Donald Trump says Ohio Sen. JD Vance will be his vice presidential pick.

He said on his Truth Social Network that, “After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio.”

The Republican National Convention kicked off this week, with delegates and officials descending on Wisconsin amid the tumult that follows a Saturday assassination attempt on Trump as he becomes the GOP’s official nominee.

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Biden says he hasn't talked with Obama since the debate

President Biden said he doesn’t believe he’s spoken with former President Barack Obama since his halting debate performance, but that he doesn’t plan on seeking Obama’s advice about staying in the presidential race.

Obama has expressed support for Biden amid calls from some Democrats for him to leave the race in the weeks after the debate.

Biden said Monday that Obama had “helped me from the beginning” but that running in November’s election “is my job to get this done.”

Pressed during an NBC News interview about who he turns to for advice on seeking re-election, Biden replied simply, “me.” He added of his career in politics, “I’ve been doing this a long time.”

Vance recalls his difficult childhood

Trump’s vice presidential pick rose to national prominence when he detailed his upbringing in a widely read memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”

“I actually understand a little bit what people are going through,” Vance told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “Yeah, it was tough when I was dealing with it, but now I really do think it’s a blessing that’s given me a perspective a lot of politicians don’t have.”

Vance's wife resigns from law firm

JD Vance's wife, Usha, has left the law firm where she worked after her husband was chosen as Trump's running mate.

"Usha has informed us she has decided to leave the firm," Munger, Tolles & Olson said in a statement.

"Usha has been an excellent lawyer and colleague, and we thank her for her years of work and wish her the best in her future career."

Vance met Usha at Yale, where she received both her undergraduate and law degrees. She spent a year clerking for Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he served as an appeals court judge in Washington, followed by a year as a law clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts.

Outside the convention, mostly quiet streets

The streets of downtown Milwaukee, Wis. were largely quiet Monday evening, with most of the day's protests wrapping up earlier in the afternoon. At one of the convention's main entrances, a sole anti-Trump protester stood holding a sign, telling those entering the arena to "enjoy the clown show."

Anthony Marlow, a retired sanitation worker, said he had spent the day protesting the convention, arguing at times with Trump supporters. 

"I want them to know they are not welcome in this great city," he said. Referencing Trump's reported denigration of Milwaukee weeks earlier, Marlow added, "He don't appreciate Milwaukee. The man is a clown."

Vance recalls moment Trump called with VP news

JD Vance said his seven-year-old son was being noisy in the background when Trump called to offer him the vice president spot on the Republican ticket.

CVance knew Trump was calling with big news, but he didn't know if it was good or bad news for him, the first-term Ohio senator told Fox News host Sean Hannity in his first interview since Trump announced his pick.

He said Trump also asked to speak to his son.

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

He said he and Trump have been close since Trump endorsed him in his 2022 Senate race, which he said he would not have won without Trump's support.

Biden calls Trump's argument on classified document case 'specious'

President Biden said he thought the legal argument made by the federal judge in Trump's classified documents case as "specious."

U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed Trump's case, siding with defence attorneys and ruling the special counsel named to the case had been illegally appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. The Justice Department will appeal the decision.

Biden said in an interview with NBC, "My generic point is — the basis upon which the case was thrown out, I find specious."

He said that he disagreed with the U.S. Supreme Court opinion that found presidents have broad immunity from prosecution for official acts.

Biden: 'I can go out and answer any questions at all'

President Biden maintained an aggressive campaign travel schedule since the debate, attempting to show voters that he's put a poor performance during it behind him.

"All I'm doing is going out and demonstrating to the American people that I've command of all of my faculties, that I don't need notes, I don't need teleprompters," Biden told NBC News. "I can go out and answer any questions at all."

Biden called last month's debate a bad night but said he'd done a series of events around the country since then.

The president and his campaign team have spent weeks trying to reassure nervous donors, surrogates and Democratic leaders that Biden is up to a second term — but nearly 20 of the party's members of Congress have called on him to leave the race.

Rep. Byron Donalds hones in on economic policies

Hitting on the evening's theme of economic policies, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds spoke about growing up poor and remembering how it affected his family with food prices, energy prices and housing costs. 

"I remember as a kid, my mom yelling at me, 'Turn off that light! You don't pay the bill,'" he said.

Donalds said that when it comes to inflation and high prices today, "the evidence is in. Go to any grocery store. Buy eggs. Buy beef. Buy milk. Even housing prices have skyrocketed."

He placed the blame on "Joe Biden's debilitating economic policies."

Signs of trouble at Trump rally were evident minutes before gunfire

At the Pennsylvania rally, police had a report of a suspicious man pacing near the magnetometers and were apparently exchanging photos of the suspect. Witnesses pointed and shouted at an armed man on a nearby roof. 

When a police officer climed up to the roof to investigate, the gunman turned and pointed his rifle at him. But the officer did not — or could not — fire a single shot.

A sniper cut down 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks within seconds of him firing an AR-style rifle toward the former president, but it was too late. Now investigators are trying to painstakingly piece together how an armed man with no military background managed to reach high ground and get the jump of Secret Service agents.

Biden reiterates intent to stay in the race

President Biden said nothing has changed his mind on continuing to stay in the 2024 presidential campaign.

Biden said, "We know this was going to be a close race."

In an NBC interview airing Monday night, he said that reporters should be focused on Trump's lies, not on whether or not he's running for office. He is running despite the June 27 debate and calls for him to step aside. 

"I don't plan on having another performance on that level," he said. "This is my job, to get this done."

Biden discusses the Secret Service response to Trump assassination attempt

President Joe Biden says whether the U.S. Secret Service should have anticipated Saturday's assassination attempt against Trump is "an open question."

In an NBC News interview airing Monday night, Biden was pressed on the matter and said providing security is "a complicated process."

Biden said there's "a major piece" of the incident that relates to local law enforcement." He also said he feels safe with the Secret Service.

Governor praises Trump's handling of the pandemic

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem brought up the stirking image of Trump after a gunman shot him when he stood and raised his fist with blood streaking across his face. 

"Prior to this week, we already knew that Donald Trump was a fighter," Noem said. But on Saturday, she said, "Even in the most perilous moment this week, his instinct was to stand and fight."

"Trump" chants broke among the crowd.

Noem also praised Trump by harkening back to one of the most chaotic parts of his presidency, his management of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said Trump "let me do my job and he let me keep my people free."

"When other states were pushing mandates and lockdowns, instead in South Dakota, we hit the gas. We embraced libety," she said."

Is it a rock concert of political convention?

The floor speeches get plenty of attention, but it's the time-filling band that has the internet talking during the RNC's first night.

The band Sixwire has had delegates on their feet, clapping and waving signs and cowboy hats during covers of songs by artists including Collective Soul, John Mellencamp and Loverboy. A rendition of the Village People's "Y.M.C.A." had delegates cheering and screaming like they were at a rock concert and not a political convention.

(It probably helped that video of their nominee, Trump, was playing on screens throughout the arena as he's danced to the same song at a number of campaign rallies.)

According to their website, Sixwire was founded in 2000, is based in Nashville and has played at a number of large sporting events, including several Super Bowls.

Fact Check: Gasoline was lower under Trump than Biden, but not always for good reasons

Gasoline fell as low as US$1.77 a gallon during Trump’s presidency, but that price dip happened during pandemic lockdowns when few people were driving. The low prices were due to a global health crisis, not Trump’s policies.

While gas prices did hit more than $5 a gallon nationally in June 2022, a number of factors drove those prices, including rising global oil prices, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions by the U.S. and its allies. Prices have fallen since then. Gas prices nationally have remained below $4 a gallon since August 2023. According to the AAA, the current average price for regular gas is about $3.50 a gallon.

Trump described call with Biden as 'good, short and respectful'

Trump says Biden “couldn’t have been nicer” in a brief phone call after a bullet grazed Trump’s ear.

A White House official earlier characterized the call, which came hours after the shooting Saturday, as “good, short and respectful.”

ABC News White House correspondent Jonathan Karl says he asked Trump in a brief phone interview whether the incident changed him.

“I don’t like to think about that … but yes, I think it has had an impact,” Trump said.

Trump campaign advertises new shirts

Trump’s campaign has begun advertising “Trump-Vance” T-shirts to donors hours after unveiling his vice presidential pick.

The campaign’s new logo featuring both men’s names looks very similar to Trump’s previous campaigns when he ran with former Vice President Mike Pence.

Youngkin: ‘Joe must go’

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin came in to a big cheer and chants from the crowd about Biden that “Joe must go!”

“Yes, Joe must go,” Youngkin said when the crowd quieted a bit.

Youngkin, a businessman and political outsider when he ran for governor in 2021, painted Trump as a man of a similar story, calling him “an outsider, a businessman who stepped out of his career” to run for president.

“I believe this year Virginia will elect another Republican outside businessman as president of the United States,” said Youngkin, as he raised his voice to a roar.

Religious language flows like a river

The amount of religious imagery and language is not surprising for a Republican convention. But it’s intensified two days after Trump narrowly avoided being assassinated in Pennsylvania.

Sen. Tim Scott, a former presidential candidate himself, put the attempt and the result in starkly Biblical terms Monday night and turned it quickly into a bit of civil religion with praise for Trump.

“The devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle,” Scott said. “But an American lion got back up on his feet!”

Black Republican men prominently featured in the RNC's first night

The speakers include nearly every Black congressman — Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida, Wesley Hunt of Texas and John James of Michigan — and North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is running for the state’s governor.

The lineup of prominent Black men comes at a moment when Republicans hope to make greater inroads with voters of colour, particularly working-class Black and Latino men. Trump, however, remains largely unpopular with Black voters and has lost some support among Latino voters, according to an AP analysis of recent polling.

Black Republicans like Donalds, Hunt and Scott have emerged as some of Trump’s most loyal backers in the party. The Black GOP lawmakers have conducted two “Congress, Cognac, and Cigars” events with Black men in Philadelphia and Atlanta.

North Carolina Lt. Governor Mark Robinson avoids incendiary rhetoric

Republican leaders are calling for unity and many are joining bipartisan calls to tone down the political rhetoric in America. But one of the first prime-time speakers at the Republican National Convention’s opening night session is among the party’s most incendiary voices.

Mark Robinson, the North Carolina lieutenant governor who is running for governor, recently said at a church service that “some folks need killing.”

Robinson steered clear of such rhetoric on the convention stage. He stuck to his own biography as a Black man who struggled economically as a child and adult before entering politics. And Robinson hailed Trump as a champion for working-class Americans.

Republicans harken back to low inflation under Trump. What isn’t mentioned: the pandemic

Inflation is the easy criticism of President Biden and Republicans just began to pivot to it as a theme of their convention.

The audience saw a video segment in which people longed for cheaper gasoline and grocery prices, just like they had during Trump’s presidency. What goes unsaid is that inflation was low in part due to the pandemic.

“I know Americans can relate when I say that every time I fill up my gas tank, go to the grocery store and try to pay the bills, I think, who doesn’t miss the Trump days?” said Sarah Workman, a single mother from Arizona who works two jobs.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Alabama, said that under Biden “our lives are that much more difficult and way more expensive.”

'If Donald Trump thinks he's the man, then he’s the man'

Jerol Kivett, a delegate from North Carolina, said he trusts Trump’s opinion even though he doesn’t have much of an impression of Vance.

“If Donald Trump thinks he’s the man, then I think he’s the man. I don’t know him real well but all the choices he had were great choices,” Kivett said.

“I know very little about him other than he was in the military and of course is a congressman — I think he’s a senator, actually. But I know very little about him.”

When asked about Vance’s youth, Kivett said, “Being 72, I’d like to see him have more grey hair. But, you know, I trust the vetting that’s been done. I wouldn’t have think he would have been chosen if there was any question.”

He cited John F. Kennedy’s youth when he was president and did a “great” job as president despite his age.

Rep. Hunt attacks Biden on inflation

Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas says grocery and energy prices are crippling Americans and quoted Ronald Reagan in calling inflation “the cruellest tax on the poor.”

He says Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris don’t seem to understand the problem.

Hunt, one of a handful of Black Republicans in Congress, said in November “we can fix this disaster” by electing Trump and “send him right back to where he belongs, the White House.”

Inflation in the United States cooled in June for a third straight month, a sign that the worst price spike in four decades is steadily fading and may soon usher in interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene condemns Democrats on Transgender Day of Visibility 

Firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene paid tribute to Corey Comperatore, the Trump supporter killed on Saturday, then shifted to a blistering attack on Democrats.

“They promised unity and delivered division,” Greene said. “They promised peace and brought war. They promised normalcy and gave us Transgender Visibility Day on Easter Sunday.”

Since 2009, Transgender Day of Visibility has been celebrated on March 31, which this year fell on Easter Sunday and prompted an uproar on the right. Easter is determined by the lunar calendar and can fall on a different day each year.

Sen. Johnson opens RNC with stock party talking points

The U.S. economy is a diverse and sprawling behemoth. It’s possible to have a solid job market and problematically high inflation at the same time. But nuance died a long time ago at political party conventions.

That’s why the convention speech by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, hit some simple bullet points. Republicans want lower prices, tax cuts and fewer regulations, a message he sprinkled with some culture war rallying cries.

“Republicans understand that Americans don’t want welfare — they want work,” Johnson said.

It’s a hallmark of Trump’s campaign rallies, and now it’s part of his RNC kickoff: Y.M.C.A.

During a break between speakers, delegates danced and sang along with the hit by the Village People. On big screens throughout the arena, there were also images of Trump doing one of his fists-out dance moves that have become standard fare at many of his campaign events. The former president’s signature dance has been meme’d widely on social media.

A cheer rose up through delegates as their nominee appeared on screen.

RNC chairman echoes party’s new push for ‘unity’

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley is opening the first night of the convention with the GOP’s new theme: unity.

Mentioning the recent assassination attempt on Trump, and the “strength and resilience” he said the former president had shown, Whatley called on his fellow Republicans to “unite as a party,” adding, “and we must unite as a nation.”

Other Republicans including Trump have advocated for unity — a switch from the messaging throughout the campaign so far — in the wake of Saturday’s shooting in Pennsylvania.

Biden reacts to Trump’s classified document case being thrown out

Biden says he wasn’t surprised that a Trump-appointed federal judge in Florida dismissed the classified documents case against the former president.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon sided in a ruling Monday with defence lawyers. They’d argued the special counsel who filed the charges against Trump for obstructing government efforts to recover documents he had in his Florida estate was illegally appointed by the Justice Department.

“I’m not surprised,” Biden said when asked by NBC News for his reaction.

It was a legal victory for Trump but special counsel Jack Smith’s office says it would appeal the order.

The evening session on day 1 of the RNC is underway

Delegates had about an hour break after Monday’s organizing session, where they held a roll call to approve Trump as their official nominee.

That was also the first time they got a glimpse of his pick as running mate, JD Vance of Ohio.

Trump is expected to attend on Monday night but is not planning to speak to delegates until later in the week.

Biden says his call with Trump after this weekend’s attack was ‘very cordial’

President Biden offered new details about his call with Donald Trump after the former president was injured in an attempted assassination attempt on Saturday.

Biden said that the private call was “very cordial” and that Trump thanked him for calling.

“I told him how concerned I was, and wanted to make sure I knew how he was actually doing,” Biden told NBC News. “He sounded good. He said he was fine and he thanked me for calling.”

Biden added of the call, “I told him it was literally in the prayers of Jill and me.”

Information requested from Secret Service about Trump assassination attempt

House Oversight Committee chair James Comer sent a letter Monday afternoon to U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle requesting more information about the assassination attempt of former President Trump in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Cheatle is facing a wrath of bipartisan scrutiny since a lone gunman rang out a series of shots from a nearby rooftop over the weekend causing members of both sides of the aisle to raise concerns about a potential security failure by the Secret Service.

Cheatle is expected to appear before the Oversight Committee next week to testify about the protocol that was in place for Trump’s rally and what potentially went wrong. In the meantime, Comer is asking for a complete list of all law enforcement personnel — including from Secret Service, Homeland Security and local police — who were involved in staffing the rally as well as all audio and video taken by the various agencies of the rally itself.

Delegate Jerry H. Rovner endorces Trump's decision to pick Vance as VP

Jerry H. Rovner, a delegate for Pawleys Island, South Carolina, and retired U.S. Navy captain, said he was supportive of Trump having picked Vance as his running mate, noting that he felt the Marine Corps veteran would be able to hit the ground running on military issues.

“Having JD Vance, a Marine, as our vice president, we don’t have to go through the explanation that we’d normally have to do, to a civilian,” Rovner said Monday on the floor of the convention hall, hours after Vance’s unveiling. “He understands the basics of what’s important, what makes our country strong.”

Biden says he’s old but that Trump isn’t much younger

Biden says in an interview with NBC that, at 81, he’s old, but that his opponent isn’t that much younger at 78.

“I’m old,” Biden said during an interview with anchor Lester Holt on Tuesday at the White House. “But I’m only three years older than Trump, No. 1. And No. 2, my mental acuity has been pretty damn good.”

Biden has sat for a series of interviews lately, trying to reassure Democrats who are nervous that he’s not up to a second term after a halting debate performance late last month.

Biden added, “I understand why people say, ‘God, he’s 81 years old. Whoa. What’s he gonna be when he’s 83 years old, 84 years?’ It’s a legitimate question to ask.”

But he said he’d rather be judged on his administration’s accomplishments.

JD Vance’s rise to vice presidential candidate began with a bestselling memoir

At the heart of JD Vance’s journey from venture capitalist to vice presidential candidate is a memoir he first thought of in graduate school, “Hillbilly Elegy.”

Vance’s bestseller about his roots in rural Kentucky and blue-collar Ohio made him a national celebrity soon after its publication in the summer of 2016 and became a cultural talking point after Trump’s presidential stunning victory that November.

In “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vance reflects on the transformation of Appalachia from reliably Democratic to reliably Republican, sharing stories about his chaotic family life and about communities that had declined and seemed to lose hope. Now 39, Vance first thought of the book while studying at Yale Law School, and completed it in his early 30s, when it was eventually published by HarperCollins.

“I was very bugged by this question of why there weren’t more kids like me at places like Yale ... why isn’t there more upward mobility in the United States?” Vance told The Associated Press in 2016.

Vance a 'good messenger' for campaign: governor

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who was the target of then-President Donald Trump's ire for refusing to help overturn the 2020 election, said Trump's vice presidential pick JD Vance is "a good messenger" for the former president's campaign. 

But perhaps underscoring the 39-year-old senator's relative youth, Kemp added, "I don't know that much about him" because he is one of the few contenders "that I really haven't crossed paths with."

Still, the governor said if Trump believes Vance helps the ticket and "is someone who can be president, you know, if something were to happen to him, then I think it's a good pick."

Environmental activist denounces Vance

Stevie O'Hanlon, communications director of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led, national group combatting climate change, denounced Vance for "voting to gut EPA protections and denying that there even is a climate change crisis" and being "one of Congress's biggest recipients of donations from oil companies."

"Like Donald Trump, JD Vance has proven that he will make it a top priority to roll back climate protections while answering to the demands of oil and gas CEOs," O'Hanlon said.

Jill Stein joins protest marching toward the RNC

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein joined with a group of about two dozen protesters who were rallying and marching in Milwaukee on Monday. 

The Philadelphia-based group Poor People's Army, which advocates for economic justice, organized the rally and march. It came after a larger march earlier Monday that attracted hundreds of people near the site of the RNC.

Stein called for a reduction in military spending and investments in public education, social housing and health care, adding that Americans were clamouring for a true-third party candidate on the ballot. 

"How much do people want the same candidates that have been rammed down our throat for so long?" she said. "Not at all."

Chicago police prepare to handle security at the DNC in August

Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling says the city’s officers are prepared to handle security at the Democratic National Convention in August in light of the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Trump.

Snelling gave few details at a press conference to address the topic but said police are responding accordingly after the attempt to ensure the safety of the convention and the surrounding neighbourhoods. He said police continue to be in constant contact with the Secret Service.

“If we get any additional intel, if we see things where we know we need to make adjustments or we need additional manpower, we will make those adjustments as soon as possible,” he said.

The DNC will convene in Chicago from Aug. 19-22.

Rapper 50 Cent will not appear at the RNC

In the wake of the assassination attempt against Trump, rapper 50 Cent, who was shot nine times in 2000, posted a photoshopped cover of his 2003 debut album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” with Trump’s head on it.

“I know the vibes,” he posted online. “We are all in trouble now.” The post was later deleted.

Social media users have overlayed 50 Cent’s “Many Men (Wish Death),” a track about the people who want to kill him, with images and video of Trump’s assassination attempt.

He later lamented, “Trump gets shot and now I’m trending.”

CNN journalist Kate Sullivan reported on Monday that 50 Cent was in talks to appear at the GOP convention, however, a representative for the artist told The Associated Press that the rapper is not going to appear at the Milwaukee convention. He will be in Shreveport, La., preparing for his upcoming Humor and Harmony Festival.

Michigan Republican offers metered opinion on Vance

Asked about his impression of newly nominated Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra responded abruptly, “We don’t know him.”

Michigan Republicans know what they’ve seen of him on Fox News, but have not had him in Michigan for fundraisers, like other former running mate prospects like South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Hoekstra said.

“I’m sure we’ll see a lot of him. If he’s from Ohio, he understands our state and the other northern battlegrounds,” Hoekstra said. “But we haven’t had a chance to take his measure yet.”

Biden calls 'bullseye' comment about Trump 'a mistake'

President Biden says it was “a mistake” to say he wanted to put Trump on a “bullseye” during a recent call with donors.

In a clip of an interview with NBC News airing later tonight, Biden is asked about the comment and notes that he didn’t say “crosshairs.”

The president said he meant that there was a lot of focus on his halting debate performance but not on Trump’s agenda, which he calls radical, but wasn’t getting enough attention.

Biden added of Trump, “I’m not the guy who said I wanted to be a dictator on day one.”

Some Republicans have seized on Biden’s comment after Trump was injured in an assassination attempt on Saturday. Both Biden and Trump have called for national unity after the attack.

The Biden campaign’s messaging on Vance will highlight abortion

On a call with reporters denouncing the pick, two of the four speakers were leaders of reproductive groups, both nationally and in Ohio.

“I will certainly take that matchup any day of the week and twice on Sunday,” said Jen O’Malley Dillon, the Biden campaign chairwoman. “Because while Trump and Vance have an agenda focused on themselves and their wealthy donor friends, President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting for the American people.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., added: “Trump’s vice presidential pick is great news for the wealthiest Americans and lousy news for everyone else.”

Campaign aides said Vice President Harris is prepared to debate Vance and contrast the Democratic agenda with that of Republicans when it comes to abortion rights, gun violence and the economy.

Vance, almost immediately after Saturday’s shooting at the Trump rally, accused Biden and his campaign of deploying rhetoric that “led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.” Asked about that statement, Ducklo stressed that “stopping political violence was a central motivation for this president” and repeated Biden’s statements that differences in political views have to be settled through voting, not through violence.

Vice President Kamala Harris congratulates JD Vance

Vice President Kamala Harris phoned JD Vance to congratulate him after Trump selected him as his running mate, according to a person familiar with the matter. She left him a voicemail message.

Former fire chief who died at Trump rally used his body to shield family from gunfire

The former fire chief who was killed at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally spent his final moments diving down in front of his family, protecting them from the gunfire that rang out Saturday during an assassination attempt against the former president.

Corey Comperatore’s quick decision to use his body as a shield against the bullets flying toward his wife and daughter rang true to the close friends and neighbours who loved and respected the proud 50-year-old Trump supporter, noting that the Butler County resident was a “man of conviction.”

“He’s a literal hero. He shoved his family out of the way, and he got killed for them,” said Mike Morehouse, who lived next to Comperatore for the last eight years. “He’s a hero that I was happy to have as a neighbor.”

Prayers for Trump, victims of rally shooting at Republican convention

After officially nominating Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance to the GOP presidential ticket, delegates and RNC staff said a prayer for their new nominee and the victims of the rally shooting Saturday, including Corey Comperatore, the 50-year-old former fire chief who died after being shot while sitting in the bleachers behind Trump.

The convention recessed shortly after and will begin again at 5:45 p.m.

Vance officially nominated at RNC

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted nominates JD Vance as vice presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention hours after Trump’s announcement.

“JD is a living embodiment of the American dream,” Husted said. “He came from humble beginnings.”

The crowd chanted in response, “JD! JD!”

Bernie Moreno, the Republican candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, seconded the motion for the convention to nominate Vance.

He was nominated by voice vote.

Kennedy and Trump spoke to discuss ‘national unity’

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met with Trump Monday “to discuss national unity,” a Kennedy spokesperson says.

He also hopes to meet with Democratic leaders, spokesperson Stefanie Spear said. “And no, he is not dropping out of the race,” Spear said. Kennedy’s candidacy has spooked partisans loyal to both Trump and Biden who fear he will serve as a spoiler.

Vance appears for the first time as Trump’s VP pick

Sen. JD Vance appeared at the convention center where the Republican National Convention is taking place, shaking hands with Ohio delegates and hugging Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

It is the first time Vance has been seen since Trump announced that he would be choosing him as his vice presidential nominee earlier Monday. The senator appeared alongside his wife Usha Vance.

Conservatives rally around Vance

Conservative commentator and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, speaking to a Heritage Foundation gathering at the RNC, praised Vance by saying that “every bad person I’ve met in a lifetime in Washington was aligned against JD Vance.”

“They thought he’d be harder to manipulate about killing people,” Carlson said, alluding to Vance’s skepticism of taking a role in overseas wars.

Former Republican New York Rep. Lee Zeldin described Vance as “highly intelligent,” “likeable,” a “hard worker” and especially a “good messenger.”

“He can do a friendly media outlet and he can do a more hostile interview. And if you give it to him, he’s ready to punch back. And if the reporter doubles down, he’s ready to continue to defend his position and to do it with a smile on his face,” Zeldin said.

Zeldin, who served in the Army and serves in the Army Reserve, said Vance’s military background is a “fantastic” asset to the Republican ticket.

“We are taught a lot in the military about leadership, that are principles that stick with us for a long time to come,” Zeldin said.

‘Fight, fight, fight, fight’

After Wyoming delegates threw their support behind Trump in Milwaukee, they broke into an impromptu chant.

“Fight, fight, fight, fight,” they shouted. The couple dozen voices spread across the floor of Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, echoing through the arena, as they had a half dozen times earlier Monday afternoon.

The chants were the early incarnations of what is sure to be repeated at Trump campaign events this summer and fall, all tracing their origins to the frightening scene from Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

Trump, bleeding from his right ear, pried himself away from the protective grip of U.S. Secret Service, pumping his fist and mouthing, “Fight, fight.”

Sheryl Foland of Rowlins, Wyoming, had returned to her hotel Saturday in Racine south of Milwaukee, where she was participating in the RNC’s credentials committee meeting, to witness the harrowing events in Pennsylvania on the hotel lobby TV.

“We thought, is this real? Is this a hoax?” she said. “Then we saw those monumental photos and video.”

“We knew then we were going to adopt that as our chant,” added Foland, a child trauma mental health counselor. “Not just because we wanted him to fight, and that God was fighting for him. We thought, isn’t it our job to accept that challenge and fight for our country?”

“It’s bigger than Trump,” Foland said. “It’s a mantra for our country.”

Attempted assassination top of mind for some delegates

The attempted assassination of Trump during a Saturday rally was front of mind as delegates cast their votes for his nomination during Monday’s RNC.

Michael Testa, a state senator from New Jersey, referenced the shooting as he announced all of the state’s 12 delegates for Trump during a roll call.

“We should all be thankful right now that we are able to cast our votes for President Donald J. Trump after what took place on Saturday,” Testa said.

Several delegates are breaking into chants of “fight, fight, fight,” the same words Trump was seen saying to the crowd as the Secret Service moved with him off the stage in Pennsylvania after he was injured.

Vance blamed Biden for Trump assassination attempt, White House declines comment

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined direct comment when asked about Vance being quick to blame Biden for the attempt on Trump’s life.

“I’m not going to politicize this moment. We’re not going to politicize this moment. It is wrong to politicize this moment,” Jean-Pierre said Monday at her daily White Houe press briefing.

She repeated what Biden said about lowering the temperature and uniting the country when he addressed the nation on Sunday night.

Abortion rights advocates slammed Trump’s decision to choose Vance as his running mate

Advocates are highlighting his history of opposing abortion access in Ohio, where voters last year overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that ensures access to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care.

Lauren Blauvelt, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, said the announcement is a “disappointing decision,” calling Vance “an absentee senator more interested in his own political ambitions than in supporting the people he was elected to represent.”

“He has dismissed the overwhelming majority of Ohioans who voted to enshrine the right to abortion access in the state constitution and is out of step with the majority of Americans who believe that abortion is health care,” Blauvelt said.

Mini Timmaraju, president of the national abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All, said Trump’s vice presidential pick “provides even more evidence that a Trump administration will stop at nothing to ban all abortion.”

“Make no mistake, Trump picked him because of — not in spite of — his anti-abortion bonafides,” she said.

Who is JD Vance? Things to know about Donald Trump’s pick for vice president

Ohio Sen. JD Vance is a 39-year-old Republican now in his first term in the Senate. He made a name for himself with his memoir, the bestseller “Hillbilly Elegy,” which was published in 2016 as Trump was first running for president.

Vance was a never-Trumper in 2016, calling Trump “dangerous” and “unfit” for office. But by the time Vance met Trump in 2021, he had reversed his opinion, citing Trump’s accomplishments as president. Trump endorsed Vance in his 2022 bid for U.S. Senate, and Vance is now one of the former president’s fiercest allies on Capitol Hill.

Vance officially nominated at RNC

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted nominates JD Vance as vice presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention hours after Trump’s announcement.

“JD is a living embodiment of the American dream,” Husted said. “He came from humble beginnings.”

The crowd chanted in response, “JD! JD!”

Conservatives rally around Vance

Conservative commentator and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, speaking to a Heritage Foundation gathering at the RNC, praised Vance by saying that “every bad person I’ve met in a lifetime in Washington was aligned against JD Vance.”

“They thought he’d be harder to manipulate about killing people,” Carlson said, alluding to Vance’s skepticism of taking a role in overseas wars.

Former Republican New York Rep. Lee Zeldin described Vance as “highly intelligent,” “likeable,” a “hard worker” and especially a “good messenger.”

“He can do a friendly media outlet and he can do a more hostile interview. And if you give it to him, he’s ready to punch back. And if the reporter doubles down, he’s ready to continue to defend his position and to do it with a smile on his face,” Zeldin said.

Zeldin, who served in the Army and serves in the Army Reserve, said Vance’s military background is a “fantastic” asset to the Republican ticket.

“We are taught a lot in the military about leadership, that are principles that stick with us for a long time to come,” Zeldin said.

Vance blamed Biden for Trump assassination attempt

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined direct comment when asked about Vance being quick to blame Biden for the attempt on Trump’s life.

“I’m not going to politicize this moment. We’re not going to politicize this moment. It is wrong to politicize this moment,” Jean-Pierre said Monday at her daily White Houe press briefing.

She repeated what Biden said about lowering the temperature and uniting the country when he addressed the nation on Sunday night.

Mitch McConnell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell booed at RNC

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell faced a flurry of boos Monday at the Republican National Convention when he stood on behalf of Kentucky to send the state’s delegates to Donald Trump.

McConnell, a onetime critic who blamed the then-president for “disgraceful” acts in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, made a remarkable turnaround in March when he endorsed Trump as the GOP nominee. The two men came face-to-face last month when Trump visited Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill where they shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

Bidens campaign chair on Trump's VP pick

U.S. President Joe Biden’s campaign chair responded to Vance’s selection as Trump’s running mate by saying Vance “will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people.”

Jen O’Malley Dillon said the campaign would spend “every single day making the case between the two starkly contrasting visions Americans will choose between at the ballot box this November:”

Vance has challenged the legitimacy of criminal prosecutions and civil verdicts against Trump and questions the results of the 2020 election.

He told ABC News in February that, if he had been vice president on Jan. 6, 2021, he would have told states where Trump disputed Biden wins “that we needed to have multiple slates of electors, and I think the U.S. Congress should have fought over it from there.”

“That is the legitimate way to deal with an election that a lot of folks, including me, think had a lot of problems in 2020,” he said.

FBI gained access to cellphone of suspect in assassination attempt

The FBI says it has now successfully gained access to the cellphone of Thomas Matthew Crooks and are analyzing all his electronic devices for clues as to a motive in the weekend assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

The bureau also said in a statement Monday that it has finished searching the suspect’s home and car.

FBI officials said Sunday that they were trying to access Crooks’ phone. They said the limited insight they had into recent communications didn’t reveal anything with regard to a motive in the attempted assassination.

The FBI has conducted nearly 100 interviews of law enforcement officials, attendees at the rally and other witnesses, and has received hundreds of digital media tips.

Trump officially becomes Republican presidential nominee

Donald Trump has become the official Republican presidential nominee after receiving the votes of enough delegates at the Republican National Convention.

Trump has been the presumptive nominee for months. But it was the vote of RNC delegates in Milwaukee that made it official Monday afternoon.

Trump hit the necessary threshold with votes from his home state of Florida.

Biden orders Secret Service to protect RFK. Jr.

President Joe Biden has ordered the U.S. Secret Service to protect independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Kennedy is a longshot to win Electoral College votes, much less the presidency. But his campaign events have drawn large crowds of supporters and people interested in his message.

Trump was not seriously injured in the shooting over the weekend in Pennsylvania. There is an independent review of the attack.

Trump announces Ohio Sen. JD Vance as VP pick

Former President Donald Trump says Ohio Sen. JD Vance will be his vice presidential pick.

He says on his Truth Social Network that, “After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio.”

Roll call underway to officially nominate Trump to be Republicans’ nominee for president

States are announcing their support for Trump inside the arena in Milwaukee on Monday.

Nevada GOP Chair Michael McDonald was among those who put Trump’s name up for nomination. McDonald was indicted of criminal charges related to his involvement in a scheme to present fake electors who would overturn Biden’s victory over Trump.

A judge dismissed the case against McDonald last month over a venue dispute.

Eric Trump

Eric Trump says he’ll cast the vote declaring his father the Republican nominee

Donald Trump’s son, Eric Trump, announced on X that he’ll be casting the vote at 3:30 p.m. ET declaring his father the Republican nominee for president. He lives in Florida and is expected to cast the vote with Florida’s delegation, putting Trump over the top with enough delegates to formally become the nominee.

Congressional committees moving to investigate assassination attempt

Congressional committees are moving quickly to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

The House Committee on Oversight and Investigation has already scheduled a hearing for July 22 with the director of the U.S. Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, set to testify.

Rep. James Comer, the committee’s Republican chairman, said the Secret Service has a no-fail mission, “yet it failed on Saturday.” He said lawmakers are grateful to the agents who acted quickly to protect Trump, “but questions remain about how a rooftop within proximity to President Trump was left unsecure.”

Meanwhile, the leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee also announced Monday the committee would conduct an investigation and plan to hold a hearing on security failures that led to the attempted assassination.

They’re requesting an urgent briefing for committee members followed by a public hearing.

Trump makes his vice presidential pick

Donald Trump has made his decision on his vice presidential pick, according to a person familiar with his thinking who spoke Monday on the condition of anonymity.

Trump’s pick is expected to appear at the Republican National convention later this afternoon as the vice president is formally nominated.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has been informed that he's not Trump’s vice presidential pick, according to a person familiar with their conversation. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum also has been told he won't be chosen as Trump’s running mate, AP sources said.

— Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller

Trump has chosen his nominee for vice president

And Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has been told he will not be chosen as former President Donald Trump’s running mate, an AP source says.

— Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller

Heritage Foundation hosts centre-right celebrities at 'Policy Fest'

Just at the edge of the RNC security perimeter, the conservative Heritage Foundation held a gathering of centre-right celebrities called “Policy Fest” that amounted to a daylong flex for its Project 2025.

The project is one of the thinktank’s regular attempts to draw up a governing agenda for a new Republican president, but it’s become a flashpoint in the presidential race. Democrats have tried to use it and some of its more aggressive proposals – such as a wholesale reorganization of the federal workforce to ensure it is loyal to the president – against Trump. For his part, Trump has distanced himself from the effort, which is run by some of his closest allies and members of his last administration.

Two of those former members – Trump’s prior acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homans and Trump’s ex-head of Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan – contended the project’s role has been overblown. The two spoke onstage with former Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah about the border, urging reimplementation of Trump policies like the border wall and remain in Mexico that ended under the Biden administration.

Afterwards they scoffed at the worries over Project 2025, even though both men contributed to its immigration policy.

Mayorkas: Direct line of sight to former president ‘should not occur’

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says a direct line of sight like the one the shooter had to Trump “should not occur.”

Mayorkas was asked during an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos how the gunman could have gotten into such a position.

The secretary says that’s why an independent review is being done.

He also denied reports that the agency rebuffed requests for more resources for Trump’s detail, saying it was “unequivocally false.”

Trump narrowed his choices for running mate to 3 candidates

Donald Trump is said to have narrowed his list of potential running mates to three top candidates: Ohio Sen. JD Vance, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

All come with different benefits and vulnerabilities. Vance is perhaps most ideologically aligned with the former president and would energize his base. At 39, he would add a millennial contrast to the older men at the top of their parties’ tickets. But he’s served in the Senate for less than two years.

Burgum would bring business acumen and a steady hand, though Trump has noted his signing of a highly restrictive abortion law could be a drawback.

Rubio is seen in the party as a respected voice on policy and his background — as the son of Cuban immigrants and a Spanish speaker — could help Trump appeal to Latino voters. He could also help draw more moderate and establishment-minded voters and donors turned off by Trump’s coarse rhetoric. But Rubio’s candidacy is complicated by the fact that he lives in Florida, like Trump.

Protesters gather at GOP convention

Hundreds of activists gathered in a downtown Milwaukee park Monday as they prepared to spend the day protesting outside the Republican National Convention, saying the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump won’t affect their long-standing plans to demonstrate outside the site.

A wide range of organizations and demonstrators gathered in the park blocks from the Fiserv Forum to listen to speakers and then began marching Monday afternoon. The Coalition to March on the RNC, comprised largely of local groups, was protesting for access to abortion rights, for immigrant rights, and against the war in Gaza among other issues.

Organizers said the rally was on despite the attempt on Trump’s life Saturday during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Trump calls for RFK Jr. to get Secret Service protection

After being hurt in a weekend assassination attempt, former President Donald Trump is calling for another presidential candidate to get Secret Service protection.

“In light of what is going on in the world today, I believe it is imperative that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. receive Secret Service protection — immediately,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Given the history of the Kennedy Family, this is the obvious right thing to do!”

Kennedy’s father, Robert F. Kennedy, was shot and killed while campaigning for president and his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated while in office.

Trump expected to announce VP pick on the RNC’s first day

Donald Trump is expected to announce his vice presidential pick on the first day of the Republican National Convention, he said in an interview Monday.

It remains unclear whether the shooting Saturday at his Pennsylvania rally has changed the former president’s thinking about his potential second-in-command. But he told Fox News Channel host Bret Baier in a call that he planned to make his pick Monday.

The roll call vote to nominate Trump’s pick is expected Monday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the schedule who spoke on condition of anonymity. The person cautioned that Trump could always change his mind.

— Jill Colvin and Steve Peoples

Vivek Ramaswamy urges the country to come together after assassination attempt against Trump

Vivek Ramaswamy, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur and political novice who ran in the GOP presidential primary, has distinguished himself as an aggressive voice on the right, saying often that the country is already at war with itself.

So it was notable that in remarks at an event run by the conservative Heritage Institute at the RNC on Monday he was toning down his rhetoric and urging the country to come together.

“The enemy is not the Democrats, it is an ideology,” Ramaswamy told the crowd at the Heritage Institute’s “Policy Fest” event.

Ramaswamy compared the assassination attempt on Donald Trump to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, telling reporters after his speech that “Donald Trump, in some ways, has been given the chance now, the second chance that Abraham Lincoln didn’t have to unite a country that, this time, didn’t have to fight a civil war but avoids one.”

Biden and Harris getting updated briefing on assassination attempt against Trump

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are getting an updated briefing from homeland security and law enforcement officials on the investigation into the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

The briefing is taking place in the Situation Room, the White House says.

The attorney general, homeland security secretary, FBI director and the director and deputy director of the U.S. Secret Service are among those briefing Biden and Harris.

Federal judge cites Justice Thomas in tossing Trump classified documents case

When U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump, she pointed several times to a concurrence written by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

The concurrence was part of the high court’s ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution, a finding that all but ended the prospects Trump could be tried on election-interference charges in Washington before the election.

No other justice signed onto Thomas’s concurrence. He questioned whether special counsel Jack Smith had been legally appointed and called on lower court judges to weigh the question.

Jill Biden has spoken with Melania Trump after Saturday assassination attempt

First lady Jill Biden has spoken to Melania Trump following an attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The first lady’s office confirmed they spoke Sunday afternoon but have not released any details on the conversation. President Joe Biden spoke with Donald Trump following the attack at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Donald Trump is attending the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.

Milwaukee mayor: RNC has the highest security level possible and ‘I feel pretty confident’

Milwaukee’s mayor says he knows Americans will have questions about security at the Republican National Convention after Saturday’s assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, but the event has the highest security level possible “so I feel pretty confident.”

“The folks on the ground here have confidence in the work that they’ve put in over the last 18 months,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson said at a Monday morning briefing. “And I have faith and confidence as well in the Secret Service and the police and fire departments and other agencies providing security today.”

Secret Service director says she’s confident in RNC security plan

The director of the U.S. Secret Service says she’s confident in the plan to secure the Republican National Convention that begins Monday in the wake of an attempt on the life of presidential candidate Donald Trump.

In a statement, Kim Cheatle said Monday the security plans for the event are “designed to be flexible.”

“The Secret Service will continuously adapt our operations as necessary to ensure the highest level of safety,” she said.

Cheatle says the plan will change as necessary to ensure the continued safety of attendees at the Milwaukee event.

A man shot at Trump from a rooftop near a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday. Trump is recovering and will attend the convention. President Joe Biden ordered a national security review of the incident over the weekend.

King Charles writes to Trump

King Charles III has written to Donald Trump after the assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, Buckingham Palace said.

The palace did not disclose the contents of the monarch’s private message, which was delivered on Sunday through the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The message follows a call to Trump on Sunday by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who condemned the violence, expressed condolences for the victims and their families and wished a quick recovery for the former president and those injured.

Trump in ‘great spirits’ Sunday

Donald Trump spent much of Sunday on the phone with friends, news hosts and local and foreign officials the day after he was injured in an assassination attempt.

Ohio Pastor Darrell Scott, a longtime ally, said Trump “was in great spirits” when they spoke Sunday morning, hours after the shooting.

“He was great, like he always is. He didn’t even make a big deal of it,” Scott said. “He was actually trying to downplay it somewhat, asking how I was doing.”

Former RNC chair Reince Priebus, who also served as Trump’s White House chief of staff, told ABC’s “This Week” that Trump was “grateful for the miracle of what happened, in his case. ... One quarter inch turned the other direction and we’re obviously talking about something very different this morning.”