2024 Election Latest: RNC enters second day with focus shifting to immigration

The Republican National Convention heads into its second day — now with Donald Trump officially as its presidential nominee.

Trump energized the crowd Monday night by entering the arena with a bandage on his right ear after being injured during an assassination attempt Saturday. Expect more speakers Tuesday to mention what they described as the former president’s strength and resilience after the shooting at his rally in Pennsylvania.

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Here's the Latest:

Don Jr. describes first call with Trump after shooting

Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday described the 90 minutes when he didn’t know whether his father was alive after Saturday’s assassination attempt.

Donald Trump Jr. spoke with Axios’ co-founder Mike Allen at an event outside the RNC at Central Waters Brewing Company in downtown Milwaukee. The event was fully packed, reaching capacity with a few dozen attendees having to watch the conversation on a TV outside.

Donald Trump Jr., who was fishing in Florida with his daughter at the time, said it was about 90 minutes after the shooting before he knew his father was OK. When he saw images of the former president with his fist in the air, Donald Trump Jr. said he felt pride.

“To be shot and to stand up with that kind of resolve, I just told him, ‘Hey man, you’re the biggest bad-ass I know,’” the ex-president’s eldest son said.

After the initial happiness of knowing he was OK, Donald Trump Jr. said there was some levity when he asked his father about his hair and Trump responded by saying it was fine even though it had a little blood in it.

Protesters have a stage to speak from, but no audience

A stage set up by the city of Milwaukee for protesters near the Republican National Convention has no audience beyond a few journalists and staff organizing the event.

It opened at 11 a.m. as the closest approved location for speakers near the Fiserv Forum.

But on Tuesday morning there were only two speakers including an 82-year-old Trump supporter who has been sitting outside the convention for three days.

Robert Kunest, wearing a blue baseball cap that says “Israel,” says he’s been interviewed by more than 100 journalists during the convention. He walks around the convention pushing a cart that holds a well-worn chair patched together with tape and signs that include ones reading, “America Advances with Trump & Vance.”

The Florida man spoke for about 20 minutes into a microphone about Trump, the war in Gaza and the economy.

“Where is everybody?” he said.

Ahead of the convention, more than 100 people signed up to speak on the stage. But city officials say the no-show rate has been more than 80%. On Monday there were only a handful of speakers.

City leaders say they might have opted to join Monday’s large march that started at a nearby park.

DeSantis scheduled to address RNC on Tuesday night, AP sources say

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is scheduled to address the RNC Tuesday night, according to a person familiar with the schedule who was not authorized to speak publicly.

DeSantis was seen as Trump’s strongest challenger for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination until he dropped out right before the New Hampshire primary.

His remarks Tuesday will come the same night that former presidential candidate Nikki Haley is scheduled to speak, putting two of Trump’s most visible rivals turned supporters on stage in a show of party unity.

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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.

Group of House Dems are circulating letter with concerns about nominating Biden

A contingent of House Democrats is circulating a letter with “serious concerns” about nominating President Joe Biden as the party’s pick in a virtual roll call as soon as July 21, ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August.

The letter to the Democratic National Committee, which has not yet been sent, says it would be a “terrible idea” to stifle debate about the party’s nominee with the early roll call vote.

The party had planned the early roll call to ensure Biden would qualify for the ballot in Ohio, but the state has since changed its rules, making the issue no longer relevant, the letter says.

Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., who asked pointed questions of Biden on a call with progressive lawmakers over the weekend, is among those raising concerns.

Homeland Security Committee chair demands that leaders of Secret Service, FBI and more appear

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee is demanding top leaders from the Secret Service, FBI and Homeland Security appear to discuss the assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

U.S. Rep. Mark Green, the Republican from Tennessee who chairs the committee, said in a statement that he wants Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify July 23.

Green wrote that the “American people want answers” on Saturday’s shooting.

Green has already reached out to the secretary demanding information about the shooting including plans to secure the perimeter where the rally was held.

Trump and Vance to appear at RNC every night, AP sources say

Trump and Vance are scheduled to appear in the hall every night, according to two people familiar with the schedule who were not authorized to speak publicly.

The nominee and his newly minted running mate sat together on Monday night in what was Trump’s first public appearance following the assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Vance is expected to give his own speech Wednesday night, with Trump to headline Thursday night’s closing evening.

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Associated Press writers Meg Kinnard and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.

Hutchison: ‘Security is an important theme of this convention’

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison zeroed in on security at the RNC in an on-the-street interview Tuesday morning near Fiserv Forum.

“Security is an important theme of this convention,” Hutchinson, who in January suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination for president, said. “It’s important to Americans, and with the assassination attempt last week security becomes more important for public officials, but it’s also important as former President Trump said to diminish the harshness of the rhetoric and hopefully can bring people together.”

Hutchinson acknowledged that Saturday’s assassination attempt was a galvanizing moment.

“Whenever you look at the strength of Donald Trump as he rose from that attack it signaled ‘I’m here’ and we’re going to continue and not let democracy be defeated,” Hutchinson said. “That’s America. That’s iconic for America and you can’t help but contrast that with the debate performance of incumbent Joe Biden.”

Pennsylvania delegate to immigration speakers: ‘Close the border’

Pennsylvania delegate John Fredericks had a simple bar for Tuesday’s immigration speakers at the RNC, “Close the border. If they’re here illegally, get them out — now. That’s all I’m interested in. Get them out.”

Fredericks, who is from Pittsburgh and was attending the Pennsylvania GOP delegation breakfast at a hotel in Milwaukee’s western suburbs, said the problem has worsened since 2016 when his concerns were more about Mexican immigrants crossing the border.

Today, Fredericks says he is worried more about would-be terrorists from non-Central American countries using the U.S.-Mexico border as an entry point, as a matter of national security. He said he supported “the largest mass deportation in history.”

Secret Service director shed more light on rally shooting during ABC News interview

The director of the Secret Service shed more light on the shooting at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania, telling ABC News Monday night that reports that the shooter had been noticed by people in the area and local authorities before climbing on the roof where he took the shots took place in a “very short period of time.”

“Seeking that person out, finding them, identifying them, and eventually neutralizing them took place in a very short period of time, and it makes it very difficult,” Kim Cheatle said during an interview Monday with ABC News.

Cheatle described the role local law enforcement played in securing the event, saying that the “Secret Service was responsible for the inner perimeter.”

And, she said, the service had assistance from local authorities “for the outer perimeter.”

“There was local police in that building — there was local police in the area that were responsible for the outer perimeter of the building,” she said.

Protest groups

end their RNC demonstrations in Milwaukee

One day after its march in downtown Milwaukee, a coalition of protest groups says its activity in the city is “coming to a close.”

In a statement Tuesday, the Coalition to March on the RNC said it has no further plans to organize demonstrations around the Republican National Convention.

“Our endorsing organizations will continue their work to stand with Palestine, defend and expand immigrants’ rights, defend women’s, LGBTQ, and reproductive rights, and demand peace, justice, and equity for all,” the coalition said.

The coalition said that in the coming weeks, many of its groups will be looking ahead to demonstrating in August outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Secret Service director says shooting at a rally for former president Donald Trump was ‘unacceptable’

“It’s something that shouldn’t happen again,” Kim Cheatle said in an interview Monday night with ABC News. “It was obviously a situation that as a Secret Service agent, no one ever wants to occur in their career.”

Cheatle described her reaction after hearing about the shooting, saying she was shocked and concerned for Trump.

“This is an event that should have never happened,” she said.

Cheatle was asked who bears the most responsibility for the shooting happening.

“What I would say is the Secret Service is responsible for the protection of the former president,” she said. “The buck stops with me.

Dems hold event to counter Teamsters union president's RNC appearance

Democrats are seeking to counter the appearance of Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien Monday night at the Republican National Convention.

They held an event in Milwaukee Tuesday morning to claim that they have the backs of workers, not Republicans. It’s an attempt to strip away political rhetoric and instead focus on track records in office. O’Brien made the case Monday that the political system is broken and needs bipartisanship, while the union and party officials tied to the Democrats said that Republicans are behind the breakdowns.

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said, “When people have the facts and they see the stark choices” they’ll back the Biden-Harris ticket.

Quentin Fulks, the Biden-Harris deputy campaign manager, said that Republicans will “always choose big, greedy, anti-union” interests over workers.

Lara Trump encourages Pennsylvania delegation to vote early

In a flip from Donald Trump’s past two campaigns, Lara Trump encouraged the Pennsylvania delegation to vote early — a contrast from the former president’s long-held, public doubts about early and absentee voting.

“We’re taking nothing for granted,” she said, suggesting that banking early votes will help the campaign spend the final stage of the campaign focusing on late deciders.

She also suggested that the map of battleground states was expanding beyond the half dozen or so states that have been the campaign’s focus so far. She said Minnesota and Virginia had been added to their battleground plans. Biden lost the two states in 2020, though they were competitive in 2016.

“Get ready to see a lot of red on that map,” she said. “We have to make it too big to rig.”

Lara Trump: ‘The show goes on’

“This is incredible to be here right now and I think we all know why. We may have been looking at a very different situation, but for the grace of God,” Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump told more than 200 Pennsylvania delegates and guests Tuesday morning in a hotel ballroom in Waukesha, Wisconsin, west of Milwaukee. “God bless, Donald J. Trump.”

“Here we are. The show goes on,” she said.

Lara Trump was making her first public appearance at the Republican National Convention speaking to the Pennsylvania delegation — a nod to the assassination attempt against the former president on Saturday and Pennsylvania’s pivotal place on the battleground map.

“What a time to be a member of the Republican Party,” she said. “We will be the party through Donald J. Trump saves the United States of America.”

Jack Black ends Tenacious D tour following bandmate's comments on Trump shooting

The comedy rock duo Tenacious D — made up of Jack Black and Kyle Gass — has canceled the rest of their tour after Gass’ remarks about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump over the weekend.

While onstage at a concert in Sydney on Sunday, Gass was presented with a birthday cake and asked to “make a wish” by Black. Gass responded, “Don’t miss Trump next time,” an apparent reference to the rally shooting a day before that left the former president with an injured ear. The video of Gass was widely circulated on social media.

“I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday. I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form,” Black said in a Tuesday statement on Instagram. “After much reflection, I no longer feel it is appropriate to continue the Tenacious D tour, and all future creative plans are on hold. I am grateful to the fans for their support and understanding.”

Following Black’s statement, Gass apologized on Instagram.

First day of the RNC was ‘calm’ overall, Milwaukee's mayor says

“The demonstrations that occurred yesterday — they proceeded without any major problem,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson said during a Tuesday morning briefing.

Johnson said two arrests were made — one when someone tried to climb a fence into a restricted area and a second arrest when a demonstrator was blocking traffic and did not move when officers repeatedly asked her to do so.

“No one was hurt and there was no significant property damage that was reported as a result of these demonstrations,” Johnson said.

Trump's economic plans include proposed tariffs, tax cuts and no taxes on tips

The first night of the Republican National Convention kept its official focus on the economy Monday even after Saturday’s shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania in which former President Donald Trump was injured.

Speakers argued that Trump would fix inflation and bring back prosperity simply by returning to the White House as president. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin lamented, “Tonight, America, the land of opportunity, just doesn’t feel like that anymore.”

But Trump has released few hard numbers and no real policy language or legislative blueprints, and most of the speakers Monday didn’t get into details either. Instead, his campaign is betting that voters care more about attitude than policy specifics. Trump says he wants tariffs on trade partners and no taxes on tips. He would like to knock the corporate tax rate down a tick. The Republican platform also promises to “defeat” inflation and “quickly bring down all prices,” in addition to pumping out more oil, natural gas and coal.

The platform would address illegal immigration in part with the “largest deportation program in American history.” And Trump would also scrap President Joe Biden’s policies to develop the market for electric vehicles and renewable energy.

Democrats and several leading economists say the math shows that Trump’s ideas would cause an explosive bout of inflation, wallop the middle class and — by his extending his soon-to-expire tax cuts — heap another $5 trillion-plus onto the national debt.

▶ Read more about Trump’s economic agenda

On the campaign trail, Biden is trying to sharpen the choice voters face in November

President Joe Biden will speak at the NAACP convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday, aiming to showcase his administration’s support for Black voters who are a tentpole of the Democratic coalition and his personal political support.

He’ll also participate in an interview with BET. Tomorrow, he’ll address UnidosUS, looking to bolster his appeal to Latino voters, another crucial Democratic-leaning bloc.

What to know about JD Vance, Trump's VP pick

Trump chose U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio to be his running mate as he looks to return to the White House. Here are some things to know about the 39-year-old Republican now in his first term in the Senate:

▶Read more about JD Vance

Nikki Haley expected to speak later Tuesday

Nikki Haley, Trump’s former primary rival, was a last-minute addition to the schedule.

The former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor waited two months after dropping out in March to say she would vote for him. Then last week, she announced she would instruct her convention delegates to vote for Trump but wasn’t planning to attend the convention.

It wasn’t until Sunday — hours after the shooting — that her office reversed itself and said she would speak.

The Trump-era evolution of the GOP was on full display during first night of RNC

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is arguably responsible for the GOP’s biggest policy accomplishments, particularly in installing conservative judges at all levels of the judiciary. But that didn’t matter much to the Trump-friendly crowd at the RNC, which greeted the Kentucky Republican with boos — a tangible rejection of someone demonized as an establishment Republican who has insufficiently supported the former president.

Just a short while later, JD Vance enjoyed a much different reception. The second-youngest U.S. senator — and the first millennial to appear on a major party ticket — received raucous applause when he walked onto the convention floor for the first time as Trump’s running mate.

The dueling moments offered a window into the changes that have swept the GOP under Trump — bookending an era in which McConnell has gone from one of his party’s most powerful leaders and incisive tacticians to getting jeered on the convention floor by his own party’s activists.

▶Read more key takeaways from day 1 of the RNC

What to watch as the RNC enters its second day

The Republican National Convention heads into its second day — now with Donald Trump officially as its presidential nominee.

Trump energized the crowd Monday night by entering the arena with a bandage on his right ear after being injured during an assassination attempt Saturday. Expect more speakers Tuesday to mention what they described as the former president’s strength and resilience after the shooting at his rally in Pennsylvania.

Day 1 of the RNC comes to a close

The Republican National Convention opened less than 48 hours after Trump was the subject of a shocking assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. The shooting, which left Trump injured and one man dead, loomed over the convention with speakers expressing gratitude for the former president’s survival and resolved to win back the White House in November.

Trump greeted supporters as he exited the arena. He was being protected by a noticeably larger security contingent of U.S. Secret Service agents.

Teamsters president says union group is ‘not beholden to anyone or any party’

Just a week after the AFL-CIO reaffirmed its backing of President Biden, another union leader came and spoke at the Republican National Convention.

Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien said workers are being taken for granted and sold out to big banks, big tech and the corporate elite. O’Brien said the Teamsters “are not beholden to anyone or any party” and will work with a bipartisan coalition.

“I don’t care about getting criticized,” O’Brien said as he defied organized long-standing support of Democrats.

Trump gets emotional as he enters the stadium

With a large white bandage on his right ear following the assassination attempt against him, President Trump entered a convention floor where delegates stood and cheered, many holding up signs or their phones to take photos and video.

He was heralded by musician Lee Greenwood, who sang his signature song, “God Bless the USA.”

“Is there any doubt who’s going to be the next president of the United States? Prayer works,” Greenwood said when the former president took the stage.

JD Vance recalls the moment Trump called with VP news

JD Vance said his 7-year-old son was being noisy in the background when Trump called to offer him the vice president spot on the Republican ticket.

Vance 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.