Welcome to the a special edition From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.
Tonight, we are wrapping up all the highlights from the first night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and bringing you the inside story of how Donald Trump landed on his running mate choice.
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Republican convention aims for unity — but keeps some of the old red meat
By Matt Dixon, Allan Smith and Katherine Doyle
MILWAUKEE — The economy was the focus of the first night of the Republican National Convention, but it was Donald Trump’s first public appearance since the attempted assassination at his rally Saturday that stole the show.
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.
Imitating Trump’s remarks after he was shot and stood back up, rally attendees shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Most speakers stuck to the night’s theme — “Make America Wealthy Again” — but interspersed through the night were mentions of the shooting and rhetoric that, at times, contradicted Trump’s own calls for unity.
High inflation, and what the speakers said was the lackluster economy under President Joe Biden, was a key talking point throughout the night.
“Many families today are having that same experience,” said North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, speaking of his experience growing up poor. “Grocery prices have skyrocketed, and gas has nearly doubled in North Carolina factories.”
The fallout of an attempted assassination on the Republican presidential nominee has been felt at the convention, but on the first night it wasn’t a main theme. The Trump campaign strategically picked which speakers would discuss the issue to prevent it from coming up in every speech, and it came in just a handful Monday night.
“Unfortunately, this is also a somber moment for our nation,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. “Two days ago, evil came for the man we admire and love so much. I think God that his hand was on President Trump.”
But the convention wasn’t all about unifying the country; there was still plenty of red meat for the base that went after Democrats and other groups of people.
Greene, for example, also went after transgender rights. And Charlie Kirk, an outspoken Trump ally, urged Republicans to “fire the Biden-Harris regime.”
“Our current state of slow-motion national decline is a choice,” he said.
The inside story of how Trump chose JD Vance as his running mate
By Henry J. Gomez and Matt Dixon
MILWAUKEE — With the clock ticking to the Republican National Convention last week, 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.
Trump ratified his sons’ recommendation here Monday, selecting Sen. JD Vance of Ohio to run as his vice presidential candidate. Trump called Vance with the news 20 minutes before he announced it on social media, a source familiar with the call said.
Read more from Henry and Matt →
Zooming out: NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd writes that if the Trump-Vance ticket is successful in November, it could mean the Bush-Romney-Cheney wing of the GOP is in the wilderness not just for another four years, but for a generation.
🗞️ Tonight's other top stories
- ⚫ Shooting fallout: Local police officers notified Trump’s Secret Service detail they were looking for a suspicious person in the area before the shooting at Saturday’s Pennsylvania rally, a U.S. official told NBC News. Meanwhile, authorities are still searching for a motive after the shooter left few clues behind. Read more →
- 🤝 Across the aisle: In an interview with ABC News, Trump said Biden “couldn’t have been nicer” during their phone call after the attempted assassination. Read more →
- 📝 Edits and revisions : Eric Trump told "TODAY" host Savannah Guthrie that the new version of his father’s convention speech is "forward-looking for this country" and "incredibly positive." Read more →
- 🏠 Housing costs: Biden plans to call on Congress to pass a law that would ensure landlords capped rent increases at 5% or faced losing out on federal tax breaks. Read more →
- 🟦 Counterprogramming: Vice President Kamala Harris will hold a moderated conversation with Republican women in Michigan on Wednesday, the day Vance will address GOP convention delegates. Read more →
- 🎙️ Mix-up? Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said the teleprompter at the RNC 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." Read more →
- 📺 Watch NBC News anchor Lester Holt's full interview with President Joe Biden
That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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