THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION is underway in Milwaukee, where former President Trump will formally accept the GOP’s presidential nomination just days after surviving an assassination attempt that has rocked the country.
The shooting has changed the national tone heading into the convention, with an added focus on security for major party candidates and both parties largely pausing their campaign attacks — for now.
Dramatic images in the seconds after the shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania have become instant hallmarks for Trump’s campaign, with supporters sharing photos online of T-shirts and even fresh tattoos emblazened with Trump’s raised fist as blood streamed down his face and he mouthed the words, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Democratic strategist David Axelrod said in the wake of the shooting that Trump will be greeted as a “martyr” in Milwaukee, saying the tone “could be angrier or could be more somber. But it’s certainly not going to be the same.”
Trump rewrote his convention speech to focus on unity following the assassination attempt, he said Sunday, telling the Washington Examiner that the initial version “was going to be a humdinger.”
“This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together,” he said.
Trump on Monday is expected to name which Republican will join him on the ticket after months of speculation.
The former president has likened the search to his former reality TV show, “The Apprentice.”
“I have some really, really good candidates. And you know, I may be leaning one way and that changes sometimes,” Trump said in a radio interview Friday.
The search reportedly has narrowed to Republican Sens. JD Vance (Ohio) and Marco Rubio (Fla.) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, though Trump has spoken favorably of several others.
Upping the drama and a new post-shooting emphasis on party unity: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, two once-bitter rivals of Trump, have been given speaking slots at the convention.
The Hill’s Julia Mueller and Jared Gans have outlined five things to watch as the convention gets underway.
