Republicans have set their ticket: Former President Trump named Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his vice presidential pick Monday afternoon, as the GOP opened its 2024 national convention in Milwaukee.
Trump announced the choice just ahead of the Ohio delegation’s roll call vote on the convention floor. Shortly after the announcement, Trump officially became the nominee with Florida’s roll call.
The first night of the RNC will spotlight speeches from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Govs. Kristi Noem (S.D.) and Glenn Youngkin (Va.)
The convention’s kickoff comes just days after an attempted assassination on Trump at a Pennsylvania rally and hours after a federal judge dismissed a major case against him.
Follow along here for live updates all day.
Day 1 of the RNC concludes
Day 1 of the 2024 RNC is officially over.
Catch up with some of our coverage:
Five memorable moments from Day 1 of the RNC
‘Unified,’ ‘fired-up’ GOP gathers for first day of convention after Trump shooting
Former RNC official offers Sikh prayer to close out first day
Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, a former vice chairwoman of the California Republican Party, took the stage towards the end of the first day of the RNC.
She highlighted her parents background as immigrants and thanked god for protecting Trump’s life during Saturday’s assassination attempt.
She also proceeded to recite the Sikh prayer, the ardas.
— Sarakshi Rai
Pastor closes day one with Trump impression
The pastor delivering the closing benediction at day one of the convention opened with an impression of the former president.
“You’re gonna be so blessed. You’re going to be tired of being blessed, I guarantee it,” the pastor said, imitating Trump.
Trump was shown on screen smiling as the audience cheered.
— Brett Samuels
Teamsters president calls Trump ‘one tough SOB’
Sean O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, called Trump “one tough SOB” after an assassination attempt against the former president at his rally over the weekend.
“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,” O’Brien said.
“And I think we can all 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 SOB.”
– Julia Mueller
Amber Rose said she gave up ‘fear’ of judgement for backing Trump
Model and rapper Amber Rose said she “let go of my fear” of being judged for supporting Trump after researching him and his views.
She said her father was the first person she knew who supported Trump, and she was initially shocked and considered Trump a racist. She said her father challenged her to prove it, leading to her looking more into him.
Rose said she started watching Trump’s rallies and meeting Trump supporters.
“I realized Donald Trump and his supporters don’t care if you’re Black, white, gay or straight, it’s all love,” Rose said. “And that’s when it hit me. These are my people. This is where I belong.”
“So I let go of my fear of judgment, of being misunderstood, of getting attacked by the left, and I put the red hat on too,” she continued.
— Jared Gans
Chris Wallace: Trump entrance at RNC ‘most electric’ he’s seen
CNN pundit Chris Wallace said Trump’s entrance at the convention was “the most electric moment I’ve ever seen,” in decades covering conventions.
Trump was greeted by thunderous applause at the convention after surviving an assassination attempt on Saturday.
Trump enters convention
Former President Trump entered the convention hall to rapturous applause as he made his first public appearance since being injured in an assassination attempt on Saturday.
Trump is wearing a bandage on his ear where he was hit with an assassin’s bullet during a Saturday rally. The crowd roared at the site of him on the video screen.
— Brett Samuels
Blackburn touts Trump economic message in RNC address
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) highlighted former President Trump’s economic message during her address to the Republican National Convention on Monday night.
Blackburn cited a number of legislative items and other priorities that are on Trump’s and Republicans’ agenda if they win in November.
Among them are to lower gas prices, make the tax cuts passed in 2017 permanent as they are set to expire next year and to fire tens of thousands of IRS agents in the coming years.
“Our platform is a promise to the American people,” Blackburn said, pointing specifically to a small business owner in Milwaukee who is flipping her vote from President Biden to Trump this year.
“And President Trump will keep his promises, just like he did the first time,” she added.
— Al Weaver
Vance: ‘I was certainly skeptical’ of Trump in 2016
Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) addressed questions over his past criticism of former President Trump in a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity on Monday.
Vance was an outspoken critic of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, once calling himself a “never-Trumper,” and dubbed Trump a “a total fraud,” “a moral disaster” and “America’s Hitler.”
“I don’t hide from that,” Vance said Monday. “I was certainly skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. But President Trump was a great president, and he changed my mind.”
“I bought into the media’s lies and distortions,” Vance continued. “I bought into this idea that somehow he was going to be so different, a terrible threat to democracy. It was a joke.”
Hannity said that Trump brushed off the past criticism in a conversation with the host, saying that he’s not concerned because Vance supports him now.
— Nick Robertson
Donalds urges country to ‘come together’ in education, economy pitch
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) spoke about education and the economy in his pitch for voters to “come together” and elect Trump in November.
Donalds, the two-term House member from Florida, spoke about his experience going to private school growing up. He thanked his mother at one point for helping him receive a strong education.
“Donald Trump believes every parent deserves a choice, and every child deserves a chance,” he said. “In November, when Donald Trump is elected our nation’s 47th president, we will make sure all America’s children get that chance.”
The Florida Republican also argued that another Trump administration will help Americans financially.
“If there was ever a time in our nation to come together, that time is now,” Donalds continued. “With Trump, our economy will boom again. You will have more money in your pocket again. And your children will have a future again. Together I know we will make America wealthy again.”
— Mychael Schnell
Vance downplays past anti-abortion stance
Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) downplayed criticism over his past anti-abortion stance in a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity on Monday.
Vance had previously supported a national abortion ban, and voted in favor of a ban on in-vitro fertilization while in the Senate. He has recently softened those views to bring them more in line with former President Trump’s platform, that the issues should be left to state legislatures.
“Democrats have completely twisted my words here,” Vance said of criticism over his past beliefs, later reiterating his support for Trump’s platform, which he called a “reasonable compromise.”
The senator also denied that he said people in abusive relationships should stay in them. Vance made the comments in a 2021 speaking engagement.
“Both me and my mom actually were victims of domestic violence,” Vance said. “When they say that, you know, Vance has supported women staying in violent marriages. I think it’s shameful for them to take a guy with my history, my background and say that that’s what I believe it’s not what I believe it’s not what I said.”
— Nick Robertson
Vance shares moment Trump asked him to be VP
Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) described the moment former President Trump asked him to be his vice presidential candidate — and spoke to his seven-year-old son.
Vance said in a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity he was “embarrassed” when he received the call from Trump earlier Monday, because his son was making noise in the background.
“The call, who knows whether it’s good or bad, but then he actually has me put my seven-year-old son on the phone,” Vance said. “You think about this, everything that’s happened? The guy just got shot out a couple of days ago, and he takes the time to talk to my seven-year-old. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
Vance said Trump was complementary in the call and said the Ohio senator will be an asset to the campaign.
“I think we gotta go save this country,” Vance said Trump told him. “I think you’re the guy who can help me. And the best way you can help me govern, you can help me win, is in some of these midwestern states like Pennsylvania and Michigan and so forth.”
— Nick Robertson
Noem says ‘now’ is the time for unity behind Trump
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) declared that ‘now is the time to unite’ behind Trump as Republicans must win the “hearts and minds” of every American.
Noem told the crowd that she understood that some members may be angry, but the country must come together and Republicans must listen to those whom they disagree with.
“Wake them up with truth and with wisdom. We need to listen to them. You can’t win people over by arguing with them,” she said.
Noem compared Trump to former President Abraham Lincoln, who sought to bring the country together with the “Gettysburg Address” during the Civil War. She said Trump is calling on the country to be “touched by the better angels of our nature” as Lincoln did. She said Trump is the leader the country needs at this time.
— Jared Gans
Youngkin compares himself to Trump
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) drew comparisons between himself and former President Trump in his convention speech.
Youngkin, who was previously the CEO of a private equity firm, referred to himself as “a Republican outsider businessman.”
“I believe this year Virginia will elect another Republican outsider businessman as President of the United States!” Youngkin said to cheers.
— Julia Manchester
Tim Scott says ‘devil came’ to Pennsylvania holding a rifle
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said the “devil came” to Pennsylvania holding a rifle on Saturday when a shooting occurred at Trump’s rally in the state, wounding the candidate.
“If you didn’t believe in miracles before Saturday, you better be believing right now,” Scott said.
The senator said “our God” still saves, delivers and “sets free,” and Trump got back up after being hit in the shooting.
“On Saturday, the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle, but an American lion got back up on his feet, and he roared,” Scott exclaimed to widespread applause and cheers. “He roared.”
The crowd responded with chants of “Trump.”
Scott, who was under consideration to be Trump’s running mate, received among the strongest applause of any speaker so far today.
— Jared Gans
Brit Hume says voters may ask if Trump picked Vance because he ‘sucked up effectively’
Fox News analyst Brit Hume questioned former President Trump’s pick of Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) to be his vice presidential candidate, pointing to Vance’s past harsh criticisms of Trump.
Hume postured that voters may come to question how Vance became the candidate over other top picks.
—Nick Robertson
Tuberville compares Trump shooting to Mike Tyson’s ear-biting
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) labeled Saturday’s attempt on former President Trump’s life as his “Evander Holyfield event,” likening what happened to his ear to when Mike Tyson bit off part of Holyfield’s ear during their infamous 1997 bout.
Tuberville told The Hill in a brief interview that he and Trump spoke early Monday morning about his pending running mate selection, saying that he was “making sure” he made “the right decision” in Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).
They then discussed what happened on Saturday.
“We talked about his Evander Holyfield event where he lost part of his ear,” he said with a laugh.
“People don’t realize how compassionate the president is,” Tuberville said, adding that they also discussed how someone took the bullet that grazed his ear. “That’s got to affect you. I don’t think it’s got to the point where it’s really hit him what happened because it’s like a dream.”
“I think he’s going to give probably one of the better speeches he’s ever given [on Thursday],” he added.
—Al Weaver
McCarthy on Johnson: He’ll be reelected Speaker
Reporter Mychael Schnell caught up with former Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the RNC:
He said Speaker Mike Johnson is “doing a good job” and predicted that Johnson will be Speaker next Congress — even as some hardliners say they’ll block his bid.
“He’ll get re-elected… we’re gonna have a much bigger majority,” McCarthy said.
Marjorie Taylor Greene says ‘God’s hand’ was on Trump during Saturday attack
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said God’s hand was on former President Trump during the shooting at his rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Greene said in a speech addressing the Republican National Convention on Monday that the present moment is a “celebratory” one in that Trump was being nominated for president but also a “somber” one for the country given the attack.
—Jared Gans
Delegate and dog at RNC
Texas delegate Alberto Herrera and his dog, Tzeitel, on the floor of the convention.
— Judy Kurtz
Tucker Carlson slams Lindsey Graham after Vance praise: ‘Liar’
After Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) praised former President Trump’s nomination of Sen. JD Vance, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson took to X to slam Graham, saying that “no one lobbied harder against JD Vance than he did.”
“Lindsey Graham is a liar,” Carlson posted on X. “No one lobbied harder against JD Vance than he did, and in the sleaziest, most vicious way. He was doing it this morning.”
“This is why everyone hates Washington, because people like Lindsey Graham are happy to lie right to your face, smiling as they plot your destruction. It’s disgusting,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Graham said Vance is a “clear choice for America,” adding that Vance has “one of the most compelling stories in American politics, overcoming so much adversity in life.”Graham’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
— Yash Roy
Ron Johnson says Democratic Party is not ‘party of our parents and grandparents’
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) argued that the Democratic Party is not the “party of our parents and grandparents” in an attack at the Biden-Harris administration.
Johnson said Biden first ran for vice president in 2008 on a ticket vowing to “fundamentally transform America.” He said the party used to care about workers and those “struggling to get by” but now is the “party of open borders, reckless spending, weaponized government and weakness of the world stage.”
“Today’s Democrat agenda, their policies are a clear and present danger to America, to our institutions, our values and our people,” he said.
— Jared Gans
Crowd dances along to ‘YMCA’
Speakers at Fiserv Forum blared “YMCA,” a song Trump has played at the conclusion of his rallies, along with an accompanying video of Trump dancing along to the song.
The crowd rose to its feet to mimic Trump’s dance and roared with applause at the conclusion of the video.
— Brett Samuels
Harris reached out to Vance
Vice President Harris left a message for Vance on Monday after he was named Trump’s VP pick, according to the Biden campaign.
“Vice President Harris reached out to Senator Vance and left a message to congratulate him on his selection, welcome him to the race and express her hope that the two can meet in the vice presidential debate proposed by CBS News,” a campaign official told The Hill.
—Alex Gangitano
No. 2 Senate Republican praises Trump VP pick
Sen. Thune said the addition of Vance to Trump’s presidential ticket is going to get the U.S. “back on track.”
“I think that ticket is going to be very unified and we’re hoping to get a majority in the Senate, keep the House, win the presidency and get the country back on track.”
“It’s a good thing.”
—Aris Folley
Senate Dems offer Vance criticism blocks from RNC
A pair of Senate Democrats on Monday reacted to former President Trump naming Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate, with both offering muted criticism echoing Senatorial decorum.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said that the decision offered a “clear choice” and a “stark contrast” to voters while rattling off his “extreme views.”
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) echoed those remarks, adding however that she and Vance have worked together on legislative items over the past year and a half.
Booker added that he wishes Vance and his family “the best.”
The New Jersey Democrat was appearing alongside Baldwin at a campaign event mere blocks away from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Baldwin is up for reelection in November.
— Al Weaver
Marshall says Vance represents ‘populist spirit overtaking’ the GOP
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) called Vance a “great addition to the ticket.”
“I think he’s gonna do a great job. I think he truly represents this popular spirit that’s kind of overtaking the Republican Party,” he said, adding he thinks “he comes from a family of hard working people, as opposed to entitlement.
“He echoed sentiments from other Republicans about Vance’s potential appeal to young voters when asked how the Ohio Republican will help Trump’s ticket.
“I think certainly being at 39, it’s good to have somebody on the ticket that’s certainly is going to appeal to some younger people, and maybe there’s some suburban women that will like him as well.”
—Aris Folley
Hutchinson says he had “other favorites” than Vance
Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.) said JD Vance brings a lot to the ticket but acknowledged he had “other favorites.”
“Obviously JD Vance brings a lot in terms of his story,” he told The Hill.
“In terms of his Senate, you know, I had other favorites there but Trump wins.” “I mean, obviously, I’m concerned. You know, there’s others that reflected that view better. JD Vance is more about let’s slow down, let’s bring it back.”
Asked to elaborate, Hutchinson pointed to Vance’s positions on Ukraine, telling The Hill he’s “just even more intense on that issue than Donald Trump.”
“I think he’s gonna have to reflect what President Trump conveys,” Hutchinson said . “The tone is important. We’ll see at the convention as to how this tone of civility or bringing people together will —how long it will last.”
—Aris Folley
Mike Lindell spotted outside RNC
“MyPillow guy” and ardent Trump backer Mike Lindell was spotted outside the convention center Monday.
Lindell was one of the foremost financial and vocal proponents of Trump’s false claims of election fraud.
He has recently face legal troubles and is not listed as a speaker at the RNC.
Gingrich: Vance will be “terrific debating” Harris
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich hailed Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as a “spectacular vice president for President Trump.”
“JD Vance will be a spectacular Vice President for President Trump,” Gingrich wrote on X.
“He will be terrific debating Kamala Harris. He will be effective working the Congress on behalf of the President’s program. At 39, he represents a new generation of ideas and energy.”
—Yash Roy