MILWAUKEE (AP) — Donald Trump’s campaign officials have designed the Republican convention that kicks off this week with a softer, more optimistic message, focusing on themes that would help a divided leader broaden his popular appeal. moderate voters And people of color.
Then came the to shoot that shook the foundations of American politics.
Suddenly the Democrats were unrest after the debatethe GOP potential government agenda even Trump’s criminal convictions became subordinate to concerns about political violence and the stability of the country. The presumptive Republican candidate and his allies will undoubtedly face the nation united at their four-day convention in Milwaukee and ready to “fight,” as a bloodied Trump shouted on Saturday while Secret Service agents escorted him to safety at his Pennsylvania rally.
Anger and fear are sweeping through the party, even as many leading Republicans call for calm and a reduction in tensions.
AP correspondent Jackie Quinn reports on the opening day of the Republican National Convention, just days after an alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
GOP presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy has distinguished himself as one of the more hawkish voices on the right, often saying that the country is already at war with itself. So it was notable that in his remarks at an event hosted by the conservative Heritage Institute at the RNC on Monday, he tempered his rhetoric and urged the country to come together.
“The enemy is not the Democrats, it’s an ideology,” Ramaswamy told the crowd at Heritage’s “Policy Fest” event.
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GOP Sen. Steve Daines, chairman of the Republican campaign arm in the Senate, said Monday at a Politico event at the RNC that the party should focus on policy, not divisive politics, in the wake of Saturday’s shooting.
“This is a moment, as we say, where we have to turn the temperature down,” the Montana lawmaker said. “What needs to be fought for the American people in the next three and a half months has to be more policy, not personalities.”
On Monday, hours before the first session of the convention, well-timed news for Trump made for a positive start to the day for him and his party. The federal judge presiding over Trump’s case over secret documents has dismissed the prosecution over concerns about the appointment of the prosecutor who brought the case, giving the former president a major courtroom victory.
Trump posted a message on his Truth Social platform calling for his other lawsuits to be dismissed.
“As we continue to unite our nation after the horrific events of Saturday, this dismissal of the charges against Florida lawless individuals should be just the first step, quickly followed by the dismissal of ALL witch hunts,” he wrote, listing several instances.
In the meantime, Trump is expected to announce his vice presidential pick on the first day of the Republican Party convention, he said in an interview.
It remains unclear whether the shooting Saturday’s rally in Pennsylvania changed the former president’s mind about his potential running mate. But he told Fox News Channel host Bret Baier in a phone call that he planned to make his choice Monday.
There are no changes to the convention program yet
In an interview on Sunday, Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley said: the programming of the congress would not be changed after the shooting. The agenda, he said, will feature more than 100 speakers who are overwhelmingly focused on kitchen-table issues and Trump’s plans to everyday working americans.
“We need to be able to outline a vision of where we want to go with this country,” he said.
Whatley said the central message would have little to do with President Joe Biden’s political struggles, Trump’s grievances over the 2020 election or the ex-president’s promises to retaliate against political enemies.
“We’re going to have the convention that we’ve been planning for the last 18 months,” he said. “We’re a combination of relieved and grateful that the president is going to be here and accept the nomination.”
In addition to voting on Formally give Trump the nominationElected delegates from across the country will update the GOP policy platform for the first time since 2016. The slimmed-down platform proposal — just 16 pages with limited detail on key issues, including abortion — reflects a desire by the Trump campaign to prevent Democrats from getting more material on a key campaign topic.
The platform approved by a committee last week contains no explicit call for a national ban on abortion, two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the federally guaranteed right to abortion.
“More division would not be healthy,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.
As Trump prepares to announce his choice for vice presidentHis top three contenders are North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, all of whom are scheduled to speak this week.
Despite a contentious primary season, the last remaining tensions appear to have dissipated.
Former rivals Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations, are expected to speak on Trump’s behalf at the convention.
People connected to January 6 will be involved
There will be reminders of Trump’s record in a speech program that includes a handful of Republicans charged with crimes related to other political violence — the attack of January 6, 2021 at the US Capitol.
Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarrowho is being held in contempt of Congress, is expected to speak at the convention a few hours after his release. He was found guilty in September after he refused to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the attack on the Capitol.
Michael McDonald, chairman of the Nevada GOP, who charged with criminal charges related to his involvement in a scheme to present fake electors that would overturn Biden’s victory over Trump, plans to present the former president with the party nomination at the convention. A judge dismissed the case against McDonald last month about a dispute over the location.
Trump has repeatedly portrayed those involved in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including his many supporters who stormed the Capitol, as political prisoners.
For now, Democrats have scaled back their plans to deliver a competing message at the Republican convention.
Biden’s campaign pulled back on its campaign ads over the weekend. Vice President Kamala Harris postponed a Tuesday appearance in Florida that was to focus on Trump’s opposition to abortion rights. And the pro-Democratic group American Bridge postponed the planned Monday release of fake trading cards meant to highlight the controversial policy positions of Trump and other leading Republicans.
Protesters expected in Milwaukee
The convention, less than four months before Election Day, is taking place in overwhelmingly Democratic Milwaukee, the largest city in a crucial swing state that Trump lost by less than 1 percentage point four years ago.
Even before the assassination attempt, large protests were expected, though movement will be severely restricted as part of heightened security measures implemented by the Secret Service.
However, there is a risk of a violent confrontation.
Security officials previously announced that people just outside the Secret Service perimeter would be allowed to openly or concealed carry weapons, as allowed by state law. Wisconsin’s laws prohibit only machine guns, short-barreled shotguns and silencers.
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Christine Fernando, AP reporter, reported from Chicago. AP reporters Thomas Beaumont in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, and Ali Swenson in Minneapolis contributed.