MILWAUKEE — The Republican National Convention begins Monday in Milwaukee, two days after Donald Trump was injured in an attempted murderand the violent scene at his campaign rally sparked outrage in the country and deepened already deep political divisions.
Trump and his advisers are vowing to show resilience in the face of the attack. Plans are afoot for the event to showcase the former president and his position as his party formally selects him as its nominee.
It was not immediately clear if or how Saturday’s attack would alter the four-day event, which normally has a celebratory atmosphere. Republican officials have said they want to defy the threats Trump has faced and stick to their plans and schedule. But at the very least, the event is expected to have a heightened focus on security and a stark acknowledgement of how astonishingly close the presumptive Republican nominee came to losing his life.
Where you are on the first day of the Republican National Convention:
The shooting has prompted bipartisan condemnation and calls for bipartisan unity. But it has also led some Republicans to blame President Joe Biden, pointing to his words portraying Trump as a threat to democracy. Some have called for prosecutors to now drop the four criminal cases against Trump, including one in which he was convicted.
As elected officials, politicians and a few ordinary Americans address the conference, the question arises as to what tone will prevail in the aftermath of the attack: Will the speeches become more intense, or will calls for calm prevail?
Even before the attempt on Trump’s life Saturday, Republicans had largely aligned themselves with him and planned to show party unity at the convention. But that message is expected to be even clearer now that the former president and GOP officials are looking to project resolve, with Trump saying Sunday that “it is more important than ever that we stand united and show our true character as Americans, remain strong and determined and not allow evil to win.”
The show of unity is a break with the party’s recent history. In 2016, the first time Republicans formally crowned Trump their nominee, the opening day of their convention was marked by angry dissent from anti-Trump delegates on the event floor. After his turbulent presidency ended with a riot at the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, his political standing looked weaker than ever as he launched his third White House campaign in 2022. But Trump flattened a field of GOP challengers, and his legal troubles have galvanized his supporters.
Trump has yet to name a running mate, and an announcement could come as early as Monday. His three leading candidates, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, are scheduled to speak to Republican delegates sometime this week, the event’s organizers said. And, as is tradition, the person Trump chooses as his vice presidential running mate is expected to speak Wednesday night.
Trump has compared his search for a new vice president to his former reality TV show, “The Apprentice,” leading to speculation that the showman could opt to reveal his choice onstage at the convention. He could also make the announcement on social media, as he did in 2016 when he selected Mike Pence as his running mate.
Before the shooting, there was already unrest among Democrats in the 2024 race. Biden’s shaky debate performance last month prompted members of his party to stage a public intervention calling for him to withdraw as their nominee and raising the real possibility that Trump could run against someone else.
Republicans have long tried to paint Biden as incompetent, but since Biden’s campaign has been seriously questioned, Trump and the GOP have ramped up their criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris. That is expected to continue as the convention gets underway, with more references to “the Biden-Harris administration.”
The theme for Monday’s program is “Make America Wealthy Once Again,” according to Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee. Focusing on the economy makes sense not only because it can be a hot topic for swing voters, but it’s also an area where Trump could have an edge compared to Biden when it comes to voter views on job creation and cost of living.
Expect Republicans to focus on Trump’s proposals to impose higher tariffs on foreign-made goods, along with extending the tax cuts he signed into law in 2017, which expire next year. Biden wants to extend the tax cuts for the middle class while raising taxes on highly profitable corporations and the wealthiest Americans.
Expect Republicans to also focus on inflation, even as the worst price increases in four decades are steadily slowing. according to a new report from the Department of LaborBiden claims Trump’s tariffs will only make the problem worse.
As Trump tries to win over undecided and moderate voters, one of the key questions is the extent to which he will include far-right figures in his sphere of influence, his lies about his loss in the 2020 election, his calls for retaliation against his opponents, and his embrace of those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Key messages from Trump’s third White House campaign include airing his grievances about the recent election and criticizing his legal troubles. He has said that if elected president, he expects to pardon many of those arrested or convicted for their roles in the violent siege of the Capitol and has even played a song at his rallies that he recorded with some of the jailed suspects.
While candidates typically try to moderate their messages in the run-up to the general election, Trump has rarely been typical — or moderate. Moreover, some of the messages he pushes on the campaign trail can be jarring to the voters he wants to influence.
Biden himself will also get a spot in the spotlight on Monday when he appears on NBC in an interview with Lester Holt as he continues to reassure members of his party about his candidacy.
He canceled a planned trip to Texas on Monday, and his reelection campaign temporarily suspended TV advertising after Saturday’s shooting. But the lull in Democratic counterprogramming to the Republican convention won’t last long.
After the NBC interview, he will fly to Nevada later Monday, where he will speak at the NAACP convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday and give an interview with the BET network.
The president has made criticizing Trump as a threat to democracy and the values ​​that have shaped the nation a central part of his campaign. He has had to soften that message in the wake of the shooting, but he plans to use the trip to underscore what his campaign calls the stark contrasts between himself and Trump.
The campaign hopes not only to defuse the criticism from the Milwaukee Republican Party, but also that the trip can help Biden get back into the saddle with some Democrats who are still skeptical about his suitability for the rigorous campaign.
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Associated Press editor Will Weissert contributed to this report.