RNC Night 4: Donald Trump tackles economy, immigration and 'drill baby drill'

Four days, dozens of speakers, hours of jams and many balloons later, the RNC is officially over — which means our live coverage is wrapping up too.

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Trump wrapped up his remarks, which ran over 90 minutes long, by briefly returning to the moderated, restrained tone he started with.

"Together, we will save this country, we will restore the republic, and we will usher in the rich and wonderful tomorrow people so truly deserve," he said. "America's future will be bigger, better, bolder, brighter, happier, stronger, freer, greater and more united than ever before."

Normally, a Trump speech ends with an extended monologue about how terrible the current state of America is, before vowing to make America strong, safe, wealthy and great again.

And indeed, this time he said after winning in November he would "very quickly Make America Great Again."

Apart from the extended discussion of Saturday's assassination attempt, though, the text of these remarks could have been delivered on any stage at any rally around the country he's held in 2024.

While mentioning President Joe Biden by name only once (and once again, to say he would only use it once), Trump's speech more circuitously painted a picture of a country in terrible shape, and argued that he alone can fix it.

Laken Riley. Jocelyn Nungaray. Rachel Morin.

Those are the names of three women who were killed by migrants who entered the country with authorization, and the names that Trump called out during his speech to illustrate what he says is the result of Biden’s handling of the southern U.S. border.

“These were incredible people who died,” Trump said. “America, this is my vow: I will not let these killers and criminals into our country.”

Twenty-two-year-old Riley, 12-year-old Nungaray, and 37-year-old Morin were killed by men who had crossed the border without authorization, and at least three of the suspects in those deaths had been temporarily released in the U.S.

Republicans and Trump have used the three victims as examples of the immigrants who are entering the country illegally.

But research from multiple universities, including Northwestern University, show that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the U.S.

Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Bloomberg

After Trump wrapped up his speech — the longest in convention history — former first lady Melania Trump joined him onstage at the podium.

They embraced and he planted a kiss on her cheek, then the two walked closer to the side of the stage.

As the band played "Hold On I'm Coming" by Sam & Dave, other Trump family members — including Trump's eldest children and their partners — joined them onstage.

J.D. Vance and his family members also stood on stage with them as red, white, blue and gold balloons rained from the ceiling.

Then opera singer Christopher Macchio took the microphone for a moving performance of "Nessun Dorma" into "America the Beautiful."

During an RNC speech that stretched about 90 minutes, Trump praised retired Army Capt. Sam Brown, who is running to unseat an incumbent Democrat in a contentious Nevada Senate race.

“He’s a real hero and a really great person,” Trump said of Brown, who served in the war in Afghanistan, where he suffered catastrophic burns across his body and lost a finger during an IED explosion.

“He paid the biggest price probably ever paid by anybody that has run for office, and I think he’s going to do great,” Trump said, calling Brown’s Democratic opponent in the Senate race a “lightweight.”

Trump had endorsed Brown earlier this year in the race, which will help determine which party controls the Senate in the coming term.

Brown has focused much of his campaign on his military career. Since retiring with a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, Brown has launched a business in Reno to help veterans better access medical treatment.

By NPR's timer, former President Donald Trump has been speaking for at least 90 minutes.

At 1 hour and six minutes, former President Bill Clinton held the record for the longest convention speech until 2016, when Trump broke it, coming in at one hour and 14 minutes.

Tonight Trump passes his record by almost 10 minutes and counting.

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NPR

While MAGA fans crowded into pubs outside the arena to watch Trump’s speech, the Black String Triage Ensemble played on the street corner between a security checkpoint and a sports bar.

The musicians usually head to scenes of community suffering — shootings, vigils and other places where a calming vibe and peacekeeping message is helpful and healing, said chaplain Tom Gaulke.

“This is something they really wanted to do,” said Gaulke, who accompanied the group in case he was needed for deescalation.

“It’s quiet out here!” said conductor Dayvin M.A. Hallmon to the small chamber ensemble before cueing up the next hymn.

Trump's speech touched on plenty of topics, from immigration to foreign policy to electric cars to AI to the economy. But he didn't mention abortion, a hot-button issue that has proved difficult for his party.

The Republican Party platform released the week before the convention only mentioned abortion once, in a statement about the party's dedication to protecting "the issue of life." It reads: "We will oppose Late Term Abortion."

Trump, who appointed three Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, has declined to back a nationwide abortion ban, saying the issue should be left to the states.

Abortion has been a winning issue for Democrats in multiple states in recent years, and appears to be driving many voters to the polls this election.

Former President Donald Trump used his speech on Thursday to continue to push for mass removals of unauthorized migrants.

He claimed migrants crossing into the U.S. without authorization have mental health problems and are criminals.

“That’s why to keep our families safe, the Republican platform promises to launch the largest deportation operation in the history of our country,” Trump said.

It’s unclear what mechanism Trump would use to accomplish this, although he’s suggested he’d use the military to deport migrants.

The Office of Homeland Security Statistics says there’s about 11 million unauthorized migrants in the U.S.

But research doesn’t support his claim that all migrants commit crimes.

According to Stanford University, immigrants are 30% less likely to be imprisoned than white people born in the U.S.

Still, 47% of Americans support deporting all immigrants in the country without authorization, according to polling by Gallup.

Trump said he supports legal migration.

Some Republican strategists worry calling for mass deportations could alienate Hispanic voters — a part of the electorate that Trump and the GOP have been going after.

Artemio Muñiz, the chairman of the Texas-based Federation of Hispanic Republicans, said he supports more enforcement at the southern U.S. border, but he worries the message Trump is sending about mass deportations could backfire.

“It’s important as a Republican who wants to win in November, that we remember that there's a large Hispanic vote bloc that we’ve got to win over,” Muñiz. “The immigration solution proposed by our candidate President Trump will determine how well we do with that community.”

Muñiz, whose parents were in the country without authorization, said he believes deportations of people in the interior of the country should be limited to those who have committed crimes or are “a burden to our society.”

Inflation soared to a four-decade high of 9.1% in 2022, according to the consumer price index. While inflation has since fallen to 3%, prices are still climbing faster than most people would like. Other countries have also faced high inflation in the wake of the pandemic, as tangled supply chains struggled to keep pace with surging demand. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also fueled inflation by driving up energy and food prices worldwide. Government spending in the U.S. under both Biden and Trump also may have contributed, putting more money in people’s pockets and enabling them to keep spending in the face of high prices.

While high prices are a source of frustration for many Americans, the average worker has more buying power today than she did before the pandemic. Since February 2020, (just before the pandemic took hold in the U.S.) consumer prices have risen 21.5% while average wages have risen 22.7%.

Many prices were depressed early in the pandemic, however, so the comparison is less flattering if you start the clock when Biden took office. Since early 2021, consumer prices have risen 19.5% while average wages have risen 16.6%. Wage gains have been outpacing price increases for over a year, so that gap should eventually close.

Former President Donald Trump credited a chart of immigration statistics he was looking at in the moments before his assassination attempt with saving his life.

“Last time I put up that chart, I never really got to look at it,” Trump said. “But without that chart I would not be here today.”

Trump said the chart shows a decrease in unauthorized crossings during his administration in comparison to Biden’s administration. The general shape of the chart is similar to charts published by the Pew Research Center and other groups based on Customs and Border Protection data.

Trump vowed in his speech to end the "electric vehicle mandate." In reality, there is no federal Biden administration policy that mandates electric vehicles or prohibits the production of gas cars.

He also criticized the "green new scam ideas" and promised to "drill, baby, drill." The scientific consensus is that fossil fuels are the leading cause of climate change. Still, under Biden the oil and gas industry is booming.

Throughout the campaign, Trump has claimed that if elected, he will cut energy prices in half, doing so through the expansion of domestic fracking and oil measures. However, companies themselves set their production levels based on market forces, not presidential orders.

And efforts to influence production are not guaranteed to succeed: Trump famously tried and failed to prop up the U.S. coal industry. Meanwhile, oil production under President Biden has hit record highs, which has drawn criticism from climate activists.

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AFP/Getty Images

It's about 45 minutes into Trump's remarks, and we've heard a lot of his typical campaign rhetoric around immigration, the economy and the state of America.

Even though it's not a raucous campaign rally, and even though his language has softened from more incendiary terms, it's still typical Trump.

There's mentions of "cities flooded with illegal aliens" and claims that Black and Hispanic residents are having their jobs taken away from those who come into the country.

He falsely claimed that Democrats "used COVID to cheat" in the 2020 presidential election, later called it the "China virus" and touted the GOP's new, slim party platform crafted in his image as better than the "long, boring, meaningless agendas of the past, including the Democrats."

Former President Donald Trump opened his presidential nominating speech with an emotional recounting of the shooting at his rally last week that left him injured and killed another.

"As you already know, the assassin's bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life," he said. "So many people have asked me what happened. 'Tell us what happened, please,' and therefore I will tell you exactly what happened, and you'll never hear it from me a second time, because it's actually too painful to tell."

For more than 10 minutes, Trump recounted to the Republican National Convention in vivid details his observations of the attack on the "warm, beautiful day in the early evening In Butler township in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."

Trump, in a more subdued and somber tone than his usual bombast, said that he felt something hit his ear, and that he "felt very safe, because I had God on my side."

"I'm not supposed to be here tonight," Trump said as the crowd responded "Yes you are!" "Not supposed to be here... I thank you, but I'm not, and I'll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God."

Read the full report here.

Former President Donald Trump has made immigration a cornerstone of his reelection campaign, and has claimed immigrants are invading the U.S.

“It’s a massive invasion at our southern border that has spread misery, crime, poverty, disease and destruction to communities all across our land,” Trump said during his RNC speech.

But that’s not true.

Under President Biden’s administration, the U.S. southern border saw a record high of people crossing without authorization. In December, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported nearly 250,000 encounters between ports of entry in the region.

But since January, that number has gone down significantly.

According to CBP, there were 83,536 encounters between ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border in June.

Biden has ramped up enforcement measures, such as severely restricting asylum for most migrants attempting to enter the U.S., and expediting the removal of unauthorized migrants.

According to an analysis by the Migration Policy Institute, Biden’s efforts have resulted in about 4.4 million repatriations, “already more than any single presidential term since the George W. Bush administration (5 million in its second term).”

Still, Trump has vowed to conduct mass deportations once he’s back in office. In an April interview with Time Magazine, he suggested there were between 15 to 20 million unauthorized migrants in the U.S.

But according to an April report by the Office of Homeland Security Statistics, there’s about 11 million unauthorized migrants in the U.S.

That number is a little less than 2018, when the population of unauthorized migrants was estimated at 11.5 million.

The report says “the vast majority of the population (79 percent) entered before 2010, but that percentage is declining (from 83 percent in 2018) as new unauthorized entrants arrive and earlier entrants emigrate, die, or adjust to legally resident status.”

Donald Trump had a solid record of job growth during his first three years in office, when employers added 6.6 million jobs. Unfortunately, those gains and more were wiped out by the pandemic, which briefly drove the unemployment rate up to 14.8%.

Although employment began to rebound by the summer of 2020, there were still 2.7 million fewer jobs when Trump left office than when he entered the White House four years earlier. The U.S. has continued to add jobs since then — a whopping 15.8 million jobs since Joe Biden was sworn in as president. The unemployment rate has inched up in recent months but at 4.1% remains very low by historical standards.

Former President Donald Trump took a moment during his remarks to thank his wife, former First Lady Melania Trump — who has been mostly absent from the 2024 campaign trail.

"On this journey, I am deeply honored to be joined by my amazing wife, Melania," Trump said.

The day after the shooting at Trump's rally, Melania Trump released a letter urging Americans to unite.

"It really took the Republican Party by surprise. I will tell you it was beautiful," Trump added. "In fact some very serious people said that we should take that letter and put it as part of the Republican platform."

Tonight marks the only time Melania Trump appeared at the 2024 Republican National Convention. She did not make a speech, which goes against tradition at party conventions.

Trump also went on to thank his five children and 10 grandchildren.

Thursday also marked the first appearance of Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, who both worked in the administration.

Despite Trump’s frequent claims to the contrary, the 2017 tax cut was not the largest in U.S. history. However, it was big enough to blow a large hole in the federal budget.

Tax revenues as a share of GDP dropped to 16.3% in the year after the tax cut was passed, down from 17.1% the year before and an average of 17.7% over the past 40 years. Even though federal spending also declined as a share of GDP in 2018, the deficit topped $785 billion that year, and approached a trillion dollars in 2019 – the year before the pandemic.

According to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, more than half the savings from the 2017 tax cut went to the top 10% of earners, and more than a quarter went to the top 1%.

Large parts of the 2017 tax cut are due to expire next year. Trump has proposed extending all of them, and while also calling for additional, unspecified tax cuts. Biden has proposed extending the tax cuts for everyone making less than $400,000 a year (97% of the population) while raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

Under Biden, the IRS has also beefed up tax enforcement to ensure that wealthier people and businesses pay what they owe. GOP lawmakers have criticized that effort, and it would likely be reversed in a second Trump administration.

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Former President Donald Trump took a moment in his Thursday evening remarks to praise his recently announced vice presidential pick, Ohioan J.D. Vance.

“It was an honor to select him,” Trump said of Vance, praising the intellect of the Yale Law School graduate and his wife, fellow Yale Law graduate, Usha.

“You're going to be doing this for a long time,” Trump told Vance. “Enjoy the ride.”

Trump announced Vance — a first-term U.S. senator — as his running mate earlier this week on the social media platform Truth Social. Vance accepted the nomination during official remarks on Wednesday, the third day of the convention.

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AFP/Getty Images

In a speech that was expected to call for national unity, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump continued his speech by stating, "We must not criminalize dissent or demonize political disagreement."

He moved to focus on the legal battles he is facing.

"The Democratic Party should immediately stop weaponizing the justice system," Trump said.

Trump went into discussing the trials he faces including a federal judge recently dismissing a classified documents case in Florida.

Earlier this year, Trump became the first former or sitting U.S. president to be convicted of criminal charges. He was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

Trump later introduced his wife, Melania, praising her for issuing a statement calling for national unity and his running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, saying it was an honor to select him.

Addressing the 39-year-old, Trump said, “you are going to be doing this for a long time. Enjoy the ride.”

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AFP/Getty Images

Trump extended his thanks to the "extraordinarily people of Milwaukee and the great state of —."

Before he could say "Wisconsin," a large section of the room erupted in cheers. Trump pointed to a group of people waving large foam blocks of cheese, saying, "You are so easy to spot."

He addressed Wisconsin directly, saying the Republican Party is spending over $250 million in the state to create jobs and "other economic development all over the place."

"So I hope you will remember this in November and give us your vote," he said, then raised his arms above the podium. "I am trying to buy your vote, I'll be honest about that."

The crowd cheered, as he promised to "Make Wisconsin great again."

NPR's Liz Baker reports that the "buy your vote" line got a huge cheer in the sports bar across from the arena.

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AFP/Getty Images

While recounting his attempted assassination, Trump took a moment to acknowledge those who were killed and injured in the attack that nearly took his own life.

He talked about Corey Comperatore, the 50-year-old engineer, volunteer firefighter and father who was killed after he dove on his family to protect them at the rally.

Trump said Comperatore was "respected by everybody," and acted selflessly to protect his wife and two children.

"He went right over the top of them and was hit," Trump said. "What a fine man he was."

As the crowd chanted "Corey," Trump walked across the stage to Comperatore's firefighting jacket and helmet, which were put on display. He put his hands on the shoulders of the jacket and kissed the helmet, then pointed to it as the crowd cheered.

Trump said he spoke to the two men who were injured, 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, as well as the families of all three victims.

He called Dutch and Copenhaver "warriors," and said they were "very, very seriously injured but now they're doing very well," adding, "they're gonna be okay."

Trump said in recent days supporters have raised $6.3 million for the families of all three victims. He held up a paper check for $1 million, which he said a friend had given him that very day.

"When speaking to the family I told them, 'Well, we'll be sending you a lot of money, but it can't compensate,'" he said.

Trump asked the crowd to observe a moment of silence "in honor of our friend Corey." The packed room was, for the first time all night, hushed. There were 15 seconds of complete silence, save for the clicks of the cameras on the floor.

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A subdued and solemn Trump accepted the GOP nomination for president with a promise to unify a divided country.

"As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny," he said. "We rise together, or we fall apart. I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America."

It's his first public address since Saturday's rally in Butler, Pa., where a bullet struck his ear, and one attendee was killed and two others injured.

Trump said in the days leading up to this address that he rewrote his grand nominating address to strike a tone of unity after the near-death experience — and so far, that's the case.

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AFP/Getty Images

As Lee Greenwood sang another rendition of "God Bless the U.S.A," the screen behind him lifted to reveal Trump standing onstage, in front of his last name in lights.

Trump, wearing a bandage on his ear, waved to the crowd as the image behind him faded to one of the White House lit up in red, white and blue.

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The penultimate speaker of the night was Dana White, CEO and president of Ultimate Fighting Championship.

He said Trump called him two weeks ago "as a friend" to invite him to speak at the RNC.

He then read part of the text he said Trump sent after he accepted, urging him to "think of it as the biggest fight you ever had, a fight for our country and even the world."

Trump and White have been friends for over two decades. Read more here about Trump's long history with the UFC.

"I'm in the tough guy business, and this man is the toughest, most resilient human being that I've ever met in my life," White said, sounding emotional. "The higher the stakes, the harder he fights, and this guy never ever gives up."

Like others, White said Trump doesn't need to run for president again, based on all he's achieved so far, but stressed the former president is "willing to risk it all because he loves this country."

White wrapped up by introducing Trump to the stage, as the crowd went wild.

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AFP/Getty Images

Former President Trump joined the Thursday night RNC dais, surrounded by members of his family, including his daughters and older sons. Later his wife Melania claimed a seat on the dais.

Seen again with a large bandage covering his ear from the assassination attempt, Trump smiled in the presence of his older sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric; his daughters Ivanka and Tiffany Trump; as well as his children and grandchildren.

Seated on Trump’s lap was his young granddaughter, Carolina.

Also seen alongside Trump this evening in the VIP box were Trump’s vice presidential running mate, J.D. Vance and controversial country music singer Jason Aldean. The 47-year-old made headlines last year in the wake of the debut of his song “Try That in a Small Town,” which critics said contained lyrics that glorified gun violence and conveyed traditionally racist ideas.

Grace Widyatmadja/NPR

Senior Heritage Foundation fellow Sarah Parshall Perry talked to NPR's Susan Davis on Thursday about Project 2025, the think-tank's policy project to expand presidential powers and overhaul the federal workforce in favor of party loyalists.

"Project 2025 is exactly the same thing that we've done since 1980 every presidential election and provided to every candidate regardless of politics or political affiliation," Perry said. "The sole difference this year was that we built a coalition of more than a hundred conservative organizations in addition to publishing everything online."

Trump has sought to distance himself from Project 2025 after it attracted criticism, while the Biden campaign is trying to tie him more closely to the conservative plan.

Davis questioned Perry regarding her argument that children "were being sacrificed on the altar of woke progressivism." Perry responded that this quote refers to increased diversity efforts in primary and postsecondary schools.

"What you're seeing in public education is more of an effort to indoctrinate than educate," Perry said. "There are some things that children should not be subject to and schools can restrict from being involved with."

Davis ended with asking Perry what Trump's first actions in office should be if elected. Perry said many legal frameworks surrounding discrimination, like Title IX, should be revised or revoked.

"There are three branches, they ought to be separated, and it is not up to the executive to make the law," Perry said.

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AFP/Getty Images

After a lengthy pre-produced video highlighting Trump's accomplishments in real estate and politics, longtime Trump ally Kid Rock took the stage for a musical performance.

He performed a Trump-infused version of his song "American Bad Ass," periodically leading the crowd in a call-and-response of "fight" and "Trump."

He called Trump "the most patriotic American badass on Earth," before introducing UFC President Dana White.

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AFP/Getty Images

Former first lady Melania Trump — introduced by an announcer as the "next first lady of the United States" — made her first appearance toward the end of the final night of the convention.

She walked down a red carpet — which matched her red skirt suit — and onto the stage to the tune of classical music, Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, Op. 125."

Trump smiled and waved at the applauding crowd as she made her way to the family box, where she took her seat next to Sen. J.D. Vance and his wife Usha. Her husband was not there, having just left in anticipation of his big speech.

Melania Trump has not made a public appearance since the assassination attempt on her husband’s life over the weekend, at a rally which she did not attend. On Sunday, she issued a statement calling for people to look past the politics and remember the humanity of others.

She said the shooter was a “monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion – his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration. The core facets of my husband’s life – his human side – were buried below the political machine.”

As his son Eric capped off his own speech by leading the crowd in chants, Donald Trump left his seat in the VIP box. He's expected to speak in about half an hour.

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AFP/Getty Images

Ahead of his father's speech, Eric Trump went through the campaign's top talking points including social issues, immigration, inflation, crime and drug addiction.

Speaking before his smiling family members, Eric also reiterated several false claims: For one, he said his father's legal troubles are politically motivated against him, and also that undocumented people are voting.

He also joined others in addressing Saturday's assassination attempt, noting that he "survived a bullet intended to eliminate him permanently from our future and from our family."

The crowd chanted "USA."

Then he turned to talk directly to his father: "Dad, five days ago, Laura, Luke Carolina and I held our breath as we saw blood pour across your face. But the grace of God, divine intervention and the angels above, you survived."

The crowd chanted, "We love Trump."

"You wiped the blood off your face and you put your fist in the air in a moment that will be remembered as one of the most courageous acts in the history of American politics," he said.

The crowd chanted "fight!"

Former President Donald Trump walked back into the arena, followed by several of his adult children and grandchildren.

This is who we've seen so far tonight of Trump's offspring, with children ordered by age.

• Son Donald Trump Jr. and his children Kai, Donald III, Tristan, Spencer and Chloe
• Daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner
• Son Eric and his wife Lara Trump, along with their two children Luke and Carolina
• Daughter Tiffany Trump

There are reports that former First Lady Melania Trump is at the Fiserv Forum but she's yet to make a public entrance. It's unclear if Trump's youngest son Barron is in the arena.

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AFP/Getty Images

Prominent evangelist Franklin Graham said Trump's response after the assassination attempt on his life showed America "his unshakable resolve to fight for them in this nation."

Graham highlighted several legislative victories for conservative Christians, including appointing justices to the Supreme Court and advocating religious liberty.

"I'm grateful and thankful for what he did as a 45th president of the United States, and I know that as the 47th president, he will keep his word to the American people to make America great once again," Graham said.

He prayed over Trump, thanking God for saving his life and asking for his help to heal a divided America through Trump.

"We're divided politically, racially, economically, with millions of people seeking refuge and hope in our dry and thirsty land, you're the only one who can fix the complexity of the problems that we face today," Graham said. "We pray for President Trump that you would give him wisdom, strength and a clear vision for the future of this nation and the task that is at hand, continue to protect him from his enemies. I pray that you would surround him with men and women who will give him sound counsel and guidance."

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call. Inc via Getty Images

Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, who has been known to make a dramatic entrance in the ring, walked onstage against a montage of videos and photos of himself in various patriotic poses.

He took to the podium wearing a red bandana and sunglasses on his head, gesturing to the crowd that he couldn't hear their chants of "USA."

The retired professional wrestler said the "vibe was so intense, the energy was so crazy, it felt like maybe I was gonna press that no-good stinky giant over my head and slam him into the mat, brother."

"But what I found out was that I was in a room of real Americans, brother," he added. "And at the end of the day, with our leader up there, my hero, that gladiator, we're going to bring America back together, one real American at a time, brother," he said, as Trump looked on, smiling.

He described Trump, who said he's known for over 35 years, as tough, a fighter and a winner.

Hogan is one of several sports-adjacent figures taking the stage for the convention's last night, in addition to former WWE CEO — and former small business administrator — Linda McMahon and UFC President Dana White.

Hogan said he's seen plenty of legendary tag teams over his life, but none greater than Trump and his vice presidential pick J.D. Vance. He told "real Americans" to get ready to be labeled "Trumpites" under a Trump presidency.

"With the power of Donald J. Trump and all the Trumpites running wild, America is gonna get back on track and like Donald J. Trump said, America is gonna be great again," he added.

Hogan's voice got darker as he spoke of the attempted Trump assassination last week, and he took off his blazer as he said "they took a shot at my hero."

"And they tried to kill the next president of the United States," he said, as he ripped his muscle tee down the middle to reveal a Trump-Vance tank top underneath. "Enough was enough. Let Trumpamania run wild, brother. Let Trumpamania rule again. Let Trumpamania make America great again."

The crowd roared all the while, and chanted "USA" as he stood there in the campaign t-shirt.

"You know Trumpites, I didn't come here as Hulk Hogan, but I just had to give you a little taste," said Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea.

He said as an entertainer he tried to stay out of politics, but "after everything that's happened to our country over the past four years and everything that happened last weekend, I can no longer stay silent."

NPR's live special coverage is now being simulcast online and on air, so you can listen or watch as our team of journalists brings you the latest updates and analysis from the final night of the RNC.

Here's how to tune in. This blog is hosting the video feed and its own share of rolling updates throughout the evening, so stick around.

Veteran Republican pollster Frank Luntz spoke with NPR's Susan Davis tonight, giving viewers a clearer picture of the new Republican party forming.

"This has really been a remarkable convention featuring union members, African Americans, Latinos, people who you don't think of as being Republican are actively being shown in the messaging," Luntz said. "The messaging has been quite strong, quite optimistic."

Luntz said that while he was not involved in this year's RNC planning, he would not change most of the messaging.

"This is the first Republican convention since 1992 that I have not written a single word by a single speaker," Luntz said. "If I were writing these words, a lot of them I would have written for this convention."

Luntz added that while the new Republican party will dissuade some voters on issues like abortion, the gains will make up for the losses.

"Trump is going to have problems with suburban areas that were once solidly Republican, but he gains more votes from people who live paycheck to paycheck, which is one quarter of America. It's a net gain," Luntz said.

Davis also asked Luntz about the possibility of Biden dropping out, to which he warned the Democratic party.

"With Kamala Harris, everything is up for grabs... they should be very careful," Luntz said.

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AP

Rev. Lorenzo Sewell, a Black pastor at 180 Church in Detroit, Mich., gave an animated speech in defense of Trump's religious policies.

The speech highlighted Sewell's convictions as a Christian and how he believes that connects him with Trump.

"He came to a church not to speak to us, but to listen to us," Sewell said. "Why would you allow Donald Trump to come into your church? How many know that the Bible says we're all sinners and all need the grace of God."

Sewell also made a spectacle out of Trump visiting the church on his birthday weekend, making allusions to the socioeconomic divide.

"He came during his birthday weekend," Sewell said. "Let me ask you a question, grand old party, what would you do if you were worth $6.7 billion? Would you come into Detroit? He came to the hood because he cares about average, everyday Americans."

Sewell ended by claiming that God protected Trump and that him surviving the assassination attempt was fated, divine intervention.

"When we prayed for President Trump, only God knew that 30 days later there would be a miracle by a millimeter," Sewell said. "You could not deny that it was a millimeter miracle."

"Could it be that Jesus Christ preserved him for such a time as this?" Sewell added to rapturous cheers and applause.

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AFP/Getty Images

Conservative media star Tucker Carlson began his remarks by soberly addressing the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

"Everything was different after that moment — everything — this convention is different. The nation is different. The world is different. Donald Trump is different," he said.

He went on to describe the moment — repeated multiple times in speeches this week — when Trump raised his fist with blood on his face.

"He was no longer just a political party's nominee or a former president or a future president," he said. "This was the leader of a nation."

Carlson is a longtime political commentator and TV personality who hosted FOX News's primetime evening show from 2016 until 2023. On his platform, he promoted theories of voter fraud in the 2020 election — despite privately disparaging the legitimacy of those same theories.

As the remarks continued, which Carlson disclosed were unscripted, he recounted a personal experience he had with Trump — referencing when the former President checked in on his family after self-described “anti-fascist” protestors congregated in front of Carlson's home in 2018.

"It wasn't getting shot in the face, but it wrecked our day," he joked.

Carlson has become one of the biggest pro-Trump media figures in the country — even since leaving FOX News.

On the first night of the convention, Carlson even had a prime spot in the VIP booth, sitting near former President Trump as he made his first appearance after the assassination attempt.

Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Teshttps://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2024-07-18/tester-biden-should-not-seek-re-election-to-another-termter says President Biden should step aside and not seek reelection.

“Montanans have put their trust in me to do what is right and it is a responsibility I take seriously. I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong. And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term," he said in a statement.

Tester currently faces a very close race against GOP U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Sheehy spoke at the RNC earlier this week.

On the last day of the RNC, protesters gathered in a park a few blocks from the convention center and marched to the security barrier, just as many of them had at the start of the political event four days earlier.

But this time, the mood was somber, angry and sad, as speakers took the megaphone to memorialize two Black men killed recently in Milwaukee.

"Look what the RNC brought!" yelled one activist, referring to the killing of Samuel Sharpe, a man shot dead two days earlier by police from Columbus, Ohio. The officers were part of the 4,500-strong force brought in to provide extra security during the RNC.

Body camera footage shows Sharpe, knives in hand, in a confrontation with another man before police shot him. Police say they acted to save a life, but his sister Angelique Sharpe believes police could have used a nonlethal method of disarming him.

She says the heightened state of security in Milwaukee, which is hosting a presidential candidate just days after an assassination attempt, is to blame for her brother’s death.

“I think all of the security was just, if they was a 10, they were on a 15,” she says. “I’m pretty sure they were instructed that there was no wiggle room… but if that was Donald Trump’s son or one of the other political dignitaries standing there, I’m 100% sure they would want that handled a different type of way.”

The crowd marched to the Hyatt hotel near the RNC barrier, where another Black Milwaukee man, D'Vontaye Mitchell, was killed by security guards a couple of weeks earlier.

“Say his name!” the crowd chanted, demanding justice for the two men from whoever may be listening—Republican or Democrat, locals and visitors.

"Who cares if the f----ing RNC is here?" demanded Leo Pargo, a protester from Chicago. "This is about humanity."

As we wait for the next speakers, and enjoy some enthusiastic live music, take a moment to catch up on Sixwire, the Nashville-based house band that's been bringing the dad jams all week.

• The band gets its name from a slang term for guitar, which its management agency calls "a fitting name to a band fronted by 3 guitarists."
• Sixwire has served as the house band on multiple reality TV shows, including the USA Network’s Nashville Star, Fox's The Next Great American Band and CMT's Next Superstar. They also played as the backing band for Connie Britton's character on the ABC drama Nashville.
• The band has performed at other high-profile events, including several Super Bowls, the Daytona 500 and the NHL All-Star Game. Their management says they were also ESPN’s "first ever 'house band' " for the 2019 NFL Draft, which took place in Nashville.
• Over the years, its individual members have played in the bands for such stars as Faith Hill, Dolly Parton and Lee Greenwood, who took to the convention floor on Monday to perform his own hit, "God Bless the U.S.A.," as Trump made his first RNC appearance.

Before former President Donald Trump's marquee address tonight, the schedule of speakers has sought to show a softer, friendlier side of Trump than his persona as president and on the campaign trail.

Several employees of Trump's golf properties spoke about his character, like John Nieporte, the head golf pro at Trump International in Florida.

"For 25 years, I've seen his generosity and his remarkable character firsthand," Nieporte said. "He could have chosen a quiet life. He could have played more golf, but he cares deeply about America and our people, he just keeps working and he does it for us."

The leadup to Trump's nomination acceptance speech is also a lineup that largely avoids overshadowing the former president's big moment.

Trump's speech tonight is expected to be softer in tone and more focused on unity than his typical campaign remarks this year. Those speeches have painted a more dire picture of the country, frequently attacked President Biden and Democrats and used harsh language towards his opponents.

The attempted change in vibes during this week's convention comes as a majority of Americans don't believe Trump has the character to serve as president, according to an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.

The crowd cheered especially loudly for former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who laughed happily at their reaction and joked that he recognized many in the room.

At one point, as he was talking about Trump's assassination attempt, someone in the crowd shouted "divine intervention." Tucker responded, "I think it was divine intervention."

His wide-ranging comments on the rally shooting, foreign policy, Trump's personality and more, were seemingly a stream of consciousness: The teleprompter didn't have any words on the screen, just a countdown clock.

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CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

Alina Habba, who has represented Trump in several of his civil lawsuits, took to the RNC main stage to rail against the "lawfare" that she said has been used against Trump.

"Sham indictments and baseless allegations will not deter us, because the only crime President Trump has committed is loving America," Habba said.

Habba was one of Trump's lawyers during his civil fraud lawsuit and his defamation lawsuit, both in New York. In both, he was found liable and ordered to pay $364 million for fraudulent business practices and over $83 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her when he called her a liar about allegations of sexual assault.

Most recently, Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for September. Meanwhile, a judge in Florida earlier this week dismissed the classified documents case against the former president over the manner in which special counsel Jack Smith was appointed. Other criminal trials in Georgia and Washington, D.C. are delayed.

Trump has long argued, without evidence, that the trials are politically motivated against him.

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AFP/Getty Images

There are a lot of sports icons on the roster tonight, including Linda McMahon, Dana White and Hulk Hogan. What do they have to do with each other — and with former President Donald Trump? Here's what to know:

• WWE is a professional wrestling promotion and media company, known for its scripted feats, ringside drama and zealous showmanship.

  Vince McMahon bought an earlier version of the company in 1982, and, along with his wife Linda McMahon, is credited with bringing its unique blend of wrestling and entertainment into the mainstream.
  

• One of WWE's first — and most enduring — main attractions was none other than Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan. Hogan signed with WWE in 1983 and stayed for a decade, with his superhero-like persona winning over scores of viewers and becoming synonymous with Wrestlemania.

  Hogan's career ups-and-downs include steroid allegations; roles in Hollywood movies; a stint on reality TV; and multiple business ventures. He's also been embroiled in various legal battles, including an invasion of privacy lawsuit against Gawker that ultimately led to the media site's demise.
  

• Trump also had a hand in WWE's rise, hosting the fourth and fifth Wrestlemania events. And it was Trump's Apprentice catchphrase, "You're fired," that a suited-up McMahon would shout in the ring. Trump has appeared at numerous WWE events over the years, including as a guest ring announcer and on-screen talent.

  Trump "became part of some of the most compelling and highest-rated storylines in the company's history," McMahon said on the RNC stage. That includes in 2007 when Trump shaved McMahon's head.
  

• Linda McMahon left the company for politics, serving as Trump's small business administrator from 2017 to 2019 before leaving to join a pro-Trump super PAC.

  Vince resigned from his leadership role at the company in January after a former employee filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexually assaulting her in the workplace, sex trafficking and pressuring her into threesomes. That lawsuit was paused earlier this year at the request of the U.S. Justice Department.
  

• The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in contrast, is a mixed martial arts promotion company. It came on the scene in 1993, but wasn't a hit right away.

  In the early 2000s, Trump let UFC's new president, Dana White, use his Atlantic City casino. His endorsement helped the company become the world's largest MMA promotion, as of 2023.
  

• UFC and WWE officially merged into one company, TKO, in September 2023, forming a new entity valued at $21.4 billion.

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Getty Images

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Trump’s speech tonight will be met with a growing anticipation and “a lot of energy” that’s been building in the convention and across the country.

“After the assassination attempt, I think there’s an emotional aspect to this that just can’t be discounted,” he said. “So it’s going to be a big night.”

Speaking to NPR on the RNC convention floor, Johnson said he expects the former president to present “a message of unity and vision for moving the country forward.”

Johnson and Trump, who backed him for the speakership, have continued to stand by each other — including during a period of party infighting this spring that almost led to Johnson’s exit from his post. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) motioned to vacate Johnson from the speakership, but backed down at Trump's urging. Together, they’ve emphasized campaign issues such as cost of living, crime, immigration and America’s standing in the global arena.

Johnson said Trump will convey his love for the country and his vision for it in the future in tonight’s speech.

“I think when he says America First, that comes from a deep, sincere place in his heart,” Johnson said. “He loves the American people. He loves what America stands for. And I think he's going to articulate that tonight and have a clear vision for where we're going. I think it's going to resonate with the American people, just like J.D. Vance’s speech did last night.”

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AP

Beloit, Wisconsin, billionaire and big-time Republican benefactor Diane Hendricks told the Republican National Convention Thursday night that GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is a “not a quitter. He’s a fighter.”

Hendricks, owner of the roofing supply company ABC Supply, predicted Trump will carry Wisconsin in November, after losing to President Joe Biden by about 20,000 votes four years ago, and will win back the presidency.

Hendricks drew parallels between Trump and her own resilience, saying she raised a son as a single mother, later started a business with her husband Ken, and grew the business after her husband died 16 years ago.

Hendricks said nothing in her remarks about her being a major donor to Republican candidates, including Scott Walker, when he was Wisconsin governor.

Earlier Thursday, the RNC program listed Hendricks as being an “everyday American." The Biden/Harris campaign ridiculed that description, pointing out Hendricks’ estimated wealth of $21 billion. She was introduced before her speech as an “American businesswoman.’’

Hannah Beier

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Bloomberg/Getty Images

Former Trump senior counselor Kellyanne Conway told NPR News that Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance — now the GOP vice presidential nominee — is an younger "advocate" and "ambassador" of Trump's Republican Party.

"President Trump represents a new Republican Party, and his selection of J.D. Vance also broadcasts to everyone that he wants to continue — in between him and his vice president — in that regard," Conway said. "What's new about it? Well, it's new because it's a party of the worker."

On the first night of the RNC, Teamsters president Sean O'Brien delivered the keynote speech. It's the first time a president from the union has addressed the RNC. And while the appearance represented a possible shift in the GOP, it also drew condemnation from Teamsters vice president at-large John Palmer, who said Trump has done nothing to help working families.

Openness to labor unions isn't the only new characteristic to Trump's Republican Party, according to Conway.

"If you look at the Republican National Committee platform that was adopted here ahead of President Trump's nomination and acceptance speech — it is leaner, but it also is more modern, more fresh and more aligned with the America first principles," Conway said. "Which is — think thrice before we just write blank checks to other countries around the world. Start containing and pushing back on those bullies again around the world."

Trump has said he would end the war in Ukraine in just a day — with no explanation of how — and has continued to warn NATO countries he won't protect them if they don't pay their dues. Vance has echoed Trump's NATO position and voted against recent aid packages supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion. It's a position that stands in contrast to traditional Republican foreign policy.

In talking about the Trump-Vance ticket and what it means for the future Republican party, Conway said it's about alignment on the issues.

"Donald Trump's not looking for loyalty to Donald Trump," Conway said. "He's looking for loyalty to the America first agenda."

Hit by a rolling series of punches — the turmoil after President Biden's disastrous debate, the drip-drip-drip of damaging leaks from congressional allies, and now a campaign-stalling case of COVID — people who work inside the Biden campaign are discouraged and uncertain about what lies ahead.

"We can't catch a break,” a Biden adviser said, speaking on condition of anonymity to frankly describe private conversations.

Ever since Biden faltered in his debate against former President Donald Trump, the bad news just keeps coming — much of it from unnamed sources who are supposed to be allies. While there have been some positive moments for the president since the debate, “They haven't been enough to get us back on solid footing," the adviser said.

This adviser said Biden has not shown signs of any cracks in his resolve to stay in the race — and said it’s not yet clear whether the pile-up of woes has reached a tipping point for the president.

If he drops out, that opens the door to a compressed "Hunger Games"-type of race within the party for choosing a new leader, the adviser said.

While the adviser sees strong future candidates on the Democratic bench, they have not been battle-tested for a brutal fight against Trump.

"What campaign team is going to rise from the ashes?" the adviser asked.

“It's gonna be ugly. it's gonna be dirty. It's gonna be messy.”

Evan Vucci

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AP

Trump walked on stage to an instrumental version of AC/DC's "Back in Black," repeatedly raising his fist in the air.

He made his way up the stairs and into the VIP box, greeted by a standing ovation. He shook hands with those sitting near him, a group who including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, before turning his attention to the buzzing crowd.

This isn't Donald Trump's first time as the RNC closing night headliner.

He's had the end-of-convention slot twice before, in 2016 as then-candidate Trump, and in 2020 as the incumbent President.

Back in 2016, Trump focused on America's struggles with crime, terrorism and immigration, and his plan for addressing those issues. NPR annotated Trump's remarks that night — and when necessary — did a little fact-checking.

In 2020, Trump was speaking from a different vantage point. In his speech that year, he harshly criticized then-candidate Joe Biden, rallied against "cancel culture" and repeatedly invoked a sinister image of a "socialist agenda."

In 2020, the RNC came after the DNC, so Trump was able to directly rebut the vision Biden presented of America's future. NPR annotated Trump's 2020 remarks (as well as Biden's, if you're interested.)

Hannah Beier

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Bloomberg/Getty Images

Linda McMahon, who served for a time as the administrator of Trump's Small Business Administration, spoke from her perspective as a colleague, employee and friend of the former president.

McMahon, alongside her husband Vince, spent decades as the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) before running unsuccessfully for both of Connecticut's U.S. Senate seats in 2009 and 2010.

She served as Trump's small business administrator from 2017 to 2019, when she stepped down to join the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action. She introduced herself onstage as the chair of the America First Policy Institute, which was founded in 2021 by former Trump advisers.

McMahon opened with what she described as "probably not the typical Donald Trump story," recalling a time she met him at Mar-a-Lago for a meeting and watched a sweet interaction between him and his 4-year-old granddaughter.

"He kissed her on both cheeks, she took off his hat and mussed his hair, and he smiled with only the love that a grandfather could have given," she said, joining a long line of RNC speakers who have portrayed Trump as a loving family man.

McMahon said she first met Trump during her time at the WWE, when he "became part of some of the most compelling and highest-rated storylines in the company's history."

She said she was honored to serve in his cabinet at his invitation, and recalled her time traveling the country talking to business owners and job creators.

"They knew they had a president who understood them and fought for them," she said.

But her most poignant memory from her time in the administration, she said, was traveling with Trump in 2018 to witness the damage Hurricane Florence wrought on her hometown of New Bern, N.C. She said he comforted people and spoke to them, as a "builder," about what recovery would look like.

McMahon said Democrats want to penalize small businesses by hiking their taxes, but that Trump will make those tax cuts permanent in addition to offering new ones, such as no taxes on tips.

Many of Trump's 2017 tax cuts are due to expire in 2025. Biden wants to extend those tax cuts for people making under $400,000 while raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy, while Trump wants to extend them for everyone.

McMahon described Trump as a champion of job creation and "the best friend American workers have ever had in the White House." And, in true WWE fashion, she described him as "not only a fighter" but "a good man."

"He has the heart of a lion and the soul of a warrior, and I believe that if necessary he would stand at the gates of hell to defend our country," she added.

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WUWM

A few hundred people marched in downtown Milwaukee on the last day of the RNC, rallying against police brutality.

The march was organized after Columbus, Ohio police officers shot and killed a 43-year-old Black Milwaukee man at King Park, about a mile away from the RNC Tuesday. Milwaukee Police say the man was armed with knives and refused officers’ commands to drop them. The Columbus police officers were in town to help with security for the RNC.

Family members have identified the man killed as Samuel “Jah” Sharpe Jr. His sister, Angelique, was at Thursday’s march, with a bible she said her brother carried with him.

Marchers were also calling attention to the death of another Black man, D’Vontaye Mitchell, 43, who was killed last month after being pinned down by security guards at Milwaukee’s downtown Hyatt Regency. Marchers planned to stop at the Hyatt on their route.

More from WUWM: 'This could have been avoided': Local organizer Angela Lang speaks out about King Park shooting

The controversial, conservative television host Lou Dobbs died on Thursday. He was 78 years old.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Dobbs' official account wrote: "It's with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of 'the great Lou Dobbs.'"

Dobbs — a former CNN business correspondent — was most known for his time under the Fox News umbrella, where he carved out a niche as a voice of conservatism, being particularly vocal in his criticism of former President Obama and in his praise of former President Trump.

He stayed at the Murdoch-family enterprise until 2021, when he was let go for his repeated, erroneous claim that the 2020 presidential election had been rigged, leading to Trump’s defeat.

The Texas-born commentator is survived by his wife, Debi Lee Roth-Segur, and four children from their decades-long union.

Dobbs died on the final day of the Republican National Convention, where Trump — Dobbs’ longtime candidate of choice — is slated to speak.

Tamara Keith

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NPR

Paul Geenen, 81, laced up his blue suede Adidas sneakers, threw on a perfectly sized satchel packed with campaign literature and hit the pavement, knocking doors recently for President Biden while headlines screamed alarm about the fate of Biden’s campaign.

“Hi, I’m Paul with the Shorewood Dems,” he says with a smile. The woman at the door is a little standoffish. But Geenen jumps right in asking if she plans to support Biden.

“Are you going to support Joe Biden in November?” Geenan asks.

Her response: “I’m not sure.”

Shorewood is a heavily Democratic village just north of Milwaukee. But the list Geenen is working from contains a mix of possibly persuadable Republicans, independents and Democrats.

He tells anyone who will listen that he’s supporting Biden because his family has been impacted by gun violence “and he’s done a lot for that and he’s going to do more.”

Most people aren’t home or don’t come to the door, so he leaves campaign fliers and keeps on moving. At one house he chats with a woman who says the economy is her top issue and she’s definitely not voting for Biden. There’s a house where the residents are supporting Biden. And another, where a young man without a shirt on says the economy he’s thinking he might go independent.

Geenan says a lot of people he knows are stressed about Biden, his bad debate performance and the reckoning since.

“My wife is really really bummed out,” he says.

Geenen is just putting his head down and doing the work, but with a choice curse word, makes it clear he’s done talking about the drama.

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NPR

Echoing Donald Trump's response after being grazed by a bullet, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" has emerged as a new chant among attendees at the RNC— one that has been good for sales of "Boxer Trump" bobbleheads, said convention vendor Madan Raj.

The figurine of the Republican nominee dressed in patriotic shorts and red boxing gloves has been a surprise bestseller, and Raj's "Bobbletopia" booth at the RNC is sold out. Only a display model remains, Raj said, and even that is spoken for.

"People keep coming up and asking if we did this after Trump's 'Fight, fight, fight' comments," Raj said. "But we actually had it before."

And he said shoppers have repeatedly pitched him an idea for a new design: the nodding former president with a bandaged right ear and blood-streaked face.

"We initially thought it would be in poor taste," Raj shrugged, "but people know what they want, so we'll think about it."

In the meantime, customers will have to settle for a "Trumpinator" (Trump as The Terminator), or "Freedom" (Trump as Braveheart). And for the non-MAGA crowd, there's always Bobblehead Dwight Schrute from The Office.

"Anyone can like a bobblehead!" Raj said, smiling.

Indicted “fake electors” from four swing states are serving as delegates to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, performing the largely ceremonial role of anointing former President Donald Trump as the GOP presidential nominee.

Three delegates from Arizona, three from Georgia, five from Nevada and two from Michigan face similar charges in their respective states for their roles in alleged efforts to upend the 2020 presidential election.

In Arizona, former GOP Congressman Matt Salmon said he’s concerned the Republican Party’s continued acceptance of election denialism — evidenced by the presence of fake electors at the RNC — will drive essential voters away from the conservative cause.

“It ebbs our credibility, and our integrity,” he said.

Those charged in Arizona say they’re victims of “naked political persecution.” And Gina Swoboda, the current chair of the Arizona Republican Party, said “Arizona stands by everyone who stood by President Trump.”

“We would never do anything less,” she added.

Read more here.

Biden defended his record and fitness for office in a TelevisaUnivision interview this week, the latest in a series of recent media appearances aimed at reaching key demographic groups — and rejecting Democrats' growing calls for him to step down.

Biden acknowledged he had a "terrible" debate night in June, but defended his decision to stay in the race and also pointed to recent polling that shows him tied with Trump since the debate.

"I was smart enough to know, with age comes wisdom," he said. "I know the difference between the truth and lies. I know the difference between the good and bad."

Biden spoke with Uforia entertainment reporter Luis Sandoval at a Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas on Wednesday, shortly before he tested positive for COVID-19.

In it, he discussed his confidence in the Latino vote and community at large, reiterated that he is fighting for democracy, spoke of the importance of preserving minorities' rights and took jabs at Donald Trump.

He described the Latino community as a "source of incredible strength," vibrancy and economic growth, and repeatedly described Trump's rhetoric towards immigrants and Latinos as "sick."

Trump's platform calls for starting the "Largest Deportation Program in American History," and many RNC speakers have called for securing the southern border.

Latino voters were crucial to Biden's victory in 2020, and their ranks have grown at the second-fastest rate of any major racial and ethnic group in the U.S. since then, according to the Pew Research Center.

But experts say he'll need to work harder to earn their votes this time around, especially with recent polling showing that Latino support for Biden drops dramatically when a third (non-Trump) candidate is on the table.

Biden acknowledged that while his administration has worked to expand rights, especially for minorities, the U.S. Supreme Court has limited some of them such as by overturning Roe and blocking certain immigration actions.

"That's why we have to win," he said, adding that the next president is going to "probably" be in a position to appoint two new Supreme Court justices.

"We're gonna fight like hell. We gotta win the House and Senate, not just the presidency ... that's what I'm working on."

President Biden referred to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as "the Black man" in an interview with BET on Wednesday, another high-profile apparent stumble at a time when his continued candidacy is under increasingly tight scrutiny.

Biden was speaking to BET's Ed Gordon about his record of appointing Black people to his administration when he appeared to forget Austin's name, a video of the interview shows.

“It’s all about treating people with dignity,” Biden said. “For example, look at the heat I’m getting because I named the secretary of defense, the Black man.”

Austin, the first Black defense secretary, has not commented publicly. But Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh was asked about his reaction at a daily press briefing on Thursday.

"The secretary has absolute confidence in the president," she said, adding that they've spent many hours in meetings together, including at the recent NATO summit in D.C.

"I've seen that clip, and I will say that I would urge you to look at the full context of the clip as he was answering a question, I believe more about the administration more broadly, but would refer you to the White House for more of his comments," Singh said.

Detroit musician Kid Rock is expected to perform at tonight's closing RNC ceremony — paying tribute to former President Donald Trump, who he has long supported.

The "We the People" singer garnered a prime-time performance slot for the four-day occasion, on the most anticipated day of the event, since Trump is slated to give his acceptance speech tonight.

"We just arrived in Milwaukee to support our tried and true, red white and blue, 100% American bad-a** president," Kid Rock said in a Thursday afternoon Instagram post.

"What's going to happen tonight? Tune in to find out. But here's a hint: Are you scared? God bless Donald Trump and God bless America," he continued.

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CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images

Congressman Jamie Raskin wrote a heartfelt four-page letter to President Biden on July 6, encouraging Biden to consult with fellow Democrats about his future and using a lengthy baseball metaphor to urge him consider taking “a well-deserved bow.”

NPR has obtained the letter in its entirety. The letter was first reported by The New York Times.

The careful and admiring appeal includes a long recounting of Biden’s achievements, all building to a metaphor about the 2003 American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

Raskin used the story of Pedro Martinez refusing to leave the game after 118 pitches, despite giving up three straight hits. The Yankees, as Raskin recounts, went on to win the game.

The story culminates in this line: “There is no shame in taking a well-deserved bow to the overflowing appreciation of the crowd when your arm is tired out, and there is real danger for the team in ignoring the statistics.”

It is a clear but careful appeal for Biden to consider the concerns of his party. The letter was sent as angst about Biden’s disastrous debate performance was rising in Democratic ranks.

The letter is the latest evidence that Democrats are working behind the scenes to appeal to Biden and his closest advisors.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

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AFP

For a third time, former President Donald Trump will formally accept the Republican Party’s presidential nomination this Thursday night. His speech will also reflect his current level of control over the party: Trump’s platform is now the GOP’s platform.

Earlier this week, the RNC’s platform committee adopted Trump's 2024 platform as its own. That means the committee hasn’t created a new platform since 2016, when Trump first won the nomination. In 2020, the party simply re-upped its 2016 platform, saying the committee hadn’t been able to meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic — and that, in any case, it supported then-President Trump’s policies.

The Trump 2024 platform is 16 pages long, while the GOP's 2016 platform had 66 pages. As you might expect, the most liberal thing about the Trump campaign's platform is in its use of capital letters (sample: "we are a Nation in SERIOUS DECLINE.").

Trump is slated to speak from 10 to 11:30 p.m. ET Thursday night. So, what will he talk about?

Traditionally, nominees use the marquee acceptance speech to highlight priorities for the White House. But in Trump’s case, he’s a known quantity, and as NPR’s Franco Ordoñez recently reported, Trump will likely focus on familiar ideas, such as immigration and crime, along with fighting inflation and implementing his brand of America First ideology.

Another likely topic is education. In Trump's 2024 platform, the words "education" and "school" appear a total of 42 times — including a pledge to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. For comparison, it uses iterations of the word "tax" 17 times. And "abortion" is mentioned only once.

Sources familiar with Trump’s remarks also say we should expect to hear a “deeply personal” message from the former president, who has said he substantially rewrote his RNC speech after the attempted assassination last Saturday.

“Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now,” he said early this week, adding that he sees the event as “a chance to bring the country together.”

The Riverside Theater sits inside the soft perimeter of the Milwaukee RNC grounds. Over the course of the convention, the marquee's message has changed daily for RNC-goers passing by — calling attention to Milwaukee businesses, restaurants and beaches.

Riverside president Gary Witt said the marquee messages are “meant to inform RNC convention goers of the many great attributes our city has OUTSIDE of the RNC’s security perimeter, that we felt might possibly be missed.”

More from WUWM: A look at the Riverside Theater's daily marquee messages for RNC-goers

Top Democrats in Washington are mired in an ongoing crisis over President Biden's continued candidacy that has been exacerbated by his recent COVID diagnosis.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, are all responding to leaked reports that they have directly appealed to Biden to step aside.

None are publicly denying the leaks. Democrats have been panicking — both in public and in private — as they try to appeal to Biden to voluntarily step aside.

Biden has continued to insist that he is still expects to be the party's nominee and is undeterred from his campaign.

None of the top leaders have publicly declared Biden should remain the party's nominee, fueling more questions from rank-and-file members about how explicit they have been in their private discussions with the president.

After the Washington Post reported former President Barack Obama has told people he thinks Biden needs to consider whether his bid for a second term is still viable, a source familiar with Obama's thinking said he "continues to see his primary role as a sounding board and counselor for President Biden, as they have long done for each other for many years now."

"He believes Joe Biden has been an outstanding president and is protective of him both personally and of the Biden administration’s strong and historic accomplishments," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

A Pelosi spokesperson released a statement Thursday responding to reports published by CNN that Pelosi told Biden that polls show he cannot defeat Donald Trump and his continued candidacy could prevent Democrats from retaking control of the House. The statement does not explicitly deny the reporting.

“Speaker Pelosi respects the confidentiality of her meetings and conversations with the President of the United States," the spokesman wrote. "Sadly, the feeding frenzy from the press based on anonymous sources misrepresents any conversations the Speaker may have had with the President.”

Read more here.

Donald Trump Jr. says he played a pivotal role in making Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance the Republican vice presidential nominee.

"I don't take sole credit," former President Trump's eldest son told NPR News. "It was definitely — you know — I spent probably all the political capital I have to make it happen, but that's not all it takes."

Trump Jr. didn’t elaborate on why he wanted Sen. Vance to be his father's running mate, but said he was happy with the decision.

"I'm very satisfied," Trump Jr. said. "I couldn’t be more satisfied."

Trump Jr. delivered a speech at the RNC Wednesday night, minutes before Vance officially accepted the party's nomination.

NPR

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Grace Widyatmadja

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson told NPR's Susan Davis on Wednesday that the Secret Service knew of potential threats before Trump's assassination attempt, according to a declassified briefing with senators in attendance.

"It was beyond disappointing," Johnson said. "I have really come to be incredibly frustrated with the lack of transparency, really the dishonesty, of the administration. We learned nothing."

Johnson said the only new piece of information that senators learned was that the Secret Service knew of a potential threat as far as an hour before the assassination attempt.

"We found out it was more than 60 minutes before the shots were fired," Johnson said. "Only four Senators got to ask a question."

Johnson told Davis that he wanted to have more clarity surrounding the logistics of the event, as many have come to their own conclusions on the assassination attempt.

"The question I wanted to ask is when did the snipers have the person in view," Johnson said. "We don't want conspiracy theories to run wild here... stories are out there."

"The American public needs to know the full, gory, unvarnished truth of this spectacular security failure," Johnson added.

Alex Wong

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Getty Images

When vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance spoke to the crowd at the RNC last night, he made a promise to the people of Middletown, Ohio, and other blue-collar towns like it.

"All the forgotten communities in every corner of our nation: I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from," he said.

Some people in Middletown, where Vance grew up with his grandparents, said he has never been an advocate for them, even after becoming a U.S. senator.

“Oh, my God. It is very surprising considering that J.D. Vance hasn't did anything for our community here in Middletown,” said Lakeisha Thomas Monday after news that former President Trump picked Vance as a running mate. Thomas runs a nonprofit for low-income residents in Middletown.

“It’s always awesome to see someone from your hometown get to come up and represent a local place, no matter what their political party is,” said Andrea McKeller, a local real estate agent who says she thinks Vance’s small-town roots will drive him to “put in place a lot of policies to, hopefully, move some favor toward the smaller towns to help the communities grow.”

Others in Middletown said they were surprised by the news, given Vance’s relatively young age. He’s 39, turning 40 next month.

“If he can keep reaching out to find out what younger people want and keep bringing that into the mix of the Republican Party, otherwise, I think we're getting kind of old,” said Janet Hydeman, who works for a stained glass company and says she votes Republican.

One person in Middletown who doesn’t care about Vance’s nomination is software developer Orville Bennett. He said he doesn’t plan to vote for either presidential candidate, “I think they’re both not great options for the things that I value,” he said.

For Ohio, Vance’s nomination could mean a resurgence in prominence on the national scene.

Sam Woods

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WUWM

Milwaukeeans are continuing to hold gatherings in opposition to the RNC and Republican Party.

At Mitchell Park, about two miles from the convention perimeter, Voces de la Frontera Action, a local immigrant rights group, set up pop-up parachute art installations and wash-away sidewalk paint.

The low-key event is part of the Great Milwaukee Block Party, a collection of events across the city in "joyful rebellion" against the RNC's presence.

Sam Woods

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WUWM

Ale Guevara with Voces de la Frontera said she is concerned with rhetoric coming from the Republican Party regarding immigrants and mass deportations.

"We're looking for alternative ways to help our community express their opinions and perspective on politics while the RNC is here," Guevara said. "We're trying to do so in a way that is joyful and engaging, and separates from the hateful and false narratives coming from the RNC, where immigrants are depicted as evil villains."

Chris duMond

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Getty Images

With doubts swirling about President Biden's political future, so too are questions about how the party might fare without him come the general election in November.

Calls for the president to drop out of the race have only grown in the weeks since his poor debate performance in June, with increasingly high-profile members of his own party urging him to pass the torch.

The latest national NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, released last week, found that Biden and Trump remain statistically tied, even in the aftermath of the widely panned debate.

Biden leads Trump 50% to 48% in a head-to-head matchup — but those numbers are not statistically significant, due to the survey's margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.

The poll also found that none of the Democrats who have been mentioned as possible alternatives — including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — performed any better than Biden when compared to Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris, an obvious candidate to serve as Biden's successor, narrowly led Trump 50% to 49%, in another statistical tie.

"So there is no clear Democratic alternative, though, as Democrats who have called for Biden to step aside would argue, those candidates could all make the case more coherently for themselves and the party," NPR's Domenico Montanaro writes.

And those numbers could look different after this week, since the RNC is expected to give Trump a boost, as party conventions typically do for their nominees.

Biden — who is isolating with COVID-19 as Trump prepares to formally accept the Republican nomination — insists he will stay in the race.

Biden's campaign manager told reporters Thursday that they are "not working through any scenarios where President Biden is not at the top of the ticket."

President Biden told BET News’ Ed Gordon that he won’t be leaving the presidential race unless he had “had some medical condition that emerged.”

Since Biden’s disastrous debate performance a few weeks ago, there has been pressure from factions of the Democratic Party urging the president to step out of the race in favor of a candidate who might have a better chance of winning in November. However, Biden has consistently said he has no intention of leaving.

He said in an interview that aired Wednesday night that though he, at one point, planned on being “a transitional candidate” who would step aside for a younger generation of Democratic leaders — the state of the nation changed his mind.

“I thought that I'd be able to move from this, just pass it on to someone else,” Biden said. “But I didn't anticipate things getting so, so, so divided.”

Biden, who is 81 years old, also confronted comments about his age. He said his age “brings a little bit of wisdom."

“And I think I've demonstrated that I know how to get things done for the country, in spite of the fact I was told we could [not] get it done,” he said. “But there's more to do, and I'm reluctant to walk away from that.”

The president was also asked whether he anticipated Donald Trump might be a changed candidate, perhaps more disciplined, following the assassination attempt in Butler, Pa. this past weekend. He said he’d like to see a change in tone from former president, as well as others.

“We got to tone down the rhetoric about violence,” he said. “There's no room for violence. Can't be talking about violence. We can't be saying that if I lose the election, it will be a bloodbath.”

Biden also commented on Trump’s recent pick for vice president, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio. Vance was once a critic of Trump's but has become a staunch ally. Trump endorsed Vance during his Senate run in 2022.

Biden said Trump’s choice shows that “he's decided that MAGA Republican politics is going to be the future of the Republican Party.”

“J.D. is a bright guy, like a hard-working senator, but really, really, really conservative MAGA Republican,” he said.

Matt Rourke/AP

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AP

"MASS DEPORTATION NOW!" read posters handed out to attendees at the Republican National Convention's third night.

The signs referred to former President Donald Trump and the GOP's campaign platform pledge to "carry out the largest deportation operation in American history."

Seeing the signs was "chilling," Stephanie Valencia, a former Obama administration official and founder of EquisLabs, a research and polling group that aims to better understand Latino voters, told NPR's Morning Edition. She warned that the signs "probably sent a message to many Latino voters in this country that that is the view of Republicans and who they see Latinos as, and who they see immigrants as."

Republicans will have "overplayed their hand," Valencia said, if they continue with this rhetoric through the election.

A recent poll of likely Latino voters in swing states found they supported Biden 59% to Trump’s 39%, but support for the president fell when independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was listed as an option.

While Trump has railed about unauthorized migration on the southern border, his focus on working class Americans has also resonated with working class Latinos.

Valencia said that, while Latinos care about more than just immigration, it remains an important issue because it tells them how a candidate views the Latino community.

“Do they view whether or not Latinos have something to contribute to this country?” she continued.

Valencia also said President Biden needs to court Latino voters as well as emphasize things like his recent immigration plan to shield some undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens in order to win those voters' support at the ballot box. Such support was key for him in certain swing states in 2020.

Michelle Maternowski

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WUWM

There’s been an especially popular place for people to snap photos at the RNC. Near booths selling fried cheese curds and frozen custard, there's a small, white building.

The building is a one-third scale replica of the Little White Schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin — the birthplace of the Republican Party.

More from WUWM: How the GOP got its start in Ripon, WI

Andrew Harnik

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Getty Images

The Biden campaign told reporters Thursday morning that President Joe Biden remains at the top of the Democratic ticket for the 2024 election, but a top Republican said he's ready for a switch — if it happens.

"Axios is now reporting that there are a number of senior Democrat advisers who are saying Joe Biden could be out of this race by this weekend," former Trump campaign manager and now adviser to the Republican National Convention Corey Lewandowski told NPR News. "We are prepared, as a Trump campaign, to run this campaign and bring our message to the American people, whether Joe Biden is the nominee or somebody else is the nominee."

When asked about former President Donald Trump's speech this evening, Lewandowski said it would be an address for both Republicans — and Democrats.

"What would have been a probably much more aggressive speech is going to be toned down, because the greatest leaders of our country bring people together and unify," Lewandowski said. "It's not about being a Republican or a Democrat. It's about having ideas that the American people get to vote on at the ballot box."

Sources close to the former president tell NPR News that Trump is writing the Thursday speech himself and that the speech will be personal. It is set for 10 p.m. ET.

Luke Hales

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Getty Images

Introducing Donald Trump for his acceptance speech tonight will be Dana White, president and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Although an expert on mixed martial arts, White is no politician. So, why is he introducing Trump tonight at the RNC?

Last month, when White was asked about Trump’s appearance at a UFC match, he shared how he’s been connected to Trump for decades.

“Yeah, me and Trump have been friends since 2001,” White said.

While speaking on The Pivot Podcast years ago, White revealed that Trump was a part of the reason the UFC became successful.

“Arenas didn't want us,” White said. “We had a hard time finding venues. Trump literally called us. He said, 'Come to my place, do the event here. We'll have you at the Trump Taj Mahal.' ”

White admitted that because Trump helped him in the early stages of his career, White endorsed Trump's first presidential campaign in 2016.

“He's always been a solid guy with me,” White said on The Pivot. “So then he calls me and says he's running for president. He said 'If you don't wanna do this, I completely understand, but I would be honored if you would speak at the National Republican Convention for me.' ”

And White said yes.

“I’m sure most of you are wondering, ‘What are you doing here?’ I am not a politician, I am a fight promoter,” White told attendees on the second night of the convention. “But I was blown away and honored to be invited here tonight and I wanted to show up and tell you about my friend, Donald Trump.”

After learning about Saturday's assassination attempt, White posted to Instagram, "I am absolutely SICK to my stomach and in complete shock. ... I can’t WAIT to stand up on stage with him on Thursday and introduce him at the Republican National Convention."

Allison Joyce/AFP

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Getty Images

Vice President Harris is at the forefront of the Biden campaign’s efforts to counter-program the Republican convention today, with President Biden isolating at home for COVID.

And with open questions about whether Biden should stay at the top of the Democratic ticket, Harris’ speech — in a state that Democrats had hoped they could turn blue this fall — is likely to draw more attention than it otherwise might.

Some Democrats have said Harris would be the obvious pick for the party if Biden were to drop out of the race — and to be clear, Biden and his campaign are saying that he is not going anywhere.

“Our campaign is not working through any scenarios where President Biden is not the top of the ticket. He is and will be the Democratic nominee,” deputy campaign chair Quentin Fulks told reporters in Milwaukee today, slightly exasperated at the line of questioning.

The campaign is working hard to try to draw a contrast between Biden’s policies and the proposals of former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance — particularly on the issue of reproductive rights.

Yesterday, Harris committed to another potential date for a debate with Vance, though the Trump campaign has said the internal debate within the Democratic Party about Biden’s fate has put the vice presidential debate in question too.

“We can’t lock in a date before their convention. To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate,” Trump campaign adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement.

The governors of California, Illinois and Michigan are frequently cited as potential future Democratic candidates. And there has been some speculation that North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper could be a running mate if Harris were at the top of the ticket.

Becky Mortensen

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WUWM

There are barricades up around the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. It’s often the choice hotel for visiting presidents. Former President Trump stayed there in 2018. In fact, the Milwaukee landmark has hosted every U.S. president since the William McKinley.

But the hotel isn’t just known for hosting dignitaries, it’s also supposedly haunted. Celebrity guests and sports stars have reported unexplained events while staying at the Pfister.

The hotel doesn’t comment on the ghost rumors but posted on X in 2013 saying, “The only thing ‘haunting’ us here is the spirit of hospitality…”

More from WUWM: The legend of the Pfister Hotel ghost

Donald Trump is expected to deliver a “deeply personal” speech when he officially accepts the Republican presidential nomination tonight.

Ahead of the last day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, sources familiar with the remarks told the press this morning that the former president had ripped up the speech he was going to give after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. Since those events, he has written his own remarks, focusing on unity, and they are expected to be a “deeply personal message.”

It is hard to predict exactly what Trump’s tone and message will be — largely because Trump often goes off script during events. However, it’s expected the tone will be different from the remarks he had planned before the events of last weekend.

Julio Aguilar

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Getty Images

A Florida man famous for his deep tan, outsized lifestyle and lucrative knack for blending entertainment and reality will speak at the Republican National Convention Thursday night.

Hulk Hogan, the longtime pro wrestler whose real name is Terry Bollea, is on the recently released roster of speakers for the convention’s final night, slated to speak in the runup to former President Donald Trump’s address.

The official RNC program identifies Hulk Hogan as a “professional entertainer and wrestler.” He was also involved in a momentous legal case in the media world: His lawsuit against Gawker Media resulted in a $140 million jury award after the company published a sex tape featuring Bollea in 2015. An ensuing settlement sent the company and its founder into bankruptcy.

After the sex tape emerged, there was abrupt fallout for Hulk Hogan: World Wrestling Entertainment spiked its contract with him over reports that he used racist language in the sex tape.

It may seem odd, but Hulk Hogan’s prominent role at this year’s RNC is another sign of the influence of billionaire Peter Thiel -- who bankrolled Bollea’s fight against Gawker, and who has more recently been a key patron of Trump’s new vice presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance.

Senior officials from the FBI and Secret Service briefed U.S. lawmakers on the investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Trump, according to a person on the call.

The FBI has been reviewing the contents of shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks’ electronic devices, including a laptop and two cell phones — his primary phone and a second that was found at his home.

Crooks’ primary phone had 27 contacts saved; investigators are tracking those individuals down.

Crooks had saved images of President Biden, Trump, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales. He had also searched for dates of Trump speaking events as well as the Democratic National Convention. He also searched “major depressive order.”

When investigators searched Crooks’ home, they found no artifacts that indicated a political ideology, which officials told lawmakers was unusual in a case like this. People who knew Crooks have told investigators that he didn’t often discuss politics.

Law enforcement officials told lawmakers the investigation is still ongoing and a lot could change, but so far there is no indication of any foreign nexus or co-conspirators.

UW-Milwaukee

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UW-Milwaukee

The RNC offers researchers a natural public health experiment: what happens when 50,000+ people gather in one place?

Dr. Sandra McLellan, with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is a scientist on Wisconsin’s wastewater surveillance program — which is leading the way nationally on making wastewater an important tool for tracking diseases like COVID-19, flu, or RSV. The data can give an early warning when disease transmission is up.

“With an estimated 50,000 people coming into the city area, we want to understand how some of these signals may change,” she told WUWM. “Could there be a higher risk with more people congregating and being in the same place?”

More from WUWM: UWM lab measures sewage to track disease level changes during RNC and after

Following tradition, Donald Trump will be giving tonight’s keynote speech as he accepts the Republican presidential nomination. He’ll be introduced by Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

According to those familiar with tonight’s events, here is the tentative schedule for tonight. ("Everyday American" is the label given by the RNC.)

5:30-6 p.m. CT/ 6:30-7 p.m. ET

• Sen. Steve Daines of Montana
• Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee

6-6:30 p.m. CT/ 7-7:30 p.m. ET

• Diane Hendricks, everyday American
• Diane Evans, everyday American
• Linda McMahon, former administrator of the Small Business Administration
• Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state

6:30-7 p.m. CT/ 7:30-8 p.m. ET

• Pastor Lorenzo Sewell
• John Nieporte, everyday American
• Steve & Zach Witkoff

7-7:30 p.m. CT/ 8:8:30 p.m. ET

• Alina Habba, President Donald J. Trump's attorney
• Tucker Carlson, founder of Tucker Carlson Network

7:30-8 p.m. CT/ 8:30-9 p.m. ET

• Carrie Ruiz, everyday American
• Hulk Hogan, professional entertainer and wrestler
• Annette Albright, everyday American

8-9 p.m. CT/ 9-9:30 p.m. ET

• Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
• Eric Trump
• Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship

9-10:30 p.m. CT/ 10-11:30 p.m. ET

• Former President Donald Trump

Kent Nishimura

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AFP via Getty Images

President Biden, isolating at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., is “feeling fine,” his deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks told reporters in Milwaukee on Thursday, answering continued questions about the pressure from some Democrats for the president to step back from the campaign.

“The president is feeling fine. He's self-isolating in Delaware," Fulks said. "He's continuing to make calls and do work. He has some official meetings today, a lot of campaign calls that he's getting through, I think some Zoom calls that he's hopping on potentially,” Fulks said.

“Our campaign is not working through any scenarios where President Biden is not the top of the ticket. He is and will be the Democratic nominee,” Fulks said after being asked whether the campaign was working through scenarios where Vice President Harris would take the lead. “We look forward to him accepting the delegates in Chicago and continuing with this race.”

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RNC delegates trade pins.

Michelle Maternowski / WUWM

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Michelle Maternowski / WUWM

RNC delegates have been wearing and trading pins that represent their home states.

One Texas delegate, who declined to give his name, has been collecting dozens of pins on his cowboy hat. Many of the pins are shaped like the states they’re from, with references to the Republican party.

It's the last day of the RNC. The theme — “Make America Great Once Again" — is a play on Trump's well-known campaign slogan.

Donald Trump will take the stage tonight to accept the nomination and wrap up the four-day event.

A schedule has not yet been released, but based on previous nights, his speech will likely come at night's end.

After the assassination attempt on his life at a rally last week, Trump has said that his speech will call for unity, although it's unclear what that means.

Let's look at his past RNC speeches to compare.

In 2016, Trump called out political correctness and expressed his vision for law and order.

"I will present the facts plainly and honestly," Trump said in 2016. "We cannot afford to be so politically correct anymore."

In 2020, Trump promised to build "the greatest economy in history" if re-elected. He also said he wanted to restore faith in American values and boasted that he "ended the unfair and very costly Paris Climate Accord."

Kent Nishimura

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AFP via Getty Images

President Biden tested positive for COVID yesterday. He was in Las Vegas, campaigning. The White House said he developed a runny nose and a cough, so he took a COVID test and got the news.

Now, he’s back at his beach house in Delaware, where the White House says he’ll continue his normal duties. The White House gave his press pool a "lid" for today, which means he's unlikely to be seen on camera.

But this is bad timing for his campaign because the health of this president — and his ability to seek a second term — is under the microscope.

Yesterday, prominent House Democrat Adam Schiff called for Biden to pass the torch adding to a growing list. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer went to see him Saturday, in Delaware, which is unusual — and has issued a pair of uncharacteristically terse statements since. Schumer said he shared the concerns of Senate Democrats with the president and that the meeting was good.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates told us: “The President told both leaders he is the nominee of the party, he plans to win, and looks forward to working with both of them to pass his 100 days agenda to help working families.”

Biden still insists he's staying in the race

Publicly, at least, we aren’t seeing any cracks from the president or his inner circle of advisers. Two weeks ago, he said only the "Lord Almighty" could convince him to get out of the race.

In an interview with BET News recorded on Tuesday, he said that one thing that could change his mind would be some kind of serious medical condition.

And yesterday when he walked off Air Force One he responded to reporters shouting questions that he was doing well.

But at least for a few days — at this key moment in the campaign and with questions swirling around the viability of his candidacy — Biden is going to be largely invisible, isolating at his beach house.

Meanwhile, Republicans at their convention here in Milwaukee are projecting massive confidence. They're presenting a united front behind their nominee who just survived an assassination attempt and came out looking stronger.

As WESA in Pittsburgh reports:

It’s been five days since Thomas Crooks allegedly fired a rifle at former President and presidential candidate Donald Trump and, thus far, no one has publicly identified a motive for the act that investigators say he committed.

Many of the people who would be in the best position to understand what might have happened — his family, close friends and coworkers — haven’t made detailed public statements about what they knew about him. The FBI says it is still analyzing his phone and other evidence collected at the shooting scene and his home.

Still, some reports about who Crooks was in life appear to have a more solid footing than others.

WESA analyzed the public statements of two dozen people who knew Crooks and have spoken in media reports — the majority of whom were classmates of Crooks at Bethel Park High School.

WESA breaks down what those people said.

Joe Raedle

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Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump’s white ear bandage — covering his injury from the recent shooting at his rally in Pennsylvania — has inspired a new blend of politics and fashion as droves of Republican National Convention delegates prominently cover their right ears to show solidarity.

If Wednesday’s events are any indication, you should expect to see a sea of little white squares when Trump speaks tonight in the final RNC session, as the unlikely accessory has become a hallmark of the 2024 convention.

Shows of party unity frequently align with merchandising opportunities, particularly when it comes to Trump. But while a pro-Trump radio show has mentioned “an official MAGA ear patch,” as NPR reported last night, a wide variety of white squares are being deployed in Milwaukee. While some people apply realistic gauze bandages to their ears, others seem to be using folded paper and scotch tape.

In case you missed it, here are a few of the night's notable remarks:

Usha Vance

The vice presidential nominee's wife took the stage Wednesday night to introduce her husband before his prime time remarks.

Kai Trump

The eldest Trump granddaughter joined her father Donald Trump Jr. on stage Wednesday night to deliver a short but personal testament to her grandfather.

Donald Trump Jr.

The former president and 2024 nominee's eldest son also addressed those gathered in Milwaukee.

And the vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance: Watch his remarks here.

Al Drago

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Bloomberg via Getty Images

Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Donald Trump’s vice-presidential pick, has gained a reputation in Washington as one of Trump’s staunchest and hardest-charging defenders.

Look no further than in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt on Trump’s life Saturday. Vance quickly took to social media to lay the blame squarely on President Biden and called a top Democrat on Capitol Hill a “scumbag” for having introduced legislation some months ago to remove Secret Service protection from convicted felons.

The MAGA warrior, though, is not who America met Wednesday night when he took to the stage at the Republican National Convention for his keynote speech as Trump’s running mate. The Marine veteran, instead, showed a decidedly softer side.

Here are four takeaways from Vance’s speech and the rest of Night 3 in Milwaukee.

It's the fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Today's theme: "Make America Great Once Again."

If you're looking for a quick recap of yesterday's events while you go about your morning, today's episode of Up First has you covered.

Listen: Vance and Trump Speak, Congress probes secret service; Biden has COVID (Length: 13 minutes)

More of a morning email person? There's a newsletter version too.

And with that, the third day of the convention is over — and it's time for all of us to get some sleep.

RNC officials have adjourned proceedings until 5 p.m. local time Thursday, but this blog will be back in action bright and early in the morning.

It's the final day of the convention, with a broad "Make America Great Again" theme and speech from Trump himself accepting the party's nomination on the evening's agenda.

Until then — catch the NPR Politics Podcast for a quick recap, and subscribe to the Up First podcast and newsletter to get the morning's top news. See you back here soon!

Nam Y. Huh

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AP

Vance told the crowd that when his Mamaw died, his relatives found "19 loaded handguns" — sending them into applause and more chants of her name.

He said they were stashed across her house — under her bed, in her closet and in her silverware drawer. He said it occurred to his family that as she grew less mobile in her old age, "this frail old woman made sure that no matter where she was, she was within arms' length of whatever she needed to protect her family."

He called that American spirit, and "what we fight for." The crowd whooped and cheered.

The 39-year-old said Biden has been a politician longer than he himself has been alive, and credited Trump with essentially undoing the damage the D.C. establishment did before him.

He hit on some common Republican talking points about what the party sees as the main problems in America, from inflation to undocumented immigrants entering the country.

"But ladies and gentlemen, that is not the end of our story," he said, adding under Trump's vision the party will commit to the working man, fight for Americans' jobs and wages and producing energy, jobs and factories at home.

He vowed to "make sure our allies share in the burden of securing world peace, no more free rides for nations that betray the generosity of the American taxpayer."

Vance added that under Trump, Americans would send their kids to war "only when we must," but that "when we punch, we're going to punch hard."

He wrapped up his speech by thanking Trump and pledging to all Americans that "no matter your party that I will give you everything I have to serve you and to make this country a place where every dream you have for yourself, your family and your country will be possible once again."

He promised one more thing to the people of Middletown, Ohio and "all the forgotten communities in every corner of our nation: I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from."

Carolyn Kaster

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AP

J.D. Vance, whose story has been described all week in terms of achieving the American Dream, said his most important American Dream was "becoming a good husband and a good dad."

He said the accomplishment he's most proud of is being able to give his three kids — ages 7, 4 and 2 — the things he didn't have when he was growing up in Middletown, Ohio.

"Now they're back at the hotel and kids, if you're watching, Daddy loves you very much, but get your butts back in bed," he said.

He then pivoted to discussing how things have not worked out quite as well for many of the kids he grew up with, many of them having since died of overdoses. He said the divide between those in D.C. and rural communities like his has only grown over the decades, until Trump came along.

He said Trump represents "America's last best hope to restore what if lost may never be found again: A country where a working class boy born far from the halls of power can stand on this stage as the next vice president of the United States of America."

The crowd was engaged as he spoke, periodically breaking into chants. At one point he remarked "you guys are a great crowd," prompting them to call back, "yes we are."

Vance also shouted out his mom in the audience, saying she was 10 years sober. She stood up from her seat in the family box, looking visibly emotional as the crowd applauded. They eventually broke into chants of "J.D.'s mom."

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J.D. Vance said he never could have imagined he'd be standing on this stage — then proceeded to share what led him there.

He criticized Biden for supporting NAFTA, a trade deal with China, and the U.S. invasion of Iraq — all done under Republican administrations — which happened during his childhood and teenage years and hurt small towns. The crowd chanted "Joe gotta go," to which he responded "I agree."

"Joe Biden screwed up, and my community paid the price," he said.

Despite those hardships, he said he had a "guardian angel" by his side: his grandmother "Mamaw," who raised him while his own mother struggled with addiction. He described her as a woman of contradictions.

"She loved the Lord, ladies and gentlemen, she was a woman of very deep Christian faith," he said. "But she also loved the F-word. I'm not kidding, she could make a sailor blush."

He recounted when Mamaw learned he was spending time with a kid known for dealing drugs, she threatened to run him over with her car, adding, "No one would ever know."

The crowd burst into chants of "Mamaw" as Vance smiled and pumped his fist.

It was thanks to Mamaw, he said, that things worked out for him. He enlisted in the U.S. Marines after 9/11, four years later attended Ohio State University and then went to Yale Law School, where he met his wife. He later started businesses to create jobs "in the kind of places I grew up in."

He said there is "so much talent and grit ... but for these places to thrive, my friends, we need a leader who fights for the people who built this country."

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Bloomberg via Getty Images

Usha Chilukuri Vance, gave a glimpse into the political newcomer, now Republican vice presidential nominee, her husband, J.D. Vance.

"It's hard to imagine a more powerful example of the American dream, a boy from Middletown, Ohio, raised by his grandmother through tough times, chosen to help lead our country through some of its greatest challenges," she said amid applause and chants of support.

The two met as students at Yale Law School, married in 2014 and have three children together.

During Usha Vance's remarks, she spoke of them coming together despite their different upbringings.

"The J.D. I knew then is the same J.D. you see today — except for that beard." she joked.

"His goals in this new role are the same that he has pursued for our family: to keep people safe, to create opportunities, to build a better life and to solve problems with an open mind," she added.

Usha Vance, 38, enters the national spotlight with a stacked law career. She clerked for Judge Brett Kavanaugh when he was on the U.S. Court of Appeals and for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts from 2017 to 2018.

She became an attorney at the national law firm Munger Tolles & Olson but has reportedly left the firm following Trump's selection of her husband as his running mate. She was a registered Democrat until at least 2014, according to public records.

In his speech accepting the vice presidential nomination, J.D. Vance thanked his wife, calling her "an incredible lawyer and a better mom."

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J.D. Vance responded to Trump's calls for unity by saying the message to Republicans is that "we love this country and we are united to win."

He said he believes disagreements "make us stronger," a lesson he's learned in the U.S. Senate, where he's served since early 2023.

"Shouldn't we be governed by a party that is unafraid to debate ideas and come to the best solution?" he asked. "That's the Republican Party of the next four years: united in our love for this country and committed to free speech and the open exchange of ideas."

He then officially accepted the nomination to be vice president, as the crowd roared.

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J.D. Vance patiently waited for the crowd to stop cheering his name before he thanked his wife and introduced himself — and ending up in another chant, this time "OH-IO."

"You guys, we got to chill with the Ohio love, we gotta win Michigan too," he said, sparking another round of applause.

Vance called tonight "a night of hope, a celebration of what America once was and with God's grace what it soon will be again, and a reminder of the sacred duty we have to preserve the American experiment to choose a new path for our children and grandchildren."

But he said the night could have been one of mourning instead of celebration, after the attempt on Trump's life over the weekend. He said Trump, a successful businessman, had "anything anyone could ever want in a life," but chose to "endure abuse, slander and persecution ... because he loves this country."

Vance urged Americans to watch the video of the would-be assassination, "consider the lies they've told you about Trump and then look at that photo of him, defiant, fist in the air."

"When Donald Trump rose to his feet in that Pennsylvania field, all of America stood with him," he said. "They said he was a tyrant, they said he must be stopped at all costs, but how did he respond? He called for national unity, national calm, literally right after an assassin nearly took his life."

Vance, who was once outspoken in his criticism of Trump, said he'd gotten to know him personally over the last few years and seen firsthand how he is "tough but cares about people."

He described watching earlier this week as a man "feared by America's adversaries" gave his sons goodnight kisses on the cheek, joking that they squirmed the same way his four-year-old does when he does the same.

Donald Trump Jr.'s speech at the RNC tonight included a reference to "the ghost of CornPop," the main character in a 2017 speech by President Biden that made the rounds on social media nearly two years later.

So who exactly is CornPop?

Biden told the story of working as a lifeguard at a local pool in his home state of Delaware in 1962, when a local gang leader and all-around "bad dude" by the name of CornPop showed up looking for trouble.

Allegedly, CornPop was armed with a razor blade and the president with a 6-foot chain, but eventually, CornPop and his "bad boys" stood down.

The retelling was met with mixed reactions — with many critics in disbelief that Biden actually faced off with a gang leader.

A CNN reporter managed to find an obituary for one William L. "CornPop" Morris of Wilmington, Del., who died in 2016.

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Donald Trump Jr. spoke to the Milwaukee crowd about immigration, social issues and inflation. But he also focused on the attempted assassination of his father last weekend during a rally in Pennsylvania.

Trump mentioned Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who was killed at the rally while protecting his wife and daughter. The crowd cheered “Corey!” in support.

Trump spoke about his father’s “character” describing the moments after the shooting when Trump stood up with his fist in the air — and the crowd chanted “fight!” the word that Trump mouthed as he stood up. 

“We are like that man, who stood on that platform and felt the bullet piece his flesh, but he stood back up,” Trump said. “And when he did, my father raised his fist, and he looked out at the crowd and what did he say?”

The crowd again, broke out in “fight!” chants. “We will fight with our vote,” Trump said.

Trump then turns to introduce his father’s new running mate: U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.

“We grew up worlds apart,” Trump said. “Yet now we are fighting side by side to save the world we love.”

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Kai Trump, the eldest granddaughter of former President Donald Trump, delivered a short but personal testament to her grandfather on the RNC stage.

"I'm speaking today to share the side of my grandpa that people don't often see," she said. "To me, he's just a normal grandpa. He gives us candy and soda when our parents aren't looking. He always wants to know how we're doing in school."

Trump beamed throughout his granddaughter's speech. The appearance adds to a growing list of individuals, mostly women, who have shown viewers a more personal side of the former president.

"Even when he's going through all these court cases, he always asks me how I'm doing. He always encourages me to push myself to be the most successful person I can be," she said. "Obviously, he sets the bar pretty high, but who knows, maybe one day I'll catch him."

It was a notable first moment for the next generation of Trumps.

In an introduction by her father, Donald Trump Jr., the oldest son of the former president, he said it was her "first time ever on a stage" and "first time ever giving a speech."

Though Donald Trump Jr. typically embodies a similarly aggressive and tough persona similar to his father, his introduction was softer and more emotional.

"A lot of proud moments this week for my family, thank you again guys," he said after she spoke. (That said, when Donald Trump Jr. began his remarks, they did once again return to his typical aggressive rhetoric.)

Kai Trump, who just turned 17, will not be old enough to vote this year.

On the Democratic side, we've also seen grandkids play a political role; President Biden's granddaughters have made speeches on his behalf throughout his 2020 campaign.

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J.D. Vance is on stage to address the convention and the country, days after Trump officially chose him as his running mate.

The junior senator from Ohio was introduced and welcomed to the state by his wife, Usha.

They shared a long embrace as country music played and the crowd cheered.

This was mentioned at the RNC night 3 – and it’s been in PAC ads for Trump before.

According to Obama’s 2020 memoir, Biden, the then vice-president, suggested Obama wait before ordering the mission that killed the al-Qaida leader in 2011. 

In 2012, Biden told the story to a room full of House Democrats. He recalled wanting more information. He said he remembers telling Obama, “Mr. President, my suggestion is, don’t go. We have to do two more things to see if he’s there.”

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A group of fraternity brothers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who held up an American flag that had been lowered during a pro-Palestinian protest earlier this year, addressed the convention Wednesday night.

"When a mob tried to take down the American flag on our campus, we knew we couldn't let that happen. We stood guard, we held up, and we did not let it fall," one of the students said.

Videos of the incident went viral as colleges around the country erupted in largely peaceful campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war.

The appearance of the students at the RNC followed a montage of mostly male young people counter-protesting at anti-war demonstrations on different campuses around the country.

Republicans have long criticized the politics of young voters on college campuses, arguing it's a Democratic-dominated space.

That said, voters under 30 have traditionally voted for Democrats and side with issues they champion, notably safeguarding abortion rights.

In 2020, voters under 30 voted for President Biden by a 24-point margin.

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As Orna and Ronen Neutra walked onstage, the room erupted in chants of "bring them home" — the first of several throughout their time at the podium.

The Neutras, who live in Long Island, spoke about — and directly to — their son Omer, an American citizen who was kidnapped from Israel by Hamas on October 7.

He's been held hostage for 285 days and nights, his parents said, wearing t-shirts with his face on them and the number "285" taped to their jackets.

Orna described her son — who she said was born in New York City one month after 9/11 — as an "extremely social person," talented athlete and "natural leader" who "cares deeply about others and helping them grow."

She said he turned 22 in captivity on Oct. 14, 2023.

"Imagine over nine months not knowing whether your son is alive, waking up every morning praying that he too is still waking up every morning," she said, as the crowd broke out in another chant.

Omer's parents noted they are far from alone. Over 1,200 people in Israel were killed in Hamas' attack, and 45 of them were American citizens. Omer is one of eight American hostages — and 120 total — believed to still be in Gaza, his dad said.

"Where is the outrage?" Ronen asked. "This was not merely an attack on Israel, this was and remains an attack on Americans."

He said Trump called them personally right after the attack to express his support for the American hostages, and called for the public's support to "end this crisis and bring all the hostages back home," kicking off another round of chants to that effect.

His mom ended with a message for her son: "Omer, we love you, we won't stop fighting for you."

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Vivek Ramaswamy stopped by NPR's special coverage booth on Wednesday night, giving an exclusive interview with NPR's Susan Davis to talk about his thoughts on J.D. Vance and the future of the Republican party.

Ramaswamy opened with remarks about his relationship with Vance, calling him a good friend and father.

"He's a friend and someone I know in a more personal way," Ramaswamy said. "He's as good of a father as he is a friend."

Ramaswamy added that while the two disagree on policy, he appreciates Vance's contributions to the Trump ticket.

"He's an American dream story like me," Ramaswamy said. "He has a policy vision for the country that makes it more accessible."

Davis questioned Ramaswamy on Vance's past derogatory comments toward Trump, but Ramaswamy said it was a strength rather than a weakness.

"He has genuinely evolved in his views," Ramaswamy said. "We may not believe the same thing we did today as we did years ago... we need people who didn't vote for Trump in 2020."

Davis finished the interview by asking about Ramaswamy's thoughts on the future of the party and young voters.

"A lot of people in my generation didn't have the American Dream available to them as promised," Ramaswamy said. "With your own hard work and dedication, you can live the American Dream in the way I have and J.D. have."

"People are hungry to be part of something bigger than themselves, but they can't answer what it means to be an American," Ramaswamy added.

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The screens in the room played a pre-produced video of interviews with people whose relatives — namely, their children — were among the 13 U.S. service members killed in the U.S.' withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

The family members spoke disapprovingly of Biden, saying he checked his watch multiple times during the ceremony for those killed and gave off a sense that he did not want to be there. The crowd booed loudly when he was shown onscreen.

The gold star families then walked out onstage, carrying pictures of their children. The crowd chanted "USA!"

Several then spoke about how Trump hosted them for a day at his golf club in Bedminster, saying he knew their children's names and stories "and spoke to us in a way that made us feel understood, like he knew our kids."

As one parent talked about how Trump made her feel less alone in her grief, someone in the crowd shouted "you're not alone," and others joined in clapping.

At one moment, the crowd chanted "never forget." Many remained standing for minutes as multiple speakers shared their stories and tears at the podium.

The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan is widely considered a low point — and a turning point — for the Biden administration, which officially blames the conditions created by Trump's administration.

One common critique from the parents was that Biden has not said the names of the 13 soldiers killed on that day in August.

Herman Lopez, whose son was killed, went down the list onstage, pausing as the crowd clapped between each one and repeated their names out loud:

• Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.
• Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, Calif.
• Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, Ca.
• Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Neb.
• Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Ind.
• Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas.
• Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Miss.
• Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyo.
• Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
• Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, Calif.
• Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio.
• Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tenn.

Read more about the late service members here.

As the couple spoke, the crowd burst into a loud chant of "Joe must go."

Alicia Lopez spoke emotionally of the couples' other son now serving in the Army, saying "we do not trust Joe Biden with his life" and urging for people to join them in voting for Trump to lead the military and the country.

The intense moment is likely to resonate personally with Biden, who speaks often (to the disappointment of those onstage) of his late son Beau, a military veteran.

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Kimberly Guilfoyle, whose enthusiastic delivery of "the best is yet to come" became one of the defining moments (and memes) of the 2020 RNC, returned to the stage at a similar decibel — and wearing a similar shade of red.

Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host who has been engaged to Donald Trump Jr. since 2020, spoke immediately after the former president sat down in the audience.

"I stand before you tonight more convinced than ever: this is the most important election in our lifetime," she said emphatically. "And that is why we must elect President Donald John Trump."

She painted the election as a choice between safety or chaos, wealth or poverty, national sovereignty or open borders, American weakness — or greatness.

"Donald Trump will once again make our country strong, safe and prosperous," Guilfoyle declared. "He will make America feared by our adversaries and respected by our friends. And most importantly he will always put America first."

Guilfoyle took a few digs at Biden, calling him unfit for office and saying, "all Joe had to do was leave it alone and take a nap, but Joe just couldn't help himself."

"Joe Biden can not lead America; he cannot even lead himself off a stage," she added.

Guilfoyle was married to California's current governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, for five years in the early aughts. Newsom, who has defended Biden including in the post-debate spin room, is widely seen as a contender for the presidential race in 2028.

Guilfoyle said "powerful elites in the swamp will say anything to crush and destroy the America First movement."

At the end of her speech, Guilfoyle urged the crowd to "rise up" for Trump, and the audience got to their feet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, lovers of freedom and the American dream, this is our last chance to make America great again," she cried out, as the crowd roared. Trump also gave a standing ovation, and raised his fist in approval.

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Mayor Trent Conaway attacked President Biden's response to the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a 5,000-person town southeast of Cleveland.

Conaway said the Biden administration responded late to the crash, which emitted toxic chemicals into the area.

"I guess we weren't their type of folks," he said. "No Hollywood elites or Wall Street billionaires live in East Palestine, just hard-working Americans."

During the same time, Biden made a historic trip to Ukraine — but Trump visited the small Ohio town before Biden did. Trump went on to criticize Biden for going overseas before visiting the crash site.

Though Biden himself did not visit first, the White House later said officials in his administration were at the site within "two hours" after the train derailed.

Notably accompanying Trump to the town last year was his now-running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance — known for growing up in a small city in Ohio.

Conaway continued to criticize Biden's handling of the incident Wednesday night, as he looked toward November.

"Before President Biden derails our entire nation, we need to act," he added.

"We need a leader who values small-town communities as much as big cities; we need a president who loves all Americans."

Donald Trump’s first post to social media following Saturday’s assassination attempt was this: “It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. We will fear not, but instead remain resilient in our faith and defiant in the face of wickedness.”

Just hours after the shooting on July 13, Trump’s supporters also began using religious language to describe the shooting, which killed one and wounded two others.

Speaking on Fox News Saturday night, Republican politician and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy said: “I personally believe that God intervened today, not just on behalf of President Trump but on behalf of our country.”

And Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Republican, made these remarks during a press conference about cleanup after hurricane Beryl: “Trump is truly blessed by the hand of God being able to evade being assassinated.”

That theme has continued this week at the Republican National Convention, where Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina used similar language on the opening night.

“If you didn't believe in miracles before Saturday, you better be believing right now,” Scott said as delegates in Milwaukee burst into applause. “Our God still saves. He still delivers and he still sets free. Because on Saturday, the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle. But an American lion got back up on his feet.”

But others who study religion find this talk of divine intervention and blessing both telling and troubling.

A video touting Trump’s secret trip to a U.S. military base as president played a bit ago at the RNC.

NPR’s Tamara Keith was traveling with the president at the time, the day after Christmas in 2018.

The trip to Al Asad Air Base in Western Iraq followed the president's controversial orders to pull back on U.S. troop deployments in Syria and elsewhere.

The video — and the veteran speakers who followed – are part of Trump’s effort to woo members of the military.

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Kellyanne Conway, Trump's first campaign manger in 2016 and senior counsel in the White House in the years that followed, strode onstage and greeted the crowd with a "Good evening, patriots."

The Trump adviser-turned-Fox News contributor is not officially affiliated with his campaign this time around, but spoke of the sacrifices he and his family made to run for president.

"My relationship with Mr. Trump was forged under fire in a foxhole in 2016, after he asked me to be his campaign manager," she said. "We had no idea that he was making history as the first successful presidential nominee ever to tap a woman to lead a campaign."

She credited Trump with elevating women throughout his career, from New York real estate to the White House, apparently eliding his felony conviction related to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and liability in a defamation case for denying E. Jean Carroll's claims of sexual assault.

Conway recounted looking around at an early senior staff meeting and seeing four other women, with 19 children between them.

"Show me a C-Suite in America where five working moms of 19 young children could have the highest rank in the company and work alongside the president," she said to cheers.

Conway said Trump "sees what's best and what's possible for millions of Americans," and, to the crowd, "sees you for who you are."

She praised Trump for making sacrifices to run again, when he could be spending time at his own golf course and with his children, grandchildren and wife (whom she described as "extraordinary, elegant, beautiful, brilliant," as the crowd clapped enthusiastically).

"He does not need to do this, but we need him to do this," Conway added.

She addressed those who say they want Trump's policies, but not his personality, and said people can't get one without the other. She urged supporters to talk to people who may be skeptical or cynical.

Conway said in 2024 there should be "no more hidden undercover Trump voters."

"It's time to put that flag on your front porch, that red hat on your head, because we don't cave and we don't cower and we do not capitulate," she said. "Instead we get up, we show up, we stand up and we speak up."

Former President Donald Trump arrived on the floor to a standing ovation, as "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" played over the speakers.

He stood at the top of the stairs up to the VIP platform and waved to the crowd on the floor and throughout the stands to rapturous applause. He then shook the hands of all of tonight's special guests, including Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.

He was again wearing a white bandage over his ear.

While J.D. Vance is known for his Appalachian memoir Hillbilly Elegy, he also has numerous ties with prominent Silicon Valley billionaires.

Vance became a protégé of Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal, while working in venture capital. Theil would later donate $15 million to Vance's Senate campaign.

Vance also has inroads with America PAC, a new tech-aligned super political action committee. The group has pledged millions to the Trump/Vance campaign and is expected to receive an extra donation boost from Elon Musk, the current owner of X.

NPR's Bobby Allen has the full scoop.

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North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum used his speech to criticize “Biden’s war on energy” and “green agenda.” He also went after electric vehicle mandates. But the Biden administration does not have a mandate for electric vehicles.

Energy prices and inflation have been top of mind for voters this election cycle. Burgum blamed Biden for increased prices and advocated for an increase in domestic energy production.

“Energy dominance will be the big stick that President Trump will carry,” Burgum said, referencing the Roosevelt motto. “Yes, President Trump will make sure that America is selling energy to our allies versus buying it from our adversaries.”

However, companies themselves set their production levels based on market forces, not presidential orders. And efforts to influence production are not guaranteed to succeed: Trump famously tried and failed to prop up the U.S. coal industry. Meanwhile, oil production under President Biden has hit record highs, which has led to criticism from climate activists.

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott focused immigration and border security on the RNC mainstage, claiming that “rapists, murderers and terrorists” are coming through the border.

Multiple studies have found that migrants are less likely to commit a crime than people born in the U.S. For example, Stanford University found that immigrants are 30% less likely to be imprisoned than white Americans.

Abbott also boasted about using razor wire, called "Operation Lone Star", to prevent people from crossing between boarder ports of entry and bussing migrants to other cities.

At the start of the year, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, paved the way for federal officials to remove the wire. The bussing has cost the state hundreds of millions to transport migrants to New York, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Over and over again tonight, immigration and crime have been frequently linked. One speaker, rancher Jim Chilton from Arizona, lives close to the southern border with Mexico and says he’s documented border crime and smuggling himself on hidden cameras. Texas Gov. Greg Abbot says under Biden, illegal immigration has skyrocketed.

Here’s some helpful context on immigration courtesy of NPR's Sergio Martínez-Beltrán:

It is true that under President Biden, the southern border saw a record high in terms of people crossing into the U.S. without authorization, but that number has really gone down since January. In June, there was a 24% decrease in arrests at the border in comparison to May.

When it comes to linking immigration to crime, multiple studies have found that migrants are less likely to commit a crime than people born in the U.S. For example, Stanford University found that immigrants are 30% less likely to be imprisoned than white Americans.

And overall crime in the U.S. is down. The most recent data from the FBI indicates that violent crime, including murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, is way down, after a surge in 2020.

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Three Arizonans who spoke at the Republican National Convention said their lives in border towns were better off under former President Donald Trump.

David Lara, a San Luis, Ariz. small business owner, as well as Jim and Sue Chilton, ranchers on the southern border in Arivaca, Ariz. accused President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of neglecting their communities.

“They have done nothing to stop it, and everything to make it worse,” Lara said.

“It’s like Biden and Harris want the lawlessness. The fact is that walls work. We must elect Donald Trump to finish the wall, to stop the cartels,” Jim Chilton said, before the RNC crowd drowned him out with chants of “build the wall!”

Lara, who’s also a member of the Yuma Union High School District governing board, said Biden and Harris can’t understand his community because “they have never set foot in my border town.”

“Four years ago, we had a president who believed in borders. We had a president who traveled all the way to San Luis,” Lara added. “We had a president who cared, and we can have that president again. We must reelect President Trump.”

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NPR

By day three of the RNC, most demonstrators had abandoned the deserted protest areas designated by the city and were focusing on a new strategy: staking out the security checkpoints outside the Fiserv Forum as convention attendees entered for the prime-time speeches.

Republican VIPs surrounded by police and security hustled through the rag-tag gaggle of demonstrators.

"Shame! Shame on you!" screamed anti-abortion activists, who say GOP politicians have not done enough to outlaw abortion nationwide.

"I just got to yell at the Speaker of the House, so that’s a win,” said Eliyahu from Washington, D.C. The 18-year-old declined to give his last name out of privacy concerns, saying he is still recovering from a doxing attack last week.

The small crowd was comprised of people with many different causes and viewpoints, from anti-war activists to parents who lost children to opioid addiction, all trying to capture the attention of the people who could end up governing the country for the next four years.

“If nothing else, we’re the prick of conscience to the delegates going into the convention,” explained Eliyahu, as he picked up his megaphone and looked down the street for the next arrival.

NPR's live special coverage of the Republican National Convention starts at 9 p.m. ET. — and tonight you can not only listen, but watch, as reporters offer real-time analysis and context.

The full program will feature NPR's Sue Davis, Ron Elving, Mara Liasson, Danielle Kurtzleben, Liz Baker and Domenico Montanaro.

The pre-show kicked off at 8:30 p.m. ET., so tune in now.

You can catch it on the NPR App, on the live blog, on your local member station and on YouTube.

(And we'll be blogging all night too!)

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Thomas Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, lambasted Biden for making the border less secure and vowed that Trump would do the opposite.

Homan, a former border control agent who served as acting director from January 2017 to June 2018, said all six presidents he worked with over his 34-year career pledged to secure the border, but Trump was the only one who actually did.

"He created the most secure border in our history, and that's a stone-cold fact," he said. "And guess what? He's gonna do it again."

Homan pointed to statistics about illegal immigration dropping and deportations reaching record highs under Trump.

He then contrasted those results with some of the Biden administration's immigration actions, like canceling the "Remain in Mexico" policy and proposing amnesty for millions of undocumented immigrants — and blamed such policies for a record number of women being sex trafficked, Americans dying of fentanyl and suspected terrorists crossing into the U.S.

The southern border did see a record high amount of people crossing into the U.S. without authorization under Biden, though those numbers have greatly decreased since January.

Homan then directly addressed the undocumented immigrants whom he said Biden released into the country against federal law:

"You better start packing now," he said, as the crowd roared with applause. "'Cause you're going home."

He then spoke to criminal cartels in Mexico, which he said have killed more Americans than "every terrorist organization in the world combined." He said Trump would designate them as such if reelected.

"He's gonna wipe you off the face of the Earth," Homan said. "You're done. You're done!"

The crowd cheered, with many spectators waving "Mass deportation now" signs.

And we're back with another Trump dancing montage, set to the same song as the one that aired on the first night.

As the speakers played "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People along with video clips of former President Donald Trump dancing, people throughout the crowd imitated his signature dancing style, using two fists and moving them in and out alternatively.

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Bloomberg/Getty Images

Former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro got out of prison earlier on Wednesday and urged people to vote for Trump to avoid persecution by the U.S. government.

Navarro had been in prison for four months for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena for documents and testimony tied to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. His remarks continued a convention theme of the weaponization of justice, similar to the speech of Savannah Chrisley on Tuesday.

Navarro blamed all three branches of government — the executive, legislative and judiciary — for his sentence. He said Trump supporters needed to control all of government to avoid unfair treatment, since all three branches helped put him in prison.

Law

Ex-Trump adviser Peter Navarro to go to prison after Supreme Court rejects his appeal

Last week, a federal appeals court ordered Navarro to surrender to a federal prison in Florida on March 19 to serve his four-month sentence.

Trump has also argued that the Justice Department is politically influenced — something Attorney General Merrick Garland has fiercely disputed — and must be restructured.

"Yes indeed, this morning I did walk out of a federal prison in Miami. Joe Biden and his department of injustice put me there," Navarro told attendees at the convention to chants and applause. "If they can come for me, if they can come for Donald Trump, they can come for you."

"If we don’t control our government, their government will control us," he added.

Navarro cast his disputes with Congress as challenges to the Constitution’s separation of powers. But judges found no evidence that Trump had formally asserted executive privilege to block cooperation with lawmakers. Steve Bannon, another Trump-era official, is now in prison for a similar charge.

Navarro said Biden's policies created an environment of fear, contrasting it with a more equitable system under Trump as president.

"When politics fail, the investigations and persecutions begin," he said, adding that the government was also going after Catholics, anti-abortion-rights groups and parents.

"I went to prison so you won’t have to. I am your wake up call," he said to cheers from the audience.

Al Drago

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Bloomberg/Getty Images

Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida brought up the fact Trump supports checking IDs for voting in the same way Democrats support ID checks for hunting licenses and welfare.

Here’s a some context on that push for voter ID laws: 36 states have some ID requirements for voters to show at the polls, and 7 of those states require an ID.

For the states that don’t require some sort of ID, often a signature is required and checked against the one on file.

Trump has argued that increasing ID requirements can prevent in-person voter fraud, though little of that actual fraud has been documented. Opponents — including many Democrats — argue voter ID laws present an undue burden on voters and makes the job of elections administrators much harder.

For more on voter fraud, read NPR’s investigation into Republicans' abandonment of one of the best tools the government has to catch voter fraud.

This week's convention has all the trappings of a typical party convention: enthusiastic delegates, flamboyant attire, a cover band. But, like the 2016 and 2020 Republican conventions, past GOP presidential and vice presidential nominees (other than Trump himself) have chosen not to attend.

President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are both outspoken critics of Donald Trump. In a 2021 interview, Bush criticized the party he used to lead, which he said has become "isolationist, protectionist and, to a certain extent, nativist."

Cheney has gone further. In a 2022 campaign ad for his daughter Liz, a major Trump antagonist during her time in Congress, the former vice president said that "in our nation's 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump."

Mitt Romney, the party's 2012 presidential nominee, now a senator from Utah, was the first lawmaker ever to vote to remove a president of the same party during Trump's second impeachment trial.

And Mike Pence, who served as Trump's vice president, ran against his former ticket-mate during this year's presidential primary contest.

According to the congressional testimony of a former White House aide, Trump said that his then-vice president — who faced chants of "hang Mike Pence" from January 6th insurrectionists — deserved the ire of the rioters for refusing to support Trump's attempts to remain in power despite losing the election.

In their stead, the party has filled speaking slots with Trump loyalists and converts — who almost uniformly support the former president's lies about the 2020 election and attacks on the justice system in the wake of his 34 felony convictions in New York state and roughly 60 pending federal felony charges.

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AFP/Getty Images

President Biden was the focus of former Republican House speaker Newt Gingrich's speech Wednesday night.

"We have to remember that the greatest threat to American safety is not Biden's brain," he said. "The greatest threat is Biden's policies and the people he appoints to implement."

Honing in on foreign policy, he praised former President Donald Trump's record and juxtaposed his actions with those of Biden, including the U.S. withdrawal of Afghanistan in 2021 and Biden's handling of the Israeli-geopolitical relations.

"The message for this November is clear: You can vote for weakness and war with Biden, or you can vote for strength and peace with President Trump."

Gingrich was preceded by his wife, former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See under Trump, who focused her remarks on faith.

Many speeches have had religious undertones, amplified by Trump's near-death experience on Saturday.

"Our choice is clear. We need strong leadership, bold action and unwavering commitment to preserve our God-given rights," she said.

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In the days since the alleged attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, attention has turned to uncovering the motives of the gunman.

One of the ways the FBI has attempted to learn more about 20-year-old Matthew Crooks, the assailant, is by unlocking his phone, which the agency confirmed Monday it had done. No details were made public about what, if anything, was found on it.

In events like this, the FBI turns to service providers like Cellebrite, an Israel-based intelligence firm that sells tools to law enforcement to access smart phones.

Cracking into a phone can be a game of cat and mouse due to upgrades and updates that phone manufacturers introduce, Cellebrite's chief marketing officer David Gee told NPR's Morning Edition.

A phone can serve as a "digital witness," he added, and his company's tech is continually changing to enhance law enforcement's ability to access data on a device.

Gee said Cellebrite's technology can be used to access and extract information from a smart phone.

In "90% of crimes today, the assailant has a phone with them. And so the extraction of that information and then the decoding and processing of that information — it can be photos, it can be location data, it could be encrypted messages — all of the above are extracted and then analyzed and in many cases de-encrypted for use," Gee said.

Cellebrite, Gee said, only works with law enforcement and the technology is used only once a warrant has been obtained.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that sources close to the FBI investigation say Cellebrite's tech was used to access Crooks' phone.

Indigenous Republicans and those representing tribes at the RNC gathered to discuss the party's priorities for Indian Country. The event was hosted by Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is a Cherokee citizen.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., used his time to advocate for federal recognition of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina. The Lumbee have long turned to federal recognition as a potential electoral issue and have helped North Carolina swing.

Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming said she recently spoke to Trump about missing and murdered Indigenous women.

But several current and former tribal leaders of the Lumbee tribe, the Osage Nation, Navajo Nation and Tunica-Biloxi tribe brought up concerns about outdated laws around land use and taxes that stifle economic development on reservations.

Navarro also went off script to thank his "girl" and kiss her on stage to huge applause.

President Biden, fresh off his COVID-19 diagnosis, acknowledged the news with a two-word tweet.

"I'm sick," he wrote at 7:22 p.m. ET, as RNC speakers were criticizing his policies and physical fitness onstage.

But that wasn't the whole message. Another tweet, threaded below, finished the thought:

"[...] of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election. And if you agree, pitch in here," he added, linking to a fundraising page. The tweet racked up 35,000 likes in 25 minutes.

Citing unnamed people familiar, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the billionaire Tesla CEO plans to commit around $45 million a month to a new super PAC backing Trump's presidential run.

Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, walking onstage to huge applause from the crowd, declared that Trump is "unstoppable" and that if he is reelected, America will be too.

The controversial congressman, fresh off a tense exchange with recently ousted House speaker Kevin McCarthy, hurled a series of insults at the Democratic party and some of his own colleagues too.

He accused Democrats of hiding "the real Biden for years," saying Americans "saw people in the witness protection program more often than we saw unscripted President Biden."

He went on to paint an idyllic picture of the Trump administration. "Inflation has gotten so bad you can no longer bribe Democrat senators with cash alone, you have to use gold bars just so the bribes hold value," he said as the crowd cheered, referencing yesterday's guilty verdict in Sen. Bob Menendez's bribery trial.

Gaetz pledged that "swamp draining will recommence soon," and pledged to be Trump's strongest congressional ally in doing things like passing term limits and banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks. He called himself the only member of Congress who takes no lobbying or PAC money, telling the roaring crowd, "I work for you, not them."

Gaetz also praised Trump's choice of running mate, saying J.D. Vance "looks like a young Abraham Lincoln, but he's from Ohio, like General [Ulysses] Grant. And like General Grant, J.D. Vance knows how to fight."

Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas, who served as Trump's physician before getting elected to Congress, took to the podium tonight to make the case that the former president is fit to hold the job again.

Jackson, who was elected to the U.S. House in 2020, listed his credentials: He served in the U.S. Navy for 25 years, including as an emergency medicine doctor and combat physician in Iraq, before spending 14 years as a White House physician.

"But most importantly, I served as the appointed physician to the greatest president that this country has ever had, Donald J. Trump," he added. "And now I can say I served a president who literally took a bullet for our country."

He said Trump's will to keep fighting for the country, "even after getting shot down, will go down as an all-time moment in American history."

And he contrasted Trump's strength to that of Biden, saying he knows firsthand that being president is an "unrelenting, 24/7 job" that requires people to make clear decisions at a moment's notice. He said Biden is not up to the task.

"Let's not kid ourselves, Father Time has not been kind to Joe Biden," he said, adding that foreign adversaries won't "respect his 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule."

Jackson blamed Biden's staff and family for what he called a lack of compassion, and for not prioritizing his health and the country's security. He said Vice President Harris — mispronouncing her first name — is "as unfit in character as Joe Biden is in body and mind."

"There is simply too much at stake to have someone who can barely shuffle to a podium be the one that is responsible for the safety and security of our country," Jackson said.

He urged people to support Trump, whom he said will be respected by allies and feared by enemies.

Jackson returned to his role as doctor over the weekend, examining and dressing Trump's ear the day after he was shot at a rally.

“The bullet took a little bit off the top of his ear in an area that, just by nature, bleeds like crazy,” Jackson later told the New York Times. “The dressing’s bulked up a bit because you need a bit of absorbent. You don’t want to be walking around with bloody gauze on his ear.”

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AFP via Getty Images

As NPR's James Doubek explained last night, attendees in the Fiserv Forum for the RNC have been seen sporting fake ear patches in support of the former president.

Joe Neglia of Tempe, Ariz., told NPR's Sarah McCammon that he was wearing a "bandage" (actually appearing to be a piece of paper) in solidarity with Trump.

To applause and cheers lasting more than a full minute and echoed throughout the arena, former USTR Peter Navarro takes the stage and quips about the "MAGA tattoo" he got in the federal prison in Miami.

They also chanted the now-signature "Fight, Fight, Fight" that has arisen from this convention.

And soon after, boos resonated as Navarro name dropped "your favorite Democrat, Nancy Pelosi"

Navarro was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena for documents and testimony related to the January 6th Capitol attack. He was sentenced in January to four months in prison. Read more.

With the RNC taking place in Milwaukee this week, there's a big spotlight on Wisconsin. Not only is the state a critical swing state in the upcoming presidential election, Wisconsin has been influencing national policy for more than 100 years.

Among other things, Wisconsin was the first state to have unemployment insurance, institute an income tax and create public unions. It’s also the birthplace of McCarthyism and helped forge the anti-union movement of the 2010s.

Listen to WUWM’s podcast, Swing State of the Union, for a political history lesson.

A video feed of this evening's proceedings is starting shortly — you can find it at the top of this blog and at NPR.org.

And keep your eyes on that feed, because starting at 9 p.m. ET it will be dedicated to NPR's own coverage of the convention, featuring NPR's Sue Davis, Ron Elving, Mara Liasson, Danielle Kurtzleben, Liz Baker and Domenico Montanaro. They'll be offering news, analysis and fact-checks through the end of the night.

Here's how to follow along.