What to watch for on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention

MILWAUKEE — Day 2 of the Republican National Convention is set to get underway, with more high-profile speakers on the docket as the GOP seeks to display a sense of unity ahead of November.

Here are three things to watch during Tuesday’s proceedings.

What kind of reception does Nikki Haley get?

One of the most notable speakers on the schedule for Tuesday is former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

There has been little love lost between former President Trump and Haley over the past several months.

Haley emerged as Trump’s most formidable rival during the 2024 GOP primary, winning the second most delegates even as she struggled to win any major contests outside of Vermont and Washington, D.C.

Trump has been extremely bitter toward his former ambassador to the United Nations, especially after she said she would not challenge Trump for the nomination only to launch a campaign against him. He has mocked her as a “birdbrain” and complained that she was overly positive after a second-place finish in New Hampshire.

Haley for her part did not endorse Trump after she suspended her campaign and repeatedly argued it was time for a new generation of leadership. She did release her delegates days before the convention.

Whether the pro-Trump crowd at Fiserv Forum will give Haley a warm welcome as a show of unity or spurn her outreach is one of the most intriguing questions of Day 2.

Does Melania Trump make an appearance?

Former first lady Melania Trump was absent from the first night of the convention. She did not join her husband even as he made a triumphant entrance on Monday for his first public appearance since surviving an assassination attempt.

A campaign official said Melania Trump is expected to make an appearance at some point this week, but when that will be is still a mystery. Tuesday is typically the night the nominee’s spouse would speak, as Melania Trump did in 2016 and 2020.

But she is not on the list of speakers released by the campaign ahead of the convention, and her absence from the campaign trail has been a common thread since Trump launched his third White House bid in 2022.

Melania Trump did release a statement after her husband was wounded by an assassin over the weekend calling the suspected shooter a “monster” who did not understand the former president’s nonpolitical side.

Immigration in the spotlight

The theme of Day 2 at the convention is “Make America Safe Once Again,” putting a spotlight on border security and working toward peace abroad.

Border security has been at the forefront of Trump’s messaging since he first ran for the White House in 2016, and it has returned as a major focus of his 2024 bid. He and his campaign have seized on record-high numbers of detentions at the border and argued Biden’s policies are to blame.

His campaign has highlighted the stories of average Americans who have died from drug overdoses or who had family members killed by migrants who entered the country illegally, and it will likely do the same on Tuesday night.

Trump’s rhetoric around immigration and violent crime is often heated, as he has claimed in the past that immigrants entering the country illegally are “poisoning the blood” of the country. It’s unclear if that tone will shift Tuesday as the party seeks to recalibrate following Saturday’s shooting.