Donald Trump selects VP as delegates promise to 'fight, fight, fight': RNC Day 1 takeaways

MILWAUKEE - Donald Trump's recent brush with death sat top of mind for GOP delegates during Monday's opening of the 2024 GOP convention, some of whom said they noticed a different tone than what they anticipated as they descended on the battleground state of Wisconsin.

"It’s much more reflective, much more somber (and) much more about the character of the country," Larry Elder, a California delegate and former Republican presidential candidate, told USA TODAY.

The MAGA-fueled movement powering Trump's candidacy hasn't given up its red meat diet, however.

Various speakers who took the convention stage fed the base sharply worded conservative criticisms about border security, the economy and other culture war issues.

But those who assembled in the Fiserv Forum, home of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, said now is the time to push a larger message of unity, which they believe is becoming the chief theme of this year's presidential election.

Here are the important moments from the first day of the RNC convention.

And the VP is...

The most anticipated moment Monday was Trump picking Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, as his running mate.

Vance is one of Trump's staunchest defenders and an asset to rank-and-file conservatives who think of him as one of the better MAGA messengers, especially with Rust Belt voters.

"I like the fact that he is younger, because we have to be thinking for the future and ahead," said Nino Kapitula, 35, a delegate from Washington State.

That plain spoken delivery and rags-to-riches narrative - a theme of Vance's 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" - was part of what got him on the ticket that was formally nominated during a state-by-state roll call.

Trump said Vance's focus on the campaign trail will be on American workers and farmers in swing states such as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. When he came to the convention floor, joined by his wife Usha Vance, it was to Merle Haggard's "America First."

But for Republicans blaming Saturday's assassination attempt in part on Democratic rhetoric and media coverage, it will be telling how they reconcile their soon-to-be vice presidential nominee's previous comments.

Vance, for instance, has compared Trump to an opioid and Hitler until that tune began to change ahead of the 2022 midterms.

'Fight! Fight! Fight!'

At the convention's start, the GOP faithful let it be known that they're inspired by Trump's iconic moment on Saturday.

After finishing a prayer, the pledge and a rendition of "God Bless America" the delegates raised their fists and immediately began chanting: "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

That was the same gesture and call a bloodied Trump made immediately after being grazed by gunfire while still surrounded by Secret Service agents.

The crowd erupted with that chant again Monday evening when Trump, brandishing a large bandage over his right ear, appeared on the convention floor for the first time since the shooting.

Steve Holck, a delegate from Hawaii, said that was a "powerful" moment which has galvanized Republicans.

"It's a somber feeling," he said. "We're really upset that he got injured this way, but we're glad that he's OK."

Speakers exalt Trump as being protected by God

Speaker after speaker used their moment on the convention stage Monday to uplift Trump, often in Biblical terms, while blasting Biden as a feeble president.

"Bad guys shot at us both, and missed," Rep. John James, R-Mich., an Army veteran who served in Iraq, said about Trump.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., a former 2024 presidential contender, described the shooting as the devil "holding a rifle." But like "an American lion," the former president survived and stood up, he said.

"If you didn't believe in miracles before Saturday, you gotta be believing right now," said Scott, who was considered by Trump for the VP position that ultimately went to Vance.

Perhaps telegraphing a shift in messaging, two of the GOP's more controversial figures - Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is running for governor this November - avoided much of their usual bluster.

Republicans pounce Biden, spotlight inflation hangover

President Joe Biden wasn't spared as Republicans used the first night of their convention to further call attention to lingering fatigue about economic setbacks that Americans have faced over the past three years.

Even though the U.S. is experiencing record low unemployment rate and booming Stock Market success, while also stiff-arming a recession, voters still aren't feeling good about the state of things.

An exclusive USA Today/Suffolk University Poll earlier this month found Americans believe Trump would do a better handling the economy than Biden, by a 54% to 40% margin.

Knowing this, GOP officials are trying to connect the dots of voter's woes about their pocketbooks to the president's most persistent issue: age.

"Our prosperity, our security... each diminished, all in decline," Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said. "Just like the man in the Oval Office"

Trump meets with RFK Jr. amid assassination worries

Leading up to the convention's start, Trump spoke with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the independent presidential candidates who has been hard for either party to ignore in this election cycle.

The Kennedy campaign said they discussed "national unity," but that the meeting shouldn't be looked at as a sign that RFK, Jr. is dropping out of the race.

"He is the only pro-environment, pro-choice, anti-war candidate who beats Donald Trump in head-to-head polls," Kennedy campaign spokeswoman Stefanie Spear said.

The Biden administration announced Monday that Kennedy, whose team for months has asked for protection, will receive a Secret Service detail.

Kennedy's father, Robert F. Kennedy, and uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, were both victims of assassinations that rocked the nation more than 50 years ago.

Contributing: Sarah D. Wire.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump shooting casts somber tone over RNC opening day: 5 takeaways