It’s Monday. Hello from Milwaukee! I’ve been here for a day and am already a big cheese curd fan. Kopp’s Frozen Custard is next on the list. The Republican National Convention is kicking off today, and the vibe is a bit different than past conventions I’ve covered. I’ll explain below. Here’s what’s happening:  

• Former President Trump reflected on Saturday’s assassination attempt.

• He also said he will announce his VP pick today(!)
• The security perimeter is enormous in Milwaukee. Keep reading for sights and sounds from the ground.
• The Secret Service is facing serious questions after Saturday’s shooting.
  
  

I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-stage.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.  

©  The Hill, Greg Nash

I’ve covered past conventions, and they are generally a party-like atmosphere. It’s the Super Bowl for politicos. Alcohol is flowing, like-minded activists bond and commiserate — and there are lots of costume-like outfits.

This year feels different after the assassination attempt against Trump. A millisecond at a rally more than 500 miles away in Pennsylvania two days before the convention has radically changed the national tone heading into this week. On the ground in Milwaukee, everywhere I’ve gone — the airport, the arena, the media hub, the hotel lobby, Ubers — the chatter from everyone has unsurprisingly been about one thing: Trump getting shot.

Security is tight, and your 12:30 Report author feels very safe! (This is for you, family members, because I know you’re reading this!😉) You can’t walk more than a few feet within the perimeter without seeing a police officer, including a lot of U.S. Capitol Police officers, who are always friendly. The security perimeter is so large that you can’t get closer than a 15- to 20-minute walk to the venue by car. Thank goodness I have comfortable shoes.

A bit about the tension: The Boston Logan International Airport gate to Wisconsin early Sunday morning was buzzing with conventiongoers. Think: Lots of Trump shirts, red swag and bedazzled “MAGA” trucker hats. All anyone talked about was the assassination attempt, with most everyone seeming rattled. A small group even broke out into song in the terminal (and then again on the plane to Milwaukee), singing “God Bless America.” Keep in mind this was around 6:20 a.m., just hours after Trump was shot.

This dutiful newsletter writer took a photo of the scene at the gate — a very standard practice for reporters — and a convention-goer noticed, rushing over and demanding to know why the photo was taken. He warned he had no patience for “hecklers” then eventually backed off.

Everyone is on edge — that’s the vibe in Milwaukee.

Former President Trump told Fox News’s Bret Baier that he will reveal his running mate pick TODAY at the Republican National Convention. Who do you think it will be?! What we know about the finalists

Today’s theme: “Make America Wealthy Once Again”

🗨️ Follow today’s live blog for more insider convention tidbits and highlights.

Well, look who’s coming after all: Trump’s former rival, Nikki Haley, will address the convention Tuesday after she had not been scheduled to speak. She’s been highly critical of the former president, so this sends a powerful message.

Overheard at the gate from a Massachusetts Republican: “Our town GOP committee has lots of RINOS,” he remarked, an acronym referring to a “Republican in name only.” Another person chimed in, “I guess that’s better than nothing.”

I’ve seen so many Capitol Police officers in Milwaukee: Ah, it feels like home. 📸 Photo of a group of officers at MKE

📸 Photos of the security perimeter

The tourism team has been amazing!: The Visit Milwaukee team is handing out 15,000 welcome bags this week. 📸 The bags

💻 How to watch the convention

Trump’s first campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, told me he spoke with members of Trump’s senior leadership team at the hospital, who told him the president was in “good spirits” Saturday night. I ran into Lewandowski at the airport en route to Milwaukee.

Asked if he thinks this will affect Trump’s chances in November: “It’s hard to say. I think it’s all so new right now,” Lewandowski told The Hill. “I think that we’ve seen people on both sides of the political aisle call for unity and for the toned-down nature of the rhetoric that we’ve seen on both sides … maybe that happens and maybe we’ll focus on the issues that are affecting this country as opposed to the personal matters that are going on.”

On how this affects the convention: “[Trump’s supporters] have been fired up since he came down that golden escalator,” Lewandowski said, referring to Trump’s flashy 2015 campaign announcement. “This only continues to give them the encouragement that a fighter is needed in the White House.”

• ‘Liars and trolls overwhelm social media after Trump rally shooting’: The Washington Post
• ‘After Shooting at Trump Rally, Officials Say R.N.C. Security Is “Ready to Go”’: The New York Times

The mood within U.S. politics has been tense and bitter for a while now — and it hit a breaking point on Sunday, just one day after a gunman attempted to assassinate former President Trump during a Pennsylvania campaign rally. A bullet grazed his ear, just barely missing his head, and he was rushed off-stage before being whisked away to a local medical facility.

At least for the time being: Trump and President Biden have largely set aside their differences. Biden rushed back to the White House on Saturday night when he heard the news. He and Trump spoke over the phone — and he made a prime-time Oval Office plea on Sunday, calling on the temperature in American politics to be lowered. Trump echoed that message just minutes after, with a two-word message: “UNITE AMERICA!”

First lady Jill Biden and her predecessor, former first lady Melania Trump, spoke on Sunday afternoon, reports The Hill’s Alex Gangitano.

Trump told reporters from the New York Post and Washington Examiner aboard his plane: “I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead.”

 Yup, this is a Trump quote: “The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this, he called it a miracle,” relaying that the doctor told him he has never seen anyone survive an AR-15 hit.

📸 Oh my gosh: The New York Times’s Doug Mills took a photo that appears to capture the bullet flying through the air, about to strike Trump. Details of the photo; 💻 Watch Mills describe his experience

📸 This photo will live in history books: From The Associated Press’s Evan Vucci

📸 And so will this photo: From Getty’s Anna Moneymaker. I can’t believe the bravery of these photojournalists. The photos are surreal.

📰 The cover photo of Time magazine — 📰and compare it to this recent Time cover

• ‘Trump Shooting Is Secret Service’s Most Stunning Failure in Decades’: The Wall Street Journal
• ‘Rooftop where gunman shot at Trump was identified as a security vulnerability before rally: sources’: NBC News
• ‘FBI: Ideology fueling Trump rally gunman still unknown’: The Washington Post
• ‘Republicans Place Shooting in Trump’s Narrative of Persecution’: The New York Times
• ‘To the World, Trump 2.0 Looks Even More Likely Now’: Politico

The Hill’s Switch Up Election Series launches today. In the inaugural episode, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) discusses DEI; the power of Black voters ahead of November and her continued support for President Biden despite growing calls for him to step aside.🎧 Listen here

One of Trump’s four criminal cases was dismissed this morning.

“U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday tossed former President Trump’s criminal charges accusing him of mishandling classified information, ruling that special counsel Jack Smith was not lawfully appointed.”

Keep in mind: “The judge’s ruling echoes concerns voiced by Justice Clarence Thomas, one of the Supreme Court’s leading conservatives, when the court ruled on Trump’s immunity defense in another of his cases. Cannon cited Thomas’s opinion three times.”

Read more from The Hill’s legal reporting team, Ella Lee and Zach Schonfeld

🪱 Celebrate: Today is National Gummy Worm Day!

🎾 Aw, love to see this: Kate, the Princess of Wales, received a standing ovation at Wimbledon’s men’s final on Sunday. It was only her second public appearance since her cancer diagnosis.

🐋 Bookmarking this story to read later: The Atlantic’s Douglas Main writes, “A Whale-Skeleton Discovery Has Stumped Marine Biologists: Why are there more whale remains off the coast of Los Angeles than in the rest of the world combined?”

The House and Senate are out. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington. (all times Eastern)

• Today: The first day of the Republican National Convention. 💻Afternoon livestream 💻 Evening livestream
• 2:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream
• 4:30 p.m.: Biden leaves for Las Vegas.
• 9 p.: NBC News’s Lester Holt’s interview with President Biden airs.

Let’s close this with something light. I swear this bird is saying, “bacon pancakes.” 🤔