WELCOME TO OUR SPECIAL EDITION From the Political Deskis an evening newsletter bringing you the latest coverage and analysis from the election campaign, the White House and Congress from the NBC News political team.
Tonight, we’ll recap the highlights from the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and give you the inside story of how Donald Trump picked his running mate.
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Republican convention seeks unity, but some old factions remain
Matt Dixon, Alan Smith, Catherine Doyle
MILWAUKEE — The focus on the first day of the Republican National Convention was the economy, but the spotlight was on Donald Trump’s first public appearance since the assassination attempt at Saturday’s rally.
Electricity rang out through the Fiserv Forum as Trump entered the venue, wearing a large white bandage over his right ear, and the crowd erupted in cheers as Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA,” a song that has become a staple at Trump rallies and moved many in the crowd, including Don Jr., the former president’s son.
Participants at the rally shouted “Fight! Fight! Fight!”, imitating Trump’s words as he stood up after being shot.
While most speakers adhered to the evening’s theme of “Making America Prosperous Again,” there were references to the shootings scattered throughout the evening and remarks that at times contradicted Trump’s own calls for unity.
High inflation and what speakers described as a struggling economy under President Joe Biden were key topics throughout the evening.
“Today, many families are experiencing the same thing,” North Carolina Lt. Governor Mark Robinson said, recounting his own experience growing up in poverty. “Grocery prices have skyrocketed, and gas prices have nearly doubled at North Carolina plants.”
The impact of the assassination attempt on the Republican presidential nominee was felt at the convention, but it wasn’t a major theme on the first night: The Trump campaign strategically chose which speakers to talk about the issue to prevent it from being featured in every speech, and it was only mentioned in a handful of speeches on Monday night.
“Unfortunately, this is a dark moment for our country,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia. “Two days ago, evil descended upon a man we all deeply respect and love, and we can only pray to God that its hand was turned toward President Trump.”
But the convention wasn’t all about uniting the country. There was plenty more appealing talking points for the base to attack Democrats and other groups.
For example, Greene also went after transgender rights, and outspoken Trump supporter Charlie Kirk urged Republicans to “disband the Biden-Harris administration.”
“The slow decline of our nation is due to our own choices,” he said.
Read more →
How Trump chose J.D. Vance as his running mate
Henry J. Gomez and Matt Dixon
MILWAUKEE — With the Republican National Convention looming last week, Donald Trump met privately with two of his closest advisers, his sons, to discuss his choice of running mate.
The conversation quickly grew tense when Trump suggested he was leaning toward Doug Burgum, until recently a little-known governor of North Dakota, a man with an unassuming, undramatic personality who would never outdo Trump.
That’s when Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump interjected.
“Donald Jr. and Eric were furious, saying, ‘Why would you do something so stupid? He’s not offering us anything,'” a veteran Republican activist familiar with the discussions told NBC News.
“They were all basically like, ‘JD, JD, JD,'” the operative said.
On Monday, President Trump endorsed his sons and chose Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio as his running mate. Trump broke the news to Vance in a phone call 20 minutes before announcing it on social media, according to a source familiar with the call.
Continue reading about Henry and Matt →
Zoom out: Chuck Todd, chief political analyst at NBC News, wrote that if Trump-Vance wins in November, the Bush-Romney-Cheney wing of the Republican Party could be in trouble not just for the next four years, but for a generation.
🗞️ More top stories from tonight
- ⚫ Shooting aftermath: Local police notified Trump’s Secret Service before Saturday’s shooting at the Pennsylvania rally that they were searching for a suspicious person in the area, a US official told NBC News, while authorities are still searching for a motive as the gunman left few clues behind. Read more →
- 🤝 Across the aisle: In an interview with ABC News, Trump said Biden “couldn’t have been nicer” during their phone call after the assassination attempt. Continue reading →
- 📝 Editing and Revision Eric Trump told “Today” host Savannah Guthrie that the new version of his father’s convention speech is “positive for the country” and “very positive.” Continue reading →
- 🏠 Housing costs: Biden plans to ask Congress to pass legislation that would limit landlords to 5% rent increases or risk losing federal tax breaks. Read more →
- 🟦 Counter Programming: Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to hold a moderated conversation with Republican women in Michigan on Wednesday, the same day Vance addresses delegates to the Republican convention. Continue reading →
- 🎙️ Mix-up? Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said he had read an earlier version of his speech played on a teleprompter at the start of the Republican National Convention, which included the line that Democrats are “a clear and present threat to America.” Continue reading →
- 📺 Watch the full interview between NBC News anchor Lester Holt and President Joe Biden
That’s all from the Politics Desk. If you have any comments, please email us here. politicsnewsletters@nbcuni.com
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