Republicans Aim to Maintain Momentum After Trump Selects Vance as VP and Wins Nomination
Republicans couldn’t have asked for a more eventful start to their nominating convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They will be looking to keep party members’ energy high on Tuesday.
Donald Trump kicked off the convention on Monday by announcing Ohio senator JD Vance as his running mate, ending months of speculation over who would join him on the ticket. After formally securing the nomination in the afternoon, Trump made a surprise appearance at Fiserv Forum on Monday evening, bringing the convention-goers to their feet.
In his first public appearance since the assassination attempt on Saturday, Trump appeared with a bandage over his ear, which was injured in the attack. Multiple speakers expressed deep gratitude that Trump survived the shooting, which left one rally attendee and the suspected gunman dead.
“Two days ago, evil came for the man we admire and love so much,” said hard-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene to the attendees. “I thank God that his hand was on President Trump.”
On Tuesday, Republicans are expected to focus on crime and immigration, under the theme “Make America Safe Once Again”. Immigration has become a rallying cry for Republicans, as Trump and his allies have repeatedly and falsely accused Joe Biden of supporting “open borders”.
Trump has called for the deportation of 15 to 20 million undocumented immigrants if re-elected, and Vance voiced his support for mass deportation in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday.
“We have to deport people,” Vance told Hannity. “We have to deport people who broke our laws who came in here. And I think we need to start with the violent criminals.”
The speaker schedule for Tuesday remains unclear, as Republicans have not specified who will address the convention next. However, several Republican lawmakers and members of Trump’s family, including his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, have been named as speakers and have not yet addressed the crowd.
While Republicans rally in Milwaukee, Biden and his Democratic allies are resuming some campaign communications after suspending their planned anti-Trump ads in response to the assassination attempt. In an NBC News interview with Lester Holt that aired Monday evening, Biden made a case for his re-election while acknowledging it was a “mistake” to say during a recent donor call that Trump should be Democrats’ “bullseye” right now.
“I meant focus on him. Focus on what he’s doing. Focus on – on his – on his policies. Focus on the number of lies he told in the debate,” Biden said. “I’m not the guy that said I want to be a dictator on day one. I’m not the guy that refused to accept the outcome of the election. I’m not the guy who said that I wouldn’t accept the outcome of this election automatically. You can’t only love your country when you win.”
Currently, Biden still needs to sell more voters on that message. National polls show a neck-and-neck race between Biden and Trump, and Biden appears to be in trouble in several states he won in 2020. A pair of New York Times/Siena College polls conducted last week found the two candidates virtually tied in both Pennsylvania, a must-win state for Biden, and Virginia, which he won by 10 points in 2020.
If Virginia is indeed competitive, Biden’s chances of re-election appear bleak. Republicans will be looking to further damage those chances on Tuesday.