Donald Trump stole the show at the Republican National Convention on Monday night in his first public appearance since surviving an assassination attempt two days ago.
A bandaged Trump, now the official Republican nominee for president, appeared alongside his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Here are the top takeaways from the RNC’s first night:
Trump picks Vance Trump called Vance just 20 minutes before publicly announcing his VP pick on Truth Social, a source told CNN.
The choice reflects Trump’s belief that Vance is an effective communicator who can sell Trump’s populist agenda.
Vance now vs. then Vance is something of a double-edged sword for Republicans, who are betting on his ability to communicate Trump’s message but will have to contend with the senator’s own history.
Prior to running for his Senate seat in 2022, Vance was a strident critic of Trump — material Democrats are certain to replay for the duration of the campaign.
VP also-rans get their moments Delegates and convention-watchers heard from several other Republicans who Trump considered for the vice presidential nod, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
Ron Johnson’s Ron Burgundy moment Two days after the shooting, many Republican speakers delivered cooler-than-usual rhetoric — except Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who called Democratic policies a “clear and present danger to the country.”
Johnson’s spokesperson said it was a mistake, and that the senator delivered an old version of his remarks that had been erroneously loaded into the teleprompter instead of a new version calling for unity.
