’s vice presidential nominee are also on the speaker’s list, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
Some of the celebrities and industry leaders speaking:
- Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition
- Tucker Carlson, television host
- Savannah Chrisley, TV personality and criminal justice reform advocate
- Franklin Graham, renowned faith leader
- Lee Greenwood, country music star
- Chris Janson, country music star
- Vivek Ramaswamy, businessman
- Amber Rose, rapper and influencer
- Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Steven and Zach Witkoff, businessman
In addition, a number of senators, representatives and Republican state officials are expected to address the convention, including:
- U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)
- U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL)
- U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
- U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO)
- U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH)
- U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC)
- U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
- U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)
- U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (LA-4)
- U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (LA-1)
- U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (MN-6)
- U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (NC-9), NRCC Chairman
- U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL-1)
- U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14)
- Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR)
- Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL)
- Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX)
- Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA)
- Mayor Eric Johnson, mayor of Dallas and former Democrat
- Mayor Trent Conaway, mayor of East Palestine, Ohio
- Dr. Ben Carson, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- Kellyanne Conway, former counselor to former President Trump
- Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state
-
Newt Gingrich, former House speaker
After saying she wouldn't be there, Nikki Haley will speak at the Republican convention
By Sarah McCammon
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. According to her spokesperson, she will take to the stage on Tuesday.
Haley, once a 2024 presidential candidate vying with Trump for the nomination, had released all 97 of her delegates and encouraged them to support the former president at the convention, a spokeswoman for Haley told NPR last week. At that time, the spokeswoman said Haley would not be attending.
She initially refused to throw her weight behind him, saying he’d have to earn her support.
Ultimately, Haley did say she would be voting for Trump during a speech at the Hudson Institute, a think tank she joined after dropping out of the race.
In May, she pledged to vote for Trump, adding that she hoped he would "reach out to the millions of people" who voted for her in the GOP nominating contests.
Haley is now urging the 97 delegates she earned in this year's primaries and caucuses to back Trump in the official nomination proceedings. In a statement, Haley said the convention is a “time for unity,” and said President Biden is “not competent” to serve another term.
While Haley is "releasing" the delegates, they may not be required to vote for Trump and may still choose to vote for Haley or back another Republican. In some cases delegates are bound to a candidate until the convention, based on state party rules.
Head of the Secret Service says it's 'participating fully' in a review of Saturday's shooting
By Emily Alfin Johnson
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle released a statement Monday expressing her condolences to the victims in Saturday's shooting at a Trump campaign rally in Bethel, Pa.
She confirmed that the the Secret Service is working with federal, state and local agencies to review the shooting. "We understand the importance of the independent review announced by President Biden yesterday," Cheatle said in her statement, "and will participate fully."
Cheatle says she's confident in the security plan for the convention this week.
"The security plans for National Special Security Events are designed to be flexible. As the conventions progress, and in accordance with the direction of the President, the Secret Service will continuously adapt our operations as necessary in order to ensure the highest level of safety and security for convention attendees, volunteers and the City of Milwaukee."
You can read her full statement here.
The latest on the investigation into the assassination attempt on Trump
By Emma Bowman
Joe Hernandez
Ximena Bustillo
Jeongyoon Han
A 20-year-old identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks allegedly shot at Trump and killed one person at a political rally for the former president in Butler, Pa., on Saturday.
Trump said a bullet pierced the top of his right ear.
Photos: See how the Trump rally shooting unfolded
The FBI is looking into Crooks’ actions in the days and weeks before the shooting, as it leads the investigation into the assassination attempt.
FBI officials described Crooks as a lone gunman with no obvious political ideology.
Biden has ordered an independent review of the national security measures at Trump’s rally and promised to release the results of that investigation.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, plans to launch an investigation into the assassination attempt, an aide confirmed to NPR.
Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old father and firefighter from Sarver, Pa., was identified by state officials as the man killed in Saturday's attack.
Two other Pennsylvania residents who were injured in the shooting — David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township — were both hospitalized and in stable condition on Sunday.
More from NPR: The man killed in the assassination attempt on Trump died shielding his family
Security ramps up at the RNC convention
By Emma Bowman
Joe Hernandez
Ximena Bustillo
Jeongyoon Han
The Trump campaign said security is being stepped up around the site of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The RNC is already a high-security event.
Trump arrived in Milwaukee on Sunday after saying that the threat to his life a day earlier would not postpone his plans.
“Based on yesterday’s terrible events, I was going to delay my trip to Wisconsin, and The Republican National Convention, by two days, but have just decided that I cannot allow a 'shooter,' or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Biden, after speaking briefly with Trump on Saturday night, said he’s “sincerely grateful that he’s doing well and recovering.”
Biden also said he’s ordered the Secret Service to provide Trump with “every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure his continued safety," and has asked the agency to review all security measures in place for the Republican National Convention.
Officials from Milwaukee, the Secret Service and FBI said their security plan for the Republican National Convention will remain in place.
“We’re not anticipating any changes to our current security footprint or planning,” said Audrey Gibson-Cicchino, the RNC coordinator for the U.S. Secret Service.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Hensle said the bureau is investigating the chatter that has bubbled up since the shooting Saturday, but said there was “no known articulated threat against the RNC” or any attendee.
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman reiterated that coordination was happening between the city and federal officials. He said the police department was “very comfortable” with the current plans.
“We got this,” he said. Norman emphasized the police department’s commitment to protecting not just convention attendees, but also city residents. “This is our community, too,” Norman said.
What to expect from the Republican National Convention
By Rachel Treisman
The Republican National Convention begins in Milwaukee today, kicking off a four-day event to approve a platform and officially select the presidential ticket.
It comes just two days after Trump was injured in an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pa. One person was killed in the shooting and two were critically wounded.
Trump is expected to accept the nomination at the convention and also take the stage to deliver remarks. The former president had easily secured the necessary threshold of delegates during a swift primary season, making his nomination all but a formality. The bigger surprise going into this week is who will be running alongside him.
The convention is an opportunity for the party to highlight its policy stances (as released on the 2024 platform it released last week) and rustle up plenty of publicity.
It will include speeches by a number of Republican figures, including former Trump rival Nikki Haley.
An estimated than 50,000 people, including party delegates from all 50 states and six U.S. territories, have flocked to Milwaukee for the week's events.
The Republican Party has given each of the four days a theme:
- Monday: Make America Wealthy Once Again
- Tuesday: Make America Safe Once Again
- Wednesday: Make America Strong Once Again
- Thursday: Make America Great Once Again
We'll be updating this live blog throughout the week, so feel free to scroll when you want, bookmark it for later and keeping checking back with us as the convention unfolds.
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