Welcome to the special edition From the policy deskevening bulletin that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill from the NBC News Politics team.
Tonight, we recap all the highlights from the first night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, and bring you the inside story on how Donald Trump came to be chosen as his running mate.
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The Republican convention aims for unity — but retains some of the old red meat
By Matt Dixon, Allan Smith and Katherine Doyle
MILWAUKEE — The economy was the focus on the first night of the Republican National Convention, but it was Donald Trump’s business. public speaking for the first time He stole the show since the assassination attempt at Saturday’s rally.
Fiserv Forum was electrified when Trump, wearing a large white bandage over his right ear, entered the venue. Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA,” the song played at every Trump rally, to a standing ovation from the crowd.
The participants of the rally imitated what Trump said after he was shot and stood up, “Fight! Battle! Fight!”
Most of the speakers stuck to the night’s theme of “Make America Great Again,” but throughout the night there was talk of gunfire and rhetoric at odds with Trump’s own calls for unity.
High inflation and what speakers say is a weak economy under President Joe Biden were the main topics of discussion throughout the night.
“A lot of families today are going through the same experience,” said North Carolina Lt. Mark Robinson, speaking of his experience growing up poor. “Food prices have skyrocketed and gas in North Carolina factories has nearly doubled.”
The fallout from the attempted assassination of the Republican presidential candidate was felt at the convention, but it wasn’t the main topic on the first night. The Trump campaign strategically chosen Which speakers would discuss to prevent the issue from coming up in every speech, and it only came on a few Monday nights.
“Unfortunately, this is also a sad moment for our nation,” he said. “Two days ago, evil happened to the person we admired and loved very much. I think God had his hand on President Trump.”
But the convention was not about unifying the country; There was still plenty of red meat for the base going after Democrats and other groups.
For example, Greene pursued transgender rights. And outspoken Trump ally Charlie Kirk urged Republicans to “fire the Biden-Harris regime.”
“Our current state of slow-motion national recession is a choice,” he said.
The inside story of Trump’s choice of JD Vance as his running mate
By Henry J. Gomez and Matt Dixon
MILWAUKEE — With the clock ticking at the Republican National Convention last week, Donald Trump met privately with two of his closest advisers: his sons to discuss his search for a running mate.
The conversation quickly turned sour when Trump indicated he was leaning toward Doug Burgum, until recently the governor of North Dakota, but his low-maintenance, drama-free personality never threatened to overtake Trump.
That’s when Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump called.
“Don Jr. and Eric were mad, “Why would you do something so stupid? He’s not offering us anything,” a longtime Republican operative familiar with the discussions told NBC News.
“They were all basically like, ‘JD, JD, JD,'” the operative said.
Trump chose Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his vice presidential running mate here Monday, ratifying his son’s recommendation. Trump called Vance 20 minutes before announcing the news on social media, a source familiar with the call said.
Read more from Henry and Matt →
Removal: NBC News Senior Political Analyst Chuck Todd writes If the Trump-Vance ticket is successful in November, it could mean the Bush-Romney-Cheney wing of the GOP will be in the wilderness not only for four more years, but for a generation.
🗞️ Other top stories tonight
- ⚫ Shooting result: Local police officers He gave details of Trump’s secret service A U.S. official told NBC News that they were searching for a suspect in the area before Saturday’s shooting at a Pennsylvania rally. Meanwhile, authorities are still searching for a motive after the shooter left several clues behind. More →
- 🤝 In the hallway: In an interview with ABC News, Trump “couldn’t have been nicer” than Biden during a phone call after the assassination attempt. More →
- 📝 Corrections and corrections : Eric Trump told “TODAY” host Savannah Guthrie that the new version of his father’s convention speech was “prospective for this country” and “incredibly positive.” More →
- 🏠 Housing costs: Biden plans to urge Congress to pass legislation that would require landlords to raise their rents by 5% or lose federal tax breaks. More →
- 🦸 Reverse programming: Vice President Kamala Harris will moderate a conversation with Republican women in Michigan on Wednesday, the day Vance addresses GOP congressional delegates. More →
- 🎙️ Mix? Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said the teleprompter at the RNC played an earlier version of his speech at the start of tonight’s convention and then read it. It included a line that the Democratic Party was a “clear and present danger to America.” More →
- 📺 Watch NBC News anchor Lester Holt’s full interview with President Joe Biden
That’s all for the Policy Desk for now. If you have feedback – like it or not – send us an email politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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