RNC Day 1 highlights: Trump makes first appearance after ...

16 Jul 2024
Republican convention aims for unity — but keeps some of the old red meat

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The economy was the focus of the first night of the Republican National Convention, but it was Trump’s first public appearance since the attempted assassination at his rally Saturday that stole the show.

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Electricity pulsed through Fiserv Forum when Trump, wearing a large white bandage over his right ear, entered the venue. The crowd erupted into raucous cheers as Lee Greenwood performed “God Bless the U.S.A.” — a song played at every Trump rally — in a moment that made a number of people in the crowd, including the former president’s son Don Jr., emotional.

Trump did not make any remarks, other than mouthing “thank you” to attendees, before he settled into a box seat next to Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, whom he announced as his running mate earlier in the afternoon, and Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. Imitating Trump’s remarks after he was shot and stood back up, rally attendees shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Read the full story here.

AFL-CIO criticizes Trump's record on unions after Teamsters' leader speaks

The X account for the AFL-CIO criticized Trump's record on unions after Teamsters President Sean O'Brien spoke tonight at the convention.

"Some would love for workers to take Trump at his word & forget what he did as President. But we didn’t forget," the AFL-CIO said on X. "And Project 2025 shows he’ll pick up right where he left off: dissolving unions, gutting worker protections, & defunding whole parts of the government people rely on."

The AFL-CIO has endorsed Biden, but the Teamsters have not yet made their endorsement.

'You’re gonna be so blessed': Pastor imitates Trump for RNC benediction

At the end of the night, James Roemke, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin, began his benediction by imitating Trump. “You’re gonna be so blessed,” he said. “You’re gonna be tired of being blessed.”

Convention proceedings have ended for the first night

The convention proceedings have just ended. As Trump walked out, Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" played.

What does Amber Rose's face tattoo mean?

As Amber Rose spoke at the convention, she sported on her forehead a tattoo that read "Bash Slash" in loopy cursive.

Rose, a model and rapper, debuted the tattoo in 2020 as an ode to her sons, Slash and Sebastian.

Rose has been very vocal in her support for Trump, and most recently she appeared in a music video for "Trump Trump Baby" with Forgiato Blow, a popular conservative rapper who interpolated Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" on the track. The song hit a Billboard milestone, becoming a Top 10 hit on two separate charts.

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In the music video, Rose mouths the lyrics, "We voting Trump Trump Baby!"

Teamsters head refers to his near-fight with Sen. Markwayne Mullin

Sarah Mimms

Teamsters president Sean O'Brien made a quick reference to an incident late last year — the near-fight he had with a senator at a committee hearing.

At a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing in November, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., a former MMA fighter, brought up a fight he'd had with O'Brien on X and invited O'Brien to settle it physically right there. That led to a back-and-forth between the men, culminating in Mullin’s saying, “Then stand your butt up then," and O'Brien shouting back: "You stand your butt up."

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., had to break up the spat, yelling at Mullin to sit down: "You’re a United States senator.”

O'Brien said in tonight's speech that members of both parties need to "stand their butts up" and fight for everyday Americans.

Teamster president challenges GOP and corporations, gets lukewarm reaction

Sean O'Brien, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters general president, received lukewarm reaction to his speech, especially when he took aim at Republicans who oppose to unions.

"Over the last 40 years, the Republican Party has really pursued strong relationships with organized labor," he said, adding that some in the GOP "stand in active opposition to labor unions."

"This too must change," he said.

“President Trump is a candidate who is not afraid hearing from new, loud and often critical voices,” O’Brien said. “And I think we all can agree whether people like him or they don’t like him, in light of what happened to him on Saturday. He is proven to be one tough SOB.”

Delegates cheered parts of O'Brien's remarks, but also appeared uncomfortable with his attacks on corporations and some of his pro-labor rhetoric.

This is central to Trump's strategy: For every suburban mom or Nikki Haley supporter that they lose, they want to replace them with a blue collar worker.

Teamsters president: 'Elites have no party'

Sean O'Brien, the Teamsters president, said tonight that American workers were being "taken for granted."

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He said that the Teamsters and the GOP may not agree on many issues but that they are willing to sit down and discuss topics. He called out both parties, adding, "Elites have no party."

Later, he paraphrased Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., saying both parties in Congress needed to "stand their butts up."

O’Brien said that the Teamsters "are here to say" and that they are not "beholden" to any party. He added that Trump was not afraid to hear from "new" and "loud" voices, and he called him "one tough S.O.B." after the assassination attempt.

O’Brien argued that Teamsters were doing "something correct" if members of both parties were upset that he was speaking at the Republican convention.

The labor union has not made an endorsement in the presidential race, and it had said it usually waits until after party conventions to make endorsements.

Kamala Harris aims to sway GOP women as Trump-Vance ticket takes shape

Vice President Kamala Harris will take a lead role in the Biden campaign’s push to draw attention to GOP divisions during the Republican National Convention, including working to court female voters with a focus on national security and reproductive rights.

On Wednesday, the day newly minted GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance will address GOP delegates in Milwaukee, Harris will hold a moderated conversation with Republican women in Michigan in what the campaign calls a direct appeal to Republican and independent female voters.

She will participate in a moderated conversation with Olivia Troye, a former Trump administration national security staffer, and Amanda Stratton, a former registered Republican who the campaign says will share her personal reproductive health story.

Read the full story here.

Business owner and retiree tout Trump administration's policies

Two speakers billed as "everyday Americans" praised Trump's economic record in their remarks tonight.

"Under Trump we were thriving. Under Biden we are surviving," said Benjamin Joseph, owner of a home remodeling business he inherited from his father.

He called Trump a businessman whose policies helped entrepreneurs like him pursue their passions.

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Mark Laws — a grandfather and retiree living on a fixed income — talked about his financial challenges under Biden. "In the Big Boy Joe economy, I just worry about getting through the day," he said.

Laws added that when Trump was in office, he was "doing great," a remark that was met with a nod from Trump in the front row.

Eric Trump says Trump's revised speech is 'incredibly positive'

Eric Trump spoke to "TODAY" host Savannah Guthrie at the convention, addressing the assassination attempt on his father.

"It was too close. This cannot happen in America," he said. He told Guthrie that he spoke with his father less than an hour after the shooting — which he said he witnessed on live television. He said his father told him, "'Nothing changes with the convention; I'm going to be there."'

Asked whether his father's speech, scheduled for tomorrow slated for Thursday evening, is vastly different from his original version, Trump called the new version "forward-looking for this country" and "incredibly positive."

Later in the interview, Guthrie asked Eric Trump whether he expected Biden to be the nominee after his poor showing at the CNN debate.

"I think it'd be pretty obnoxious for them to make the change," he said. "Nothing would surprise me, but I think it will be Biden."

Designated protest areas near convention are empty

There are no protesters tonight in Zeidler Union Square — one of the two designated protest zones for the convention.

Ziedler Union Square Park — one of two areas designated as “First Amendment / Protest zones” in place for protesters at the RNC, in Milwaukee, is empty on Monday.Adam Edelman / NBC News

The other zone, Haymarket Square Park, was also empty tonight.

Watch: Trump makes first appearance at convention after assassination attempt

Trump made his first public appearance since the assassination attempt at his Pennsylvania rally. He joined his family and newly announced running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, for the first night of the Republican National Convention.

GOP puts focus on inflation under Biden while providing few details of its own economic plan

Republicans blamed spikes in prices for food, gas and housing over the past several years on Biden and promised to lower costs during a second Trump administration but provided scant details about how they would address inflation differently.

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During the first night of the convention, with the theme "Make America Wealthy Again," several speakers, including Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, noted the increase in gas prices, which are around $1 a gallon higher than they were before the start of the pandemic. Others noted the increased prices of food and housing.

“The basic things our parents enjoyed are increasingly out of reach for Gen Z and millennials,” said Charlie Kirk, head of the conservative group Turning Point USA. “You see, the American dream has become a luxury item for the wealthy elite.”

One speaker was the owner of a home remodeling business, Benjamin Joseph, who said he has been struggling to make payroll as customers have cut back on home renovations. 

“During the Trump boom we were thriving; under Biden we are surviving,” he said.

Among the proposals Republicans did mention were making the Trump-era tax cuts permanent and increasing U.S. oil production, which is at its highest levels on record. 

While prices for consumer goods across the economy have gone up around 20% during Biden’s time in office, price increases have slowed in recent months. Last month, prices increased 3% compared to a year earlier and fell 0.1% over the previous month — the first decline since May 2020. The Biden administration has attributed a spike in inflation in 2022 to disruptions across the economy related to the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ron Johnson's team says wrong speech was loaded in teleprompter

Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said earlier this evening that the teleprompter presented a previous version of his speech at the start of the convention tonight, which he then read.

It included a line that the Democratic Party was "a clear and present danger to America."

Kiersten Pels, a spokesperson for Johnson, told NBC News, "It was supposed to begin with the lines: 'We meet at a somber moment in history. We should all heed President Trump’s call for unity, strength, and determination.'"

She added that the new speech "also did not have 'Today’s Democratic Party is a clear and present danger to America.'"

Amber Rose praises Trump years after calling him an 'idiot'

Model Amber Rose said at the convention tonight that the media lied about Trump, and "I believed those lies."

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She said that after she did her research, she realized that "these are my people."

Rose used to criticize Trump, and in 2016 she told The Cut that he is "a f------ idiot."

Mass deportation vs. labor market impact

The Republican platform calls for the “largest deportation program in American history” targeting undocumented immigrants, as well as implementation of “extreme vetting” for legal immigration. Trump has discussed plans to deport at least 11 million people, build detention camps to detain migrants and use the U.S. military both at the border and across the country to enforce immigration laws.

Republicans, including Trump, have long argued that mass immigration holds down U.S. citizens’ wages and job prospects; in June’s presidential debate, he reiterated that argument while accusing migrants of “taking Black jobs” — a characterization that drew widespread criticism.

Some economists have said mass deportations would most likely crimp business activity and investment. While the overall U.S. labor market has been cooling this year, there are more opportunities available than job-seekers actively looking to fill them, and some sectors still face labor shortages.

Advocates warn that deportations of unauthorized immigrants would most likely affect some employers more dramatically than others — especially construction firms, restaurants and hotels — which could drive up wages in key industries that could be passed along to consumers.

Tucker Carlson is sitting near Trump

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is sitting near Trump, with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., sitting between them.

Also in the VIP box are his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, along with their respective partners, Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle.

Vance describes phone call with Trump, discusses assassination attempt

In his first interview since he was named Trump's running mate, Vance said Trump told him he could help "save" the country and help the GOP ticket win Midwestern states.

Vance told Fox News that Trump also talked with his young son on the phone call on which he heard that he would be Trump's running mate.

"The guy just got shot at a couple of days ago and he takes the time to talk to my 7-year-old," Vance said. "It's a moment I'll never forget."

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Vance addressed Democrats' criticism of his stance on abortion and other issues, saying his party rivals "distort" records.

Asked about his previous criticism of Trump, Vance said that he was "skeptical" of Trump in 2016 but that "President Trump was a great president, and he changed my mind." Vance said it was important to admit when he was wrong.

Asked how he would handle disagreements with Trump, Vance said that he believes "you owe it to the president to be honest with him" but that it should be done in private.

He also discussed the assassination attempt, saying his first reaction was to "pray for" Trump.

"What worries me is, why was there a shooter 150 yards from the president of the United States?" he said. "It doesn't make an ounce of sense."

Crowd chants 'fight, fight, fight' after Trump appears

The crowd chanted "fight, fight, fight" shortly after Trump appeared in the arena.

Trump had appeared to mouth "fight" when the Secret Service escorted him offstage after the assassination attempt.

Moments earlier, the crowd chanted, "USA! USA!"

Read more about Trump's first RNC appearance here.

Trump walks out to live performance of 'God Bless the USA'

Lee Greenwood praised God for Trump’s surviving the assassination attempt as his band played live behind him.

“You will not take this man down,” Greenwood said.

Trump began walking out, with his ear bandaged, as Greenwood played "God Bless the USA," the song Trump usually walks on to.

Trump enters convention hall wearing bandage on his ear

We just saw Trump enter the convention hall — that’s something he has done on Night 1 of each of his two in-person conventions and something that sets him apart from recent nominees. He was wearing a bandage on his ear, two days after he was shot in an assassination attempt.

Ignoring the 2020 conventions, which were scrambled by Covid, Trump is the only nominee going back to at least 2000 who has appeared in person at his convention this early. 

In 2016, he took the stage briefly on Night 1 after a WWE-style entrance, while Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton didn’t appear in person until Night 3 of the Democratic convention, when she appeared onstage alongside President Barack Obama after his speech. 

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In 2012, Republican nominee Mitt Romney briefly showed up on the convention’s second official day (the first day was partly scuttled by a hurricane) to join his wife, Ann, after her speech (Obama didn’t appear at the Democratic convention in person until his nominating speech).  

In 2008, the Republican convention was scaled down because of another hurricane, but at the Democratic convention, Obama made a surprise appearance after his running mate, Joe Biden, spoke on the convention’s third day. 

In 2004, President George W. Bush spoke during a live video appearance on Day 2, but neither candidate made an early in-person appearance. 

And in 2000, Vice President Al Gore made a surprise in-person appearance on the third day of the Democratic convention, while Bush dialed in for remote appearances throughout the convention before his in-person speech to close it.  

The inside story of how Trump chose JD Vance as his running mate

MILWAUKEE — With the clock ticking last week to the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump met privately to discuss his running mate search with two of his closest advisers: his sons. 

The conversation quickly turned tense when Trump indicated that he was leaning toward Doug Burgum, until recently the largely unknown governor of North Dakota — but someone whose low-maintenance, no-drama personality would never threaten to outshine Trump.

That’s when Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump chimed in.

“Don Jr. and Eric went bat---- crazy: ‘Why would you do something so stupid? He offers us nothing,’” a longtime Republican operative familiar with the discussion told NBC News.

“They were basically all like ‘JD, JD, JD,’” the operative said.

Read the full story here.

Charlie Kirk paints bleak picture of young Americans

Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, took to the stage as the audience chanted "winner take all," a reference to his push for Nebraska to change how it allocates Electoral College votes.

"We will fire the Biden-Harris regime," he said, leaning into an image of young Americans being unable to afford housing and children.

"Under Biden, our young people own nothing and are miserable," he said.

Gov. Kristi Noem says more Americans are having babies because they're 'happy'

Sydney CarruthSydney Carruth is a digital assistant for NBC News.

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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said in her RNC speech tonight that more Americans are having babies in recent years because they are “happy.”

Noem, whose state has a near-total ban on abortion, said South Dakota has “the highest birth rate in our nation. People are having babies because they’re happy. In South Dakota, we love babies.”

Noem, who became the subject of national scrutiny after the release of her book "No Going Back," in which she talked about killing her dog, also touted South Dakota’s economy and its recovery from the Covid pandemic in her speech.

Trump video encourages mail-in voting, warns Democrats 'cheat'

Sarah Mimms

In between speeches, the convention showed a video of Trump urging Republicans to vote by mail, vote in person, vote in any way possible to defeat Democrats.

“We must use every appropriate tool available” to win, he said.

He went on to encourage supporters to "keep your eyes open, because these people want to cheat and they do cheat," alluding to his false claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. He added: "Frankly, it’s the only thing they do well."

Union leader and lifelong Democrat: 'I'm voting for Trump'

Lifelong Democrat Bobby Bartels, business manager of a Long Island, New York-based steamfitters union, told the crowd of Republican delegates that he's voting for Trump and that a slew of his fellow union members will also be casting their ballots for him.

Bartels said that he has long seen Trump as a "guy who cared," saying Trump collaborated with Bartels and a local union labor in 1986 to help restore Central Park's Wollman Rink, long before Trump entered the political arena.

"And a quick note to President Biden, that involved working outside the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.," Bartels said, most likely referring to Biden's remarks that he might limit evening events.

Bartels claimed that Democrats are doing nothing about the most pressing issues facing voters.

"That's why this union Democrat will be voting Trump, along with many of my local union members, this November," he said to thunderous applause.

Biden says he’s ‘not surprised’ by judge’s ‘specious’ decision to toss Trump documents case

Biden today criticized U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision to dismiss the classified documents case against Trump, calling the ruling “specious” and suggesting it was inspired by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

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“I’m not surprised,” Biden told NBC News anchor Lester Holt about the ruling, which tossed the criminal case against Trump in Florida, finding that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was illegal.

He said the ruling “comes from the immunity decision the Supreme Court ruled on” this month, and he pointed to a concurring opinion in the ruling by Thomas, which he inaccurately referred to as a dissent. It was a concurrence that no other justices joined.

Read the full story here.

Trump vows more tax cuts

Most of the tax cuts Republicans passed along party lines in 2017 are set to expire next year. The GOP platform calls for extending those existing policies and introducing new ones.

“Republicans will make permanent the provisions of the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that doubled the standard deduction, expanded the Child Tax Credit, and spurred Economic Growth for all Americans,” the platform says.

Biden has proposed letting the tax cuts for top earners expire and extending the cuts for those making under $400,000 a year. He also has proposed to raise the corporate tax rate to 28%, which the 2017 law slashed to 21% from 35%. Trump has said he wants to bring it down to 20%. 

Republicans billed their $1.5 trillion tax law as a way to stimulate the economy. Recent studies have found that the measure promoted investment but not nearly enough to cover its cost. Several projections of the impact of extending the 2017 cuts foresee a modest impact on economic growth, which would offset the costs by only 1% to 14%. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that a 10-year extension of the package would add $4.6 trillion to the deficit.

Trump has also proposed eliminating income taxes on tips. Restaurant operators have rallied behind the idea, but some tip earners and labor advocates criticize it, saying higher base pay is a much bigger priority for workers.

Gov. Kristi Noem spurs crowd to chant 'fight' like Trump did after assassination attempt

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said in her speech that Trump is a "fighter" and the "toughest man that I have ever met."

"Nobody has endured more than what he has gone through. They've attacked his reputation. They impeached him. They tried to bankrupt him, and they unjustly prosecuted him. But even in the most perilous moment this week, his instinct was to stand and to fight," she said.

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The crowd began chanting "fight, fight, fight," just like Trump yelled to his supporters at his rally Saturday after the attempted assassination.

At the beginning of her speech, Noem listed a number of positive developments in her state over the last year — though they all happened under Biden's presidency.

She said South Dakota has the highest birth rate in the country, saying, "People are having babies because they're happy."

"Our mental health challenges have gone down. Our suicide rates are declining. And we are the No. 1 state in the country for a decline in overdoses," she said.

Biden administration to unveil actions aimed at lowering housing costs

The White House plans to unveil new actions aimed at lowering the cost of housing, according to a fact sheet obtained by NBC News.

Biden will call on Congress to pass a law that would ensure landlords capped rent increases at 5% or faced losing out on federal tax breaks.

If it is taken up by Congress, the plan would apply to landlords who hold more than 50 units, meaning more than 20 million units nationwide could be affected, according to the White House.

Read the full story here.

Goya CEO criticizes Harris with a Spanish nickname: 'Que mala'

Bob Unanue, the CEO of Goya Foods, rhymed Vice President Kamala Harris' name with a phrase in Spanish as he sought to criticize her handling of the border.

"Our border czar, 'Que mala' Harris," he said, before he added that the phrase means "so bad" in Spanish and then said Harris was "missing in action" in her role helping solve the situation on the southern border.

Though Unanue was going for a pun, it has become somewhat common for Republican politicians to mispronounce Harris' first name, including at the convention so far. (Then-Sen. David Perdue faced criticism in 2020 for referring to Harri, then a colleague, as "Kamala, or Kamala, Kamala-mala-mala, I don't know.")

Gov. Glenn Youngkin talks up Trump as outsider in RNC speech

In his convention speech tonight, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin talked about an outsider who left his successful career in business to jump into politics.

“Eight years ago, there was an outsider, a businessman, who stepped out of his career to rebuild a great nation with the strongest economy, the mightiest military, energy independence, unlimited opportunity, lifting up every American,” he said.

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While Youngkin was speaking of Trump, it’s hard not to think he was also giving a nod to his own story, having left his post as CEO of Carlyle Group to run for governor of Virginia in 2021.

He told a story about how he explained to his wife that he wanted to run for office. “Four years ago, I asked my amazing wife, Suzanne, to go on a walk with me,” Youngkin said. “I told her I plan to quit my job and run for governor. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and a quivering lip, and asked, 'Governor of what?'”

“And I believe this year, Virginia will elect another Republican outside businessman as president of the United States,” he said.

The 180-degree turn Youngkin has completed, from not calling into the tele-rally Trump held on his behalf in November 2021 to attending and speaking at the Republican National Convention in support of the Trump-Vance ticket, is remarkable.

Youngkin is expected to remain in Milwaukee throughout the week, attending convention sessions and breakfasts for various state delegations and hosting a celebration for Virginia’s delegates.

Trump: Biden 'couldn't have been nicer' in call after assassination attempt

Trump had kind words for Biden today, describing their phone conversation after the assassination attempt Saturday.

Trump told ABC News that their call was "very nice," and he said of Biden, "He couldn't have been nicer."

GOP highlights rise in gas prices under Trump vs. Biden

Republicans sought to highlight the increases in gas and grocery prices during the Biden administration on the first night of the convention, dubbing the theme for the night “Make America wealthy again.”

In a video played at the start of the convention’s prime-time programming, Republicans touted gas prices of $2.20 a gallon when Trump left office and contrasted them with prices above $5 a gallon during the Biden administration.

“It hurts my heart, it hurts by budget, it just hurts,” says a woman featured in the video.

Gas prces tumbled during the start of the pandemic to below $2 a gallon after demand for oil plummeted with fewer people driving and flying amid lockdowns and widespread remote work. Prices began to exceed pre-pandemic levels in the spring of 2021 as people began returning to the office and traveling more. Prices briefly spiked to just over $5 a gallon in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. 

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Prices currently average $3.61 a gallon, roughly where they were before the start of the war in Ukraine and about a dollar above where they were before the start of the pandemic. The Biden administration has been touting efforts to lower gas prices by releasing gas reserves from the federal government’s emergency stockpiles.

Arizona single mom's emotional RNC speech met with applause

Sydney CarruthSydney Carruth is a digital assistant for NBC News.

Sara Workman, who introduced herself as a single mom, took the convention stage as one of the “everyday Americans” selected by officials to speak about hot-button campaign issues.

In an emotionally charged speech, Workman, a key swing state constituent, focused largely on immigration and illegal drugs, an issue she said is especially impactful in her home state, Arizona. Teary-eyed, she was met with booming applause from the audience after she recounted her husband’s fatal struggle with drug addiction, which she said left her to raise her son alone.

Workman also touched on economic and culture war issues, including inflation, violence in major cities and what she called “woke indoctrination” in public schools.

Tim Scott says the 'devil' went to Pennsylvania and an American 'lion got back up on his feet'

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who ran for the GOP presidential nomination, said tonight that if people didn't believe in miracles Saturday "then you better be believing right now."

"On Saturday, the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle, but an American lion got back up on his feet and roared! He roared!" Scott said, bringing the convention crowd to its feet.

Scott also drew applause when he said, "America is not a racist country."

"If you're looking for racism today, you find it in cities run by Democrats," he said.

Scott, who was among a small group of contenders to be Trump's running mate, didn't mention Vance, his Senate colleague, in his speech.

Speakers lean into anti-LGBTQ rhetoric

Multiple convention speakers are leaning into anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, especially targeting transgender and non-gender-conforming people.

"Let me state this clearly: There are only two genders," said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

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Rep. John James, R-Mich., said, "Our daughters were sold on hope, and now they're being forced on the playing fields and changing rooms of biological males."

Minutes earlier, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., also discussed transgender women playing in women's sports.

"This fringe agenda includes biological males competing against girls and the sexualization and indoctrination of our children," he said as the audience booed.

Sen. Katie Britt hits Biden's 'decline'

Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama took a swipe at Biden's capacity to serve in office, weeks after the postdebate firestorm that prompted more than a dozen elected Democrats to call for him to step aside.

"The current president is not capable of turning things around. His weakness is costing us our opportunity, our prosperity, our safety. Each diminished, all in decline, just like the man in the Oval Office," she said.

Rep. John James compares his military service to Trump's shooting: 'The bad guys shot at us both'

Rep. John James of Michigan, an Iraq veteran, compared his combat service in his convention speech to the attempted assassination of Trump on Saturday: "The bad guys shot at us both, but they missed."

The line, one a few tonight that directly referred to the shooting, was met with ample applause. He said the Democrats have "sold the country" on hope but claim that now "the world is on fire"

Under Trump, "we had an economy so good Democrats were trying to give Obama the credit for it," he said.

Fact Check

Fact checking Biden's '22 major events' since the debate

In an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt, Biden pushed back when he was asked whether if he was “wanting to get back on the horse” after his poor debate performance against Trump.

Statement

“I’m on the horse. Where have you been? I've done 22 major events, met thousands of people, overwhelming crowds,” Biden said. “A lot's happening. I'm on the horse. What I'm doing is going out and demonstrating to the American people that I have command of all my faculties, that I don't need — notes. I don't need telepro — I can go out and answer any questions at all.”

Analysis

Biden has done 22 events since the presidential debate, according to his public calendar, but just four were campaign events with the kind of crowds he’s referring to. Eight of the events were NATO events, like bilateral meetings with world leaders and working sessions. Five were fundraisers, mostly at private homes.  

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Analysis

Biden has done 22 events since the presidential debate, according to his public calendar, but just four were campaign events with the kind of crowds he’s referring to. Eight of the events were NATO events, like bilateral meetings with world leaders and working sessions. Five were fundraisers, mostly at private homes.  

Trump wants to 'drill, baby, drill.' Crude production is already at record highs.

“We will DRILL, BABY, DRILL and we will become Energy Independent, and even Dominant again,” the Republican platform says. “Under President Trump, the U.S. became the Number One Producer of Oil and Natural Gas in the World — and we will soon be again by lifting restrictions on American Energy Production and terminating the Socialist Green New Deal.”

U.S. crude oil production has already hit record highs this year, and the country has been the biggest oil producer in the world — ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia — every year since 2018. 

Trump has promised to remove restrictions on oil and natural gas projects, extending a policy approach he took when he was in office. Environmentalists have criticized that — along with the Biden administration’s permitting of more oil and gas drilling than its predecessor’s — as the Earth warms at a record pace, with an estimated 92% of last year’s heat attributed to human activity. 

The Republican platform doesn’t mention climate change or renewable energy, though Trump has slammed electric vehicles with violent rhetoric. Progressive Democrats’ Green New Deal proposal has never been enacted into law.

Democrats criticize convention speaker Robinson over 'some people need killing' comments

The Democratic Governors Association is out with a new statement tonight criticizing North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson — who just spoke at the convention — for comments he made at a church last month.

In the previous remarks, Robinson lamented that "there was a time where we used to meet evil on the battlefield ... and killed it." He rattled off how America fought its enemies in World War II before saying: "Some folks need killing. It’s time for somebody to say it. It’s not a matter of vengeance, not a matter of being mean or spiteful. It’s out of necessity," he said, according to video first reported on by The New Republic.

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"We have wicked people doing wicked things, torturing and murdering and raping," he added. He then said America needs to start "handling its business again," because "the further we start sliding into making 1776 a distant memory, the tenets of socialism and communism start coming into clearer focus." He criticized liberals for getting "mad at you," "watching us" and trying to "cancel" and "dox" people," among other grievances.

DGA communications director Sam Newton accused Robinson of having "a long record of calling for violence," adding: "That type of violent rhetoric is wrong, should be condemned by his fellow Republicans, and shows Robinson is unfit to be governor of North Carolina."

A Robinson spokesman defended the comments to NewsNation by pointing to his references to Nazis but didn't "address a question about the comments made about the country needing to start handling its business again," according to NewsNation.

North Carolina lieutenant governor argues economy was better under Trump

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the GOP nominee for governor this year, said in his speech that gas and grocery prices have been rising and factories have been closing under Biden's leadership.

"President Trump had our economy roaring, gas was below $2, unemployment was at historic lows, people could afford homes and we had a president who protected manufacturing jobs," he said.

"Under President Trump, the American dream was alive and well. Under President Trump there was hope, and we need that now more than ever," he continued.

Expect to hear more about tariffs, a Trump favorite

The Republican platform calls for “baseline Tariffs on Foreign-made goods” to encourage domestic production and make America less dependent on imports.

Trump is proposing to go further with tariffs in a second term. He has discussed placing a 10% tariff on all imports and a tariff of at least 60% on goods from China. 

The American Action Forum, a right-leaning think tank, estimates the blanket 10% tariff could cost households more than $2,300 annually, while the tariffs on Chinese goods could increase household costs by more than $1,900 each year.

The Biden administration has largely maintained its predecessor’s tariffs on Chinese imports. It built on them further as recently as May, with hikes on electric vehicles, semiconductors and other goods imported from China.

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The Tax Foundation think tank has projected that tariffs already introduced during the Trump and Biden administrations will shrink gross domestic product by 0.2% over the long term, and it forecasts Trump’s additional tariff proposals could crimp GDP by at least 0.8%.

Trump to appear at convention tonight

Trump will make an appearance at the convention tonight, according to a source familiar with the plans.

It will be his first public appearance since he was shot in the ear Saturday in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally.

Marjorie Taylor Greene talks about assassination attempt in RNC speech

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., used her convention speech tonight to discuss the assassination attempt on Trump over the weekend.

"This is also a somber moment for our nation," she said, adding that she thanks God that "his hand was on President Trump" during the shooting.

"I pray for the family of Corey Comperatore," she said, praising the rallygoer who died shielding his family from the gunfire.

Much of the rest of Greene's speech was fiery and leaned into culture war issues. "Let me state this clearly: There are only two genders," she said, to the audience's applause.

Sen. Ron Johnson: Democratic agenda is a 'clear and present danger'

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said at at the convention tonight that life in America under the Biden administration has become "a lot more difficult."

“Today’s Democrat agenda, their policies, are a clear and present danger to America, to our institutions, our values and our people,” he said.

The crowd booed when Johnson claimed that that agenda included "the sexualization and indoctrination" of children.

He added that Trump and the Republican Party have prioritized the middle class and that "those forgotten Americans are forgotten no more."

Trump hammers Biden on inflation, but it’s not so simple

The Republican platform vows the GOP “will defeat inflation, tackle the cost-of-living crisis, improve fiscal sanity, restore price stability, and quickly bring down prices.” 

While inflation peaked at an annual rate of 9.1% in June 2022, it has since fallen to 3% as of last month. That is still above the Federal Reserve’s preferred 2% target, though the pace of price increases continues to slow. Many people say they’re still suffering from the effects of inflation over the last few years, despite average wage growth’s more than making up for it since late 2022. It is a key vulnerability for Biden, as Trump has consistently received higher marks on the economy in polls.

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To reduce inflation further, the GOP platform calls for increasing American oil and natural gas production to lower households’ energy costs, cutting government spending and stopping unauthorized immigration.

Sixteen Nobel Prize-winning economists said in a letter in June that Trump’s campaign proposals would “reignite” inflation with “his fiscally irresponsible budgets.” In a July Wall Street Journal poll of 50 economists, 56% said inflation would be higher in a second Trump term than a second Biden one, while just 16% said the reverse.

Analysts generally note that global oil markets tend to have a bigger impact on what Americans pay for energy than most White House policies. And few economists expect that removing millions of immigrant workers from the labor force would reduce inflation. A recent Dallas Federal Reserve study found immigration may have had little effect on inflation, and many economists now argue the nation’s recent influx of immigrants has helped power growth even as price increases have cooled.

Biden reacts to Trump's picking JD Vance as his running mate

Biden reacted to Trump's selecting Vance as his running mate, telling NBC News in an interview that "it's not unusual," pointing to Vance's ideological parallels to the former president.

"He’s going to surround himself with people who agree completely with him, have a voting record, that support him," Biden said. "Even though if you go back and look at some of the things that JD Vance said about Trump."

Vance was a fierce critic of Trump in 2016 before he became a prominent ally.

Vance previously promoted fundraiser for Jan. 6 defendants

Trump's selection of Vance as his running mate means both Republicans atop the ticket have helped raise money for people who engaged in political violence on Jan. 6, 2021.

In 2022, on the anniversary of the Capitol attack, Vance — a Yale Law School graduate — falsely claimed that “dozens” of people “who haven’t even been charged with a crime yet” were being held in “D.C. prisons” pretrial. However, every defendant who was held in pretrial custody had been charged and had been ordered held by federal judges who conducted assessments of their case.

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Vance linked to a fundraiser for Jan. 6 defendants including Jack Wade Whitton, who subsequently confessed to his crime and was sentenced this year to more than four years in federal prison. “You’re gonna die tonight!” Whitton admitted yelling at officers, before he bragged in a text that he’d “fed” an officer to the mob.

Only roughly a dozen Jan. 6 defendants are being held in pretrial custody.

RNC chairman says he has pledged to 'protect the ballot'

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in the first speech of the night that he has pledged to do three things as the head of the committee: "get out the vote," "protect the ballot" and hold a "world-class convention."

"As long as I am your chair, these will be the RNC only priorities because our number one objective is to win this election," Whatley said.

He added, "This election is not just about the next four years. It's about future generations of Americans to come."

What’s the plan for infrastructure?

The Republican National Committee’s platform calls for the GOP to “return to its roots as the Party of Industry, Manufacturing, Infrastructure, and Workers.”

Trump tried repeatedly during his term to propose and pass an infrastructure bill but failed to do so — as the Biden campaign has repeatedly sought to remind voters. Congress passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law in 2021 under Biden, which included $550 billion in new spending initiatives. 

Since then, private-sector investments in manufacturing projects have surged. While the manufacturing workforce is roughly flat compared to pre-pandemic levels and still significantly smaller than before the Great Recession, jobs in highway, street and bridge construction are at record highs. 

Trump hasn’t detailed many plans for infrastructure investment should he regain the White House, but has said he’ll place higher tariffs on foreign goods to encourage domestic manufacturing job growth. Economic analyses have found consumers largely paid for the tariffs on Chinese goods that Trump imposed during his term, which didn’t generate a large boost to the U.S. industrial base and affected producers in both countries unevenly. 

Trump adviser posts photo of new Trump-Vance airplane

Elleiana GreenElleiana Green is a Digital Politics intern with NBC News

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Photo NBC News

Trump's senior adviser, Jason Miller, posted on X a photo of a new Trump-Vance 2024 airplane.

RNC evening program now underway

Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley opened the evening program for the convention, which is now underway.

Protesters greet opening of Republican National Convention

Matthew Nighswander

Vivek Ramaswamy says he'd be interested in Vance's Senate seat if Trump wins

Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said today he would "strongly consider" accepting an appointment to replace Sen. JD Vance in the Senate if Trump wins in November.

“The only negative [of JD’s selection] is this leaves our side missing one of our best fighters in the Senate. If asked to serve, I would strongly consider the position," Ramaswamy said in a statement to NBC News.

Ramaswamy, an Ohio native, dropped out of the GOP primary race in January and immediately endorsed Trump.

If Trump wins in November with Vance on the ticket, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio would app

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