RNC 2024 live updates: Trump returns for 2nd night as friends and old foes whip crowd into frenzy

Donald Trump made another appearance at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday amid high-profile speeches on the event’s second night.

Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are set to take the stage at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin convention this evening. Vivek Ramaswamy also spoke, giving an energetic speech in support of the former president.

Trump also appeared at the convention on Monday night, arriving with a bandaged ear. He was met with deafening cheers from the crowd and chants of “USA.”

He did not speak, as he is due to give the event’s keynote address on Thursday.

Trump formally clinched his party’s nomination for the presidency on Monday, just minutes after he had announced he would had chosen Ohio Senator JD Vance, 39, as his 2024 running mate.

“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator JD Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Vance, a military veteran, venture capitalist and author, beat Florida Senator Marco Rubio and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to the honour.

Key Points

• Trump officially clinches Republican nomination for presidential election

• Nominee makes surprise appearance at RNC with bandaged ear after surviving assassination attempt

• Former president names JD Vance as his running mate

• Biden criticises Ohio Senator as ‘a clone of Trump’

• Watch: Highlights from Day One of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

• Democrats slam JD Vance pick and Project 2025 in return to campaign on second day of RNC

Capitol Police stop armed 21-year-old suspect wearing ski mask outside of RNC security perimeter: report

04:09 , John Bowden

Three days after Donald Trump came within inches of being gravely wounded or killed in what authorities called an assassination attempt, another scary scene was abruptly averted by members of US Capitol Police at the Republican National Convention.

On Tuesday evening, thousands of RNC delegates, staff, and other Republicans poured into the Fiserv Center in Milwaukee for day two of the the GOP nominating contest. While Trump himself as well as his newly-named running mate JD Vance were inside, police officers encountered a man with a ski mask and a gun outside, according to reports.

A 21-year-old man is in custody and awaiting charges Tuesday evening after Milwaukee police said he was stopped by Capitol police officers on a street outside of the RNC security perimeter, which extends for several blocks around the convention center.

Read more:

Capitol Police stop armed 21-year-old wearing ski mask outside of RNC: report

Lara Trump closes out second night of RNC by reflecting on assassination attempt

04:01 , Katie Hawkinson

Lara Trump closed out the second day of the RNC by speaking about the assassination attempt against her father-in-law.

“Nothing prepares you for a moment like that,” Lara Trump said. “Our family had faced our fair share of death threats, mysterious powders sent to our homes, tasteless and violent comments directed towards us on social media.”

“But none of that prepares you as a daughter-in-law to watch in real time someone try to kill a person you love,” she continued.

“None of that prepares you as a mother to quickly reach for the remote and turn your young children away from the screen so that they’re not witness to something that scars the memory of their grandpa for the rest of their lives.”

Donald Trump made another appearance at the RNC this evening, still wearing a bandage on his ear after Thomas Matthew Crooks shot him on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Ex GOP leader says US hasn’t seen an assassination attempt since the 60s (apparently forgetting the 1981 try on Reagan)

04:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Former GOP leader Kevin McCarthy incorrectly claimed there had not been an assassination attempt on a president since the 1960s as he spoke at the Republican National Convention.

The former Speaker of the House was discussing the attempted assassination against Donald Trump when as he spoke to reporters at the RNC when he made the blunder.

“We just had an assassination attempt, we haven’t seen something like this on a president since the ‘60s,” McCarthy told reporters at the RNC on Tuesday.

Read more:

McCarthy forgets Reagan assassination attempt saying the US hasn’t had one since 60s

Nikki Haley talks ‘unity’ as she strongly backs Trump during RNC despite primary barbs

03:46 , John Bowden

As her onetime opponent looked on, Nikki Haley took to the stage on Tuesday and declared that a man she said was mentally diminished and unqualified for elected office should be her party’s nominee for president.

It was a moment that would have been galling anywhere but the modern Republican Party, and that’s exactly who Haley addressed onstage in Milwaukee as she made clear that she sees a political future in a MAGA-fied GOP.

Read on:

Nikki Haley talks ‘unity’ as she strongly backs Trump during RNC

Trump back at the RNC for the second night with ear still bandaged from assassination attempt

03:45 , Mike Bedigan

Donald Trump made his second appearance in two days at the Republican National Convention Tuesday, just days after he survived an attempted assassination during a campaign rally.

The former president walked into the Fiserv Forum with a white bandage still covering his right ear, after he was clipped by a bullet fired by a gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle on Saturday.

He was once again greated with cacophonous applause as he entered the convention hall just after 9pm local time, with supporters in the crowd at the convention hall mimicking the dance moves he has been known to bust out at campaign rallies.

Read on:

Trump back at the RNC for the second night with ear still bandaged

Watch: Nikki Haley says Trump asked her to speak on 'unity' at RNC

03:30 , Katie Hawkinson

Brother of woman murdered in Maryland speaks at RNC

03:23 , Katie Hawkinson

Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five who was killed on a Maryland hiking trail, was honored by her brother at the RNC on Tuesday.

“Last year, we lost my beloved sister, Rachel,” Michael Morin told RNC attendees. “She went for a walk in one of our family’s favorite places. This beautiful trail was to us, a safe place where we pushed our babies in strollers, where we walked together as a family, where my wife and I got married, near what would later become the spot where my sister’s body was found.”

Police arrested Victor Martinez Hernandez as a suspect nearly a year after Rachel Morin’s murder. Police said Hernandez, who is from El Salvador, had been living in the US illegally since February 2023.

“My sister’s death was preventable,” Michael Morin said.

Michael Morin said he did not hear from Joe Biden or Kamala Harris after his sister’s death, but he did receive a phone call from Donald Trump.

“I pray that we hold worldly leaders accountable for safety and justice for innocent people,” Michael Morin said. “I pray that we make our country safe and secure in the memory of my sister, Rachel, who loved life.”

Jim Justice’s Babydog steals show on second night of Republican convention

03:15 , Andrew Feinberg

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice hadn’t finished the first sentence of his remarks at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday when the crowd at the FiServ forum drowned him out by chanting a single word, over and over again.

“Babydog, Babydog, Babydog.”

The attendees at the GOP’s confab was demanding the presence of an unlikely political icon, Justice’s ubiquitous English bulldog.

Read more:

Jim Justice’s Babydog steals show on second night of Republican convention

Ted Cruz gives rampantly anti-immigrant speech

03:00 , Eric Garcia

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas delivered a rampantly anti-immigrant speech on the second night of the Republican National Convention.

Cruz, who is up for re-election in his home state. But he started his speech praising the person who insulted his wife and implied that his father helped kill John F. Kennedy. He then pivoted to talking about immigration to touch on the GOP theme of “Make America Safe Again” despite the fact that the FBI has said that crime is on the decline.

Specifically, he spoke about immigrants who migrated to the United States illegally commiting crimes against Americans, specifically women.

“Every day, Americans are dying, murdered, assault, raped by illegal immigrants the Democrats have released,” he said. “And it is happening every d*** day.”

Cruz then proceeded to speak about women who have been killed by undocumented immigrants and repeated the line “every d*** day.”

Cruz talked about the the fact that the US-Mexico border is being invaded.

“We are facing an invasion on our southern border,” he said. “Not figuratively, a literal invasion.”

Cruz also said Democrats did so for political reasons.

“It happened because Democrats cynically decided they wanted votes from illegals than they wanted to protect our children,” he said.

Cruz, like many Texas Republicans, has sought to make his re-election about immigration despite his hardline views on everything from taxes to immigration. Texas’s Governor Greg Abbott overwhelmingly won re-election in 2022 against Cruz’s 2018 Senate opponent Beto O’Rourke by focusing heavily on immigration.

Abbott has sent scores of undocumented immigrants to cities like New York City.

Ron DeSantis, former foe of Donald Trump, takes the stage

02:44 , Katie Hawkinson

Ron DeSantis — the Florida governor whom Donald Trump’s campaign once mocked for reportedly eating pudding with his fingers — spoke in support of the Trump-Vance ticket on Tuesday night.

The campaign ad aired during DeSantis’ bid for president. The Florida governor dropped out of the race in January.

“Donald Trump has been demonized, he’s been sued, he’s been prosecuted and he nearly lost his life,” DeSantis told RNC attendees on Tuesday. “We cannot let America down.”

Nikki Haley says she and Trump ‘agree more than we disagree'

02:35 , Katie Hawkinson

Nikki Haley, the former presidential candidate who dropped out of the race in March, took the stage to support Donald Trump.

“You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him,” the former ambassador said. “Take it from me, I haven’t always agreed with President Trump, but we agree more often than we disagree.”

Haley formerly ran on an anti-Trump platform but had vowed to support the ultimate GOP nominee.

Rudy Giuliani takes a fall and tumbles into chairs while walking RNC floor

02:30 , Katie Hawkinson

Rudy Giuliani took a tumble while walking through the Fiserv Forum, where the Republican National Convention is taking place.

Giuliani was walking up an aisle in the main convention hall when he suddenly fell sideways into a row of chairs before falling onto the floor, video on social media showed. Passersby stopped to help the 80-year-old stand up and continue down the aisle.

He was helped back up and seemed no worse for wear - except maybe for some slight embarrassment.

Read on:

Rudy Giuliani takes a fall and tumbles into chairs while walking RNC floor

Trump makes second appearance at RNC

02:05 , Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump has made his second appearance at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday evening.

The former president was met with a standing ovation as he walked to stand next to his running mate, JD Vance, in the venue’s family box.

Last night, when he appeared following the assassination attempt against him on Saturday, he was met with roaring cheers and chants of “USA.”

Reality star discusses parents’ convictions at RNC

01:59 , Katie Hawkinson

Reality TV star Savannah Chrisley appeared at the RNC this evening to discuss her parents’ convictions.

Chrisley is known for the show “Chirlsey Knows Best,” which ran from 2014 to 2023. Her parents, Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley, are being held in prison on fraud charges.

The media personality claimed the prosecutor in their case discriminated against them because of their “public profile.”

“I’ll never forget what the prosecutor said in the most heavily Democrat county in the state before an Obama-appointed judge: He called us the Trumps of the South,” Chrisley said.

“I wear it as a badge of honor,” she continued.

Ramaswamy makes an appeal to Black voters

01:41 , Eric Garcia

Vivek Ramaswamy, former presidential candidate, appealed to Black voters in his RNC speech.

“Our message to black Americans is this: The media has tried to convince you for decades that Republicans don’t care about their communities, but we do,” he said. “We want for you what we wanted for every American, safe neighborhoods. clean neighborhoods, clean streets.”

He also sought to create a parallel between Trump’s convictions and the two-tiered justice system that Black Americans face, saying they deserve, “a justice system that treats everyone equally, regardless of your skin color and regardless of your political beliefs.”

GOP leader falsely claims Biden wants people who are not citizens to vote

01:35 , Katie Hawkinson

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise claimed President Joe Biden and his administration want to allow people who are not US citizens to vote in American elections.

“Biden and Harris want illegals to vote now that they’ve opened up the border,” Scalise said on the RNC stage.

The Biden administration has not advocated for people who are not citizens to vote in US elections.

Reuters recently reported that Biden’s new immigration policy, released on June 18, has been mischaracterized online as allowing undocumented immigrants to vote.

The policy, instead, helps ease the process for some people who are married to US citizens to obtain “lawful permanent residence.” This status does not allow someone to vote in elections, Reuters reports.

Democrat-turned-Republican representative calls for unity at RNC

01:13 , Katie Hawkinson

Representative Jefferson Van Drew of New Jersey, a former Democrat who switched parties in 2020, called for unity across parties at the RNC.

“After the tragic shooting last Saturday, we need to come together, all of us, Republicans, Democrats and Independents,” Van Drew said. “We need to be the shining city on the hill, a nation that empowers us to do extraordinary things. We will conquer new challenges. We will reach new heights, and we will blaze new trails of greatness. We will make America great again.”

Arizona Senate candidate speaks on immigration at RNC

Wednesday 17 July 2024 00:54 , Katie Hawkinson

Kari Lake, a Senate candidate from Arizona, claimed that Democratic lawmakers have “handed over control” of Arizona to “drug cartels” at the Republican National Convention.

“[Ruben] Gallego and the Democrats have handed over control of my state, Arizona’s border, to the drug cartels, and because of them, criminals and deadly drugs are pouring in and our children are dying,” Lake said on Tuesday night.

“Our children are getting their hands on these drugs and dying...we are losing a generation of young people to this fentanyl crisis, and it’s got to stop,” she continued.

Lake’s claims echo much of the rhetoric used to describe immigration at the RNC this week.

Last night, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed the Democrats “ripped open our borders and allowed millions of illegal aliens to pour in, driving up the cost of housing and health care while slashing American wages and eliminating jobs.”

Greene also repeated a baseless claim that only “illegal aliens” have found success in the US under Joe Biden’s administration.

In-memoriam section of RNC featured long-time Democrat

Wednesday 17 July 2024 00:45 , Andrew Feinberg

West Virginia’s Babydog Justice takes the stage

Wednesday 17 July 2024 00:37 , Katie Hawkinson

West Virginia governor Jim Justice brought his pet dog, Babydog Justice, to the RNC stage this evening.

“Now, as the world watches, you didn’t really expect that, did you? With that being said, let me say just this: She makes us smile, and she loves everybody,” Justice said of his dog. “And how could a message be any more simpler than just that?”

Babydog is a local celebrity in the Mountain State. The pooch has appeared in government campaigns and was featured in an official mural about the state’s history.

Learn more about the dog-turned-political-icon from Holly Baxter:

Babydog Justice appears on RNC speaker schedule, in surprise twist

RNC speaker appears to call the vice president ‘Carmella’

Wednesday 17 July 2024 00:15 , Katie Hawkinson

Perry Johnson, a businessman and speaker at the Republican National Convention, appeared to call Vice President Kamala Harris by a name that sounds like “Carmella.”

“Joe, Carmella and Gretchen [Whitmer], I have a message for you: Michigan is the state that gave Donald Trump the win in 2016, and Michigan will be the state that sends President Trump back to the White House in ’24,” Johnson said on stage at the RNC.

Tonight’s speakers will also include a line-up of GOP candidates for Senate, Florida governor Ron DeSantis and former presidential candidate Nikki Haley.

Lara Trump says her father-in-law will likely return to Butler, Pennsylvania

Wednesday 17 July 2024 00:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump will likely return to Butler, Pennsylvania following the assassination attempt against him at a rally in the town on Saturday, his daughter-in-law Lara Trump said.

“I can tell you there’s no one who wants to get back out to a rally more than Donald Trump himself,” Lara Trump said at a Bloomberg roundtable on Tuesday. “And I can almost guess that you would probably choose to go back to Butler, Pennsylvania, because that’s how he operates.”

Lara Trump is expected to speak this evening alongside several other GOP figureheads, including Florida governor Ron DeSantis and former presidential candidate Nikki Haley.

Trump may arrive at RNC for second night: report

Tuesday 16 July 2024 23:45 , Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump is expected to make a second appearance at the Republican National Convention later this evening, CNN reports.

This comes after he made a surprise appearance on Monday night, entering the venue with a bandaged ear. He was met with roaring cheers and chants of “USA” from the audience as he paraded through the crowd.

What to expect tonight at the RNC

Tuesday 16 July 2024 23:30 , Katie Hawkinson

The convention’s Tuesday evening programming is set to begin at 6 pm CT / 7 pm ET.

The programming will kick off with a Senate candidate hour, before a half-hour program from House leadership.

Afterward, several major names are set to take the stage, including former ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

Lara Trump, daughter-in-law to the former president and co-chair of the RNC, is scheduled to end the night.

JD Vance’s campaign website redirects to Trump’s

Tuesday 16 July 2024 23:15 , Katie Hawkinson

JD Vance’s campaign website now redirects to Donald Trump’s own campaign homepage.

This change comes after Trump announced the Ohio senator as his running mate on Monday afternoon.

As of last night, users could still access his site, according to web archive records.

Watch live: Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis speak at Republican National Convention

Tuesday 16 July 2024 23:06 , Katie Hawkinson

Watch live: Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis speak at Republican National Convention

Katie Britt mercilessly mocked for RNC speech after viral SOTU rebuttal: ‘Serial killer vibes’

Tuesday 16 July 2024 23:00 , Rachel Sharp

Republican Senator Katie Britt has been mercilessly mocked online for her speech at the Republican National Convention, which brought back memories of her viral State of the Union rebuttal.

The GOP senator took to the stage at the RNC on Monday, where Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick was unveiled as JD Vance and the former president made his first public appearance since surviving an assassination attempt over the weekend.

In the speech, Britt hit out at President Joe Biden saying that both he and the nation are “in decline” while Trump is the “change we need” this election.

Read more:

Katie Britt mocked for RNC speech after viral SOTU rebuttal: ‘Serial killer vibes’

Boris Johnson, Donald Trump pictured at RNC

Tuesday 16 July 2024 22:45 , Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump and former UK prime minister Boris Johnson were pictured together at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.

“Great to meet President Trump who is on top form after the shameful attempt on his life,” Johnson posted on X. “We discussed Ukraine and I have no doubt that he will be strong and decisive in supporting that country and defending democracy.”

Former prime minister Liz Truss is also attending the convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Out-of-town cop working RNC fatally shoots Black man ‘with a knife’ one mile from convention arena

Tuesday 16 July 2024 22:30 , Mike Bedigan

A man has been shot and killed near the Republican National Convention by an officer pulled in from out of state to work security for the event.

According to local media, the individual had reportedly brandished a knife near police before being shot and killed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.

Milwaukee law enforcement later confirmed that the incident had involved members of police from Columbus, Ohio. No officers had been injured, a statement from FOP Lodge 9 said. Columbus police confirmed the incident and said it did not appear to be connected to the convention. Columbus police referred questions to Milwaukee officials.

Read on:

Out-of-town cop working RNC fatally shoots man ‘with a knife’ a mile from convention

Officers fatally shoot person near RNC

Tuesday 16 July 2024 22:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Police officers from Columbus, Ohio shot and killed a person a mile outside the RNC venue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Tuesday afternoon, local outlet WISN reports.

Local law enforcement and Secret Service agents are on the scene, according to WISN. While police have not confirmed the details, witnesses told the outlet two men were fighting in a park when one pulled out a knife. The witnesses said officers then shot multiple times at the man, WISN reports.

Meanwhile, at least five people have been arrested at or near the convention since Sunday. Security measures have been heightened in light of the assassination attempt against Donald Trump at his Butler, Pennsylvania rally on Saturday.

JD Vance: Climate activists alarmed by Trump’s ‘dangerous’ pick for vice president

Tuesday 16 July 2024 21:49 , Stuti Mishra

Campaigners are responding with alarm to the selection of climate denier and Ohio senator JD Vance as Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee, with activists warning he represents a “dangerous” voice for the US.

Mr Vance, a staunch supporter of the oil and gas industry and an opponent of renewable energy, was announced as Mr Trump’s vice-presidential candidate on Monday.

Despite previously acknowledging the climate crisis, Mr Vance now strongly supports the fossil fuel industry, a major financial contributor to his campaign.

Read on:

JD Vance: Climate activists alarmed by Trump’s ‘dangerous’ pick for vice president

‘It’s over!’ Progressives fear Trump’s assassination attempt will win him the presidency

Tuesday 16 July 2024 21:15 , Richard Hall

Hasan Piker, a popular progressive streamer with millions of followers, was broadcasting live on Twitch on Saturday when his viewers alerted him to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

As he repeatedly watched clips of the former president being led away by Secret Service agents, he declared the election was as good as done.

“He’s still throwing up fists as they’re putting him in the f****ing car bro,” he said through a grimace. “Stop! Every fist is another 10,000 in a f***ing red state.”

“It’s over!” he said of the upcoming election.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, many progressives experienced the same feeling.

Read on:

Progressives fear Trump’s assassination attempt will win him the presidency

Watch live: Biden returns to campaign trail with speech to NAACP in Nevada

Tuesday 16 July 2024 21:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Watch live: Biden returns to campaign trail with speech to NAACP in Nevada

Former sniper Rep. Cory Mills raises questions about Trump assassination attempt

Tuesday 16 July 2024 20:45 , Lucy Leeson

Former sniper Rep. Cory Mills raises questions about Trump assassination attempt

Inside the unlikely romance of JD Vance and wife Usha Chilukuri Vance, from Yale Law to a Kentucky wedding

Tuesday 16 July 2024 20:30 , Sheila Flynn

They were paired as writing partners for their first major assignment at Yale Law School – a striking high-achiever daughter of immigrants and a Marine veteran “hillbilly” who could trace his family’s Scots-Irish roots back generations in the Appalachian mountains.

It may sound trite and corny, but Usha Chilukuri and JD Vance truly came from vastly different worlds. And they fell in love in yet another – at an East Coast Ivy League across the country from Usha’s childhood California home and across a gaping cultural divide from her future husband’s Rust Belt hometown.

Read more:

Inside the unlikely romance of JD Vance and wife Usha Chilukuri Vance

Babydog Justice is the RNC speaker you didn’t expect

Tuesday 16 July 2024 20:18 , Katie Hawkinson

An unexpected speaker has appeared on the schedule for tonight: Babydog Justice, the English bulldog who belongs to West Virginia governor Justice.

Holly Baxter writes about how the conservative canine isn’t without her own controversies:

Babydog Justice appears on RNC speaker schedule, in surprise twist

Profile: Usha Chilukuri Vance — Who is the wife of Trump’s running mate?

Tuesday 16 July 2024 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Many will now be acquainted with JD Vance’s journey from the US Marine Corps to Capitol Hill by way of Ohio State University, Yale Law School and a stint in San Francisco as a venture capitalist with Mithril Capital Management, a firm co-founded by the billionaire Peter Thiel.

Perhaps less well-known is the story of Vance’s wife Usha Chilukuri Vance.

A former Democrat, she joined her husband at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Monday as he was unveiled as Trump’s prospective second vice president.

Joe Sommerlad takes a look at the story of the woman who could one day be the second lady.

Who is JD Vance’s wife Usha Chilukuri Vance?

Comment: Trump’s latest move could prove to be a devastating blow for Ukraine

Tuesday 16 July 2024 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Mary Dejevsky writes:

When Donald Trump announced his choice for vice president on the first day of the Republican Party’s convention, the name – JD Vance – drew only mild surprise. The 39-year-old junior senator for Ohio was known to have been on the shortlist, and attention switched back almost at once to the main drama – the transformed dynamics of the presidential race as a result of the failed attempt on Trump’s life.

But there was an exception to the general equanimity over the nomination of Vance. In much of Eastern Europe, but most of all in Ukraine, Trump’s choice would be unwelcome in the extreme.

Continue reading...

Trump’s latest move could prove to be a devastating blow for Ukraine

Tuesday 16 July 2024 19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Watch: Donald Trump describes what bullet felt like to RFK Jr in leaked phone call

Tuesday 16 July 2024 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

JD Vance responds to past criticism of Trump

MTG attacks transgender people and ‘illegal aliens’

Tuesday 16 July 2024 18:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene complained about the southern border and the acknowledgment of transgender people during her speech on the opening night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

After reflecting on Donald Trump’s attempted assassination, Greene launched into a checklist of far-right talking points, using anti-trans rhetoric.

Graig Graziosi reports.

MTG rips into transgender people and ‘illegal aliens’ during RNC speech

Democrats slam JD Vance pick and Project 2025 after returning to campaign on second day of RNC

Tuesday 16 July 2024 18:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Andrew Feinberg reports from Milwaukee:

Days after a gunman came within inches of assassinating former president Donald Trump, Democrats are ditching the temporary pause in campaigning that they instituted after the Saturday shooting.

The party is now going all-in on plans to highlight what spokespeople describe as the extreme proposals favored by the ex-president and his allies.

At a press conference in Milwaukee, just a short walk from where Republicans officially nominated the twice-impeached convicted felon as their party’s standard-bearer for the third consecutive election, President Joe Biden’s deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks told reporters the attempt on Trump’s life wasn’t changing how they are going after the former president and his new running-mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance.

Continue reading...

Democrats slam JD Vance pick and Project 2025 during second day of RNC

Premium: I’m from the same place as JD Vance and there’s nothing to celebrate now that he’s Trump’s VP

Tuesday 16 July 2024 18:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Skylar Baker-Jordan is a regular contributor to The Independent.

JD Vance has become Trump’s VP and America feels more dangerous than ever

DNC issues response to today’s ‘Make America Safe Once Again’ theme at the RNC

Tuesday 16 July 2024 18:15 , Oliver O'Connell

DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement regarding today’s Republican National Convention theme — “Make America Safe Once Again”.

Convicted felon Donald Trump represents nothing more than empty words and broken promises when it comes to creating safer communities and securing our border.

The facts speak for themselves: Donald Trump doesn’t care about making America safer – he cares about what helps him politically. He oversaw a murder rate that skyrocketed by nearly 30 percent in a single year, repeatedly proposed defunding law enforcement, and he shamelessly ordered congressional Republicans to tank the toughest, fairest bill to secure the border in decades for his own political gain. Every single congressional Republican voted against President Biden’s funding for more police officers in the ARP. Trump is even promising to pardon violent insurrectionists who stormed our Capitol and attacked law enforcement. Put simply, Trump’s extreme and out-of-touch Project 2025 agenda will leave the American people less safe.

Under President Biden, violent crime has plummeted, as his administration has boosted law enforcement, taken action to improve border security, and delivered the most significant federal bipartisan gun safety legislation in decades. That’s the type of decisive action and leadership the American people demand from their president.

‘Serial killer vibes’: Katie Britt mercilessly mocked for RNC speech after viral SOTU rebuttal

Tuesday 16 July 2024 18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican Senator Katie Britt has been mercilessly mocked online for her speech at the Republican National Convention, which brought back memories of her viral State of the Union rebuttal.

Rather than the content of her speech, it was Britt’s delivery that got social media users talking once again, with many likening it to her “breathy,” intense rebuttal at the State of the Union.

Rachel Sharp has the story.

Katie Britt mocked for RNC speech after viral SOTU rebuttal: ‘Serial killer vibes’

Tuesday 16 July 2024 17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Who said it — Trump or Biden? We ask attendees at the RNC

DNC announces more than $15m in direct investments to battleground state parties

Tuesday 16 July 2024 17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

With the Republican National Convention underway in Milwaukee this week, the Democratic National Committee has announced $15m in direct expenditures to battleground state parties – helping fund campaign ground game and infrastructure.

These investments will help allow the Democratic campaign to open more field offices and hire more staffers.

So far, the campaign has 217 field offices across battleground states and employs more than 1,100 staffers with four months still to go before the election.

“As the RNC showcases the extreme Project 2025 agenda of the Trump-Vance ticket, the DNC is focused on reaching voters in battleground states ... Trump’s extreme agenda makes this the most consequential election of our lifetime. That’s why Democrats are leaving nothing to chance, investing heavily on the ground to ensure Joe Biden and Kamala Harris win this election,“ said Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison.

“This election is going to come down to operation and turnout in the battleground states, and that's why we've made the largest-ever investment into battleground state parties at this point in the cycle. We’re going to win this election by engaging voters community-by-community, block-by-block, door-by-door. These investments show that commitment in action.”

Coming up on Day Two of the Republican National Convention

Tuesday 16 July 2024 17:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Here is the full schedule of speakers for day two of the convention.

6:08PM – 6:55PM – SENATE CANDIDATE HOUR

• Kari Lake (AZ)

• Eric Hovde (WI)

• Bernie Moreno (OH)

• Mike Rogers (MI)

• Dave McCormick (PA)

• Jim Banks (IN)

• Governor Jim Justice (WV)

• Sam Brown (NV)

• Tim Sheehy (MT)

• Hung Cao (VA)

• Senator Rick Scott (FL)

7:07PM – 7:27PM – HOUSE LEADERSHIP

• Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY-21), House Republican Conference Chair

• Rep. Tom Emmer (MN-6), House Majority Whip

• Rep. Steve Scalise (LA-1), House Majority Leader

• Speaker Mike Johnson

7:33PM – Vivek Ramaswamy

7:48PM – Savannah Chrisley, Reality TV Star

8:03PM – VIDEO

8:09 PM – Randy Sutton - Founder & Chairman, Board of Wounded Blue & Retired Law Enforcement Officer

8:18 PM – Nikki Haley, Former Ambassador to the United Nations

8:24 PM – Governor Ron DeSantis (FL)

8:43 PM – Michael Coyle

8:46 PM – VIDEO

8:50 PM – Erin Koper

9:04 PM – Anne Fundner

9:07 PM – The Morin Family

9:11 PM – Madaline Brame

9:14 PM – Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (AR)

9:20 PM – Dr. Ben Carson, 17th U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

9:33 PM – Senator Marco Rubio (FL)

9:39 PM – Lara Trump

Schiff warns of overwhelming losses for Democrats with Biden on top of ticket, report says

Tuesday 16 July 2024 17:15 , Oliver O'Connell

California Democrat Rep Adam Schiff — who is running for the state’s vacant Senate seat — warned donors in the Hamptons on Saturday of a wipeout for the party if President Joe Biden remains in the race as the nominee at the top of the ticket, The New York Times reports.

Citing two sources with direct knowledge of Schiff’s remarks, the outlet reports the congressman as saying not only would the party lose the White House, but most likely the Senate and any opportunity to take back the House of Representatives.

“I think if he is our nominee, I think we lose,” Schiff at the fundraiser, a person with access to a transcription of a recording of the event told the Times. “And we may very, very well lose the Senate and lose our chance to take back the House.”

There are private concerns within the Democratic Party about the prospects for down-ballot candidates if Biden remains in the race, but few are voicing their fears in public. There had been a small but growing number of people calling for him to step aside but that has dropped off in the days since the attempt on the life of Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Biden insists he will remain the party’s nominee.

Comment: Trump’s running mate JD Vance has insulted the UK with his racist ignorance

Tuesday 16 July 2024 17:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi writes:

Let’s start with the basics. The UK and the US have a special relationship. They are our most important ally in the world, and they should be our most trusted ally. And that means that when we agree, we do so very publicly, and when we disagree, we do so behind closed doors. Every aspect of our relationship – from our intelligence sharing to our military cooperation, from our political ties to our diplomatic work – should be done in an environment of mutual respect.

What Donald Trump’s appointment of JD Vance as his running mate for vice-president has done is put that special relationship at risk.

Continue reading...

Trump’s running mate JD Vance has insulted the UK with his racist ignorance

Nikki Haley expected to speak later today

Tuesday 16 July 2024 16:45 , AP

Nikki Haley, Trump’s former primary rival, was a last-minute addition to the schedule.

The former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor waited two months after dropping out in March to say she would vote for him. Then last week, she announced she would instruct her convention delegates to vote for Trump but wasn’t planning to attend the convention.

It wasn’t until Sunday — hours after the shooting — that her office reversed itself and said she would speak.

In focus: What Hillbilly Elegy can tell us about JD Vance and his right-wing beliefs

Tuesday 16 July 2024 16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Nick Hilton looks back on what the politician argued in the book, from his criticisms of welfare to his belief that the working classes ‘spend our way into the poorhouse’.

What Hillbilly Elegy can tell us about JD Vance and his right-wing beliefs

JD Vance says UK an ‘Islamist country’ in bizarre nuclear weapons comment

Tuesday 16 July 2024 16:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s choice for vice president described the UK as an “Islamist country” with nuclear weapons during a speech at a right-wing conference last week.

Recounting a conversation he was having with a friend, the 39-year-old said he had been wondering which “truly Islamist country” would be the first to gain access to nuclear weapons.

Tom Watling and Archie Mitchell report on the truly bizarre comment.

Trump’s vice president pick JD Vance says UK an ‘Islamist country’

Watch: Trump describes bullet as ‘world largest mosquito’ in leak of call with RFK Jr

Tuesday 16 July 2024 15:57 , Oliver O'Connell

In a leaked video of Donald Trump’s call with Robert F Kennedy Jr, the former president describes the bullet that grazed his ear as being like “the world’s largest mosquito”.

RFK Jr has since apologized for the leak, posting on X: “When President Trump called me I was taping with an in-house videographer. I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately. I am mortified that this was posted. I apologize to the president.”

Photo shows former British PM Boris Johnson speaking to almost empty room at RNC

Tuesday 16 July 2024 15:47 , Oliver O'Connell

Oh dear.

Humiliating photos obtained by The Mirror show the former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressing rows of unfilled seats in a hotel ballroom in Milwaukee.

The ex-PM appeared on a panel about the UK and US elections alongside Kellyanne Conway, former White House adviser to Donald Trump.

Flanked by UK and US flags, the two sat before a backdrop promoting the Vapor Technology Association, a US lobbying group for vapes.

JD Vance called out for spreading ‘incendiary conspiracy theories and lies’ about Trump shooting

Tuesday 16 July 2024 15:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Seth Meyers has called out Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance and other “opportunistic purveyors of paranoia, suspicion and fear” for spreading “conspiracy theories and lies” about the assassination attempt on the former president.

“You should be ashamed,” the late-night host said on his show on Monday night.

Lilith Foster-Collins reports.

Seth Meyers slams JD Vance for ‘conspiracy theories and lies’ about Trump shooting

Don Jr gets into testy exchange with MSNBC reporter at RNC: ‘Just get out of here’

Tuesday 16 July 2024 15:00 , Joe Sommerlad

The former president’s son got into a beef with “MSDNC” reporter Jacob Soboroff on the convention floor yesterday as soon as the latter started asking about immigration policy.

Amelia Neath has the details.

Don Jr gets into testy exchange with MSNBC reporter at RNC: ‘Just get out of here’

Climate activists alarmed by Trump’s ‘dangerous’ pick for vice president

Tuesday 16 July 2024 14:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s Stuti Mishra on why environmentalists are rather less keen on the Vance news.

JD Vance: Climate activists alarmed by Trump’s ‘dangerous’ pick for vice president

Harris congratulates Vance on being Trump’s running mate

Tuesday 16 July 2024 14:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Kamala Harris has called Trump’s new running mate to congratulate him on being selected and to challenge him to a debate this summer.

A Biden campaign official said on Monday that the vice president had left Vance a voicemail message expressing “her hope that the two can meet in the vice presidential debate proposed by CBS News.”

Io Dodds has more.

Kamala Harris congratulates JD Vance on Trump VP pick – and challenges him to debate

Kanye West’s ex Amber Rose claims media ‘lied about Trump’ as she takes to stage at RNC

Tuesday 16 July 2024 13:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Model and TV personality Amber Rose claimed that the media “lied to us” about Trump as she took to the stage at the RNC to endorse the former president and reveal how she has shifted her support to his camp.

“I’m here tonight to tell you, no matter your political background, that the best chance we have to give our babies a better life is to elect Donald Trump president of the United States,” the mother-of-two said on stage at the Milwaukee event.

While she is “no politician,” she said that she does “care about the truth, and the truth is that the media has lied to us about Donald Trump.”

Amelia Neath has more.

Amber Rose claims media ‘lied about Trump’ as she takes to stage at RNC

Teamsters head warns his union not ‘beholden’ to Democrats at RNC

Tuesday 16 July 2024 13:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Back to the other speakers at the RNC yesterday.

Here’s John Bowden on what Teamsters union boss Sean O’Brien had to tell the crowd.

Teamsters head warns his union not ‘beholden’ to Democrats in RNC speech

Voices: Vance has become Trump’s VP - America has never felt more dangerous

Tuesday 16 July 2024 12:30 , Joe Sommerlad

“We are both Appalachians, with eerily similar working-class backgrounds, which JD Vance wrote about in his bestselling book Hillbilly Elegy,” writes Skylar Baker-Jordan.

“ Yet, our views – and our reactions to Trump’s attempted assassination – couldn’t be more different.”

JD Vance has become Trump’s VP and America feels more dangerous than ever

All the times Trump’s VP pick JD Vance has attacked him

Tuesday 16 July 2024 12:00 , Joe Sommerlad

It hasn’t always been so rosy between Vance and Trump, however.

The former president once called his new running mate “JD Mandel”...

...and the latter was previously highly-critical of Trump, even speculating once that he could be “America’s Hitler” and calling him “a moral disaster” with “no domestic policy agenda besides tax cuts.”

All the times Trump’s VP pick JD Vance has attacked him

How a Vance rose from a broken home to be a Republican leader

Tuesday 16 July 2024 11:30 , Joe Sommerlad

For a little background on the Senator’s journey from military veteran to venture capitalist to author to politician, here’s Io Dodds.

How JD Vance rose from a broken home in ‘hillbilly’ country to be a Republican leader

Vance reveals the moment Trump asked him to be on the ticket

Tuesday 16 July 2024 11:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Trump announced that he had picked the Ohio Senator to be his running mate on Truth Social on Monday afternoon, shortly after word got out that, in true Apprentice-style, rivals Marco Rubio and Doug Burgum had been eliminated from the contest.

Here’s Mike Bedigan on what Vance had to tell Sean Hannity on Fox last night about the moment Trump informed him he was the chosen one.

Vance reveals moment Trump asked him to be VP in first interview since nomination

Watch: Highlights from Day One of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

Tuesday 16 July 2024 10:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Before we get on to JD Vance, here are a few key moments from Monday’s opening day at the convention, featuring such conservative luminaries as Tim Scott, Kristi Noem, Mitch McConnell, Mike Johnson, Ron Johnson, Majorie Taylor Greene and, er, Amber Rose.

Trump appears at RNC days after assassination attempt

Tuesday 16 July 2024 10:00 , Joe Sommerlad

This was the moment Trump made his entrance at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, sporting a rectangular bandage over his injured right ear, to a rapturous reception.

Here’s more from Alex Woodward.

Trump appears at RNC days after assassination attempt

Trump officially clinches Republican nomination for presidential election

Tuesday 16 July 2024 09:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Good morning!

The Republican Party has officially chosen Donald Trump as its nominee in this year’s presidential election, two days after the former president survived an assassination attempt.

Trump clinched his party’s nomination at approximately 2.21pm CT when the delegation from Florida, his adopted home state, cast its votes for his candidacy.

It took place just minutes after Trump announced he would be choosing Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate, saying he’ll be “strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for.”

The Florida delegation’s votes were officially cast by Trump’s second-eldest son, Eric Trump, who along with his elder brother, Donald Jr, and half-sister, Tiffany, are serving as delegates to the convention from the Sunshine State.

Here’s Andrew Feinberg with a full report.

Trump officially clinches Republican nomination for 2024 presidential election

Watch: Donald Trump formally wins Republican presidential nomination at RNC

Tuesday 16 July 2024 09:00 , Katie Hawkinson

False flags, fake Secret Service agents: Conspiracies take over the internet after Trump assassination attempt

Tuesday 16 July 2024 08:00 , Just Rohrlich

A deluge of conspiracy theories flooded the web in the aftermath of Saturday’s attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, with social media users spreading outlandish claims about the shooting that shook the nation.

Authorities have confirmed there was only one gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who perched on a nearby rooftop and managed to squeeze off at least eight rounds from an AR-15 assault-style rifle before being shot dead by Secret Service snipers. The shooter killed one attendee, critically wounded two others, and bloodied the former president’s ear. A motive has not yet been determined, according to law enforcement.

Almost immediately after the attack, an alternate reality emerged online, creating a dark abyss of mis- and disinformation about the shocking attack.

Read on:

Conspiracies take over the internet after Trump assassination attempt

Ron Johnson says he read wrong speech at RNC

Tuesday 16 July 2024 07:57 , Namita Singh

Republican senator Ron Johnson said he read the wrong speech at the RNC after he referred to the Democratic agenda as threatening to domestic interests.

“Their policies are a clear and present danger to America, to our institutions, our values and our people,” Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson had earlier said, as he welcomed the party to his battleground state, which Donald Trump won in 2016 but lost to Biden four years ago.

He, however, later told PBS that he intended to read a different version of the speech but the wrong one was uploaded on the teleprompter.

“I had taken that out. Instead I’d loaded about that we needed a somber moment in history. We should heed President Trump’s call to unite,” he said.

“We must heal and unify this nation. I didn’t know how to take that out without screwing up the teleprompter.”

Republican convention to focus on immigration a day after a bandaged Trump makes triumphant entrance

Tuesday 16 July 2024 07:34 , Namita Singh

The Republican convention resumes Tuesday, when the focus shifts to immigration, an issue central to Donald Trump’s political brand that helped endear him to the GOP base when he began his first campaign in 2015.

Trump, accompanied by a wall of Secret Service agents Monday, did not address the hall — with his acceptance speech scheduled for Thursday — but smiled silently and occasionally waved as Greenwood sang.

The raucous welcome underscored the depth of the crowd’s affection for the man who won the 2016 nomination as an outsider, at odds with the party establishment, but has vanquished all Republican rivals, silenced most conservative critics and now commands loyalty up and down the party ranks.

“We must unite as a party, and we must unite as a nation,” said Republican Party chairman Michael Whatley, Trump’s handpicked party leader, as he opened Monday’s primetime national convention session. “We must show the same strength and resilience as President Trump and lead this nation to a greater future.”

But Mr Whatley and other Republican leaders made clear that their calls for harmony did not extend to Mr Biden and Democrats, who find themselves still riven by worries that the 81-year-old question is not up to the job of defeating Trump.

Anti-Trump protesters denounce GOP agenda at RNC

Tuesday 16 July 2024 07:16 , Namita Singh

Nearly 3,000 protesters descended upon Milwaukee on Monday, denouncing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

A coalition of more than 100 activist groups gathered near the RNC convention, where Mr Trump appeared less than 48 hours after an attempt on his life.

Opposing Republicans’ “racist and reactionary agenda,” they said it threatens the rights of women, queer community and immigrants, reported the Washington Post.

“Defeating the Republican agenda is a matter of life and death for working and oppressed people,” Kobi Guillory of the Freedom Road Socialist Organisation told the demonstrators.

“There’s divisive rhetoric on both sides, but the most violent rhetoric has been on the Trump side,” said another protester named Jackie Sparks, 69.

“It is undeniable that Trump’s rhetoric, policies and actions have contributed to a climate of increased violence and hate crimes by white nationalists, especially against people of color,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, the head of Wisconsin’s largest immigrant rights group, Voces de la Frontera.

Ivanka says she believes late mother was watching over Donald Trump during assassination attempt

Tuesday 16 July 2024 07:00 , Mike Bedigan

Ivanka Trump says she believes her mother Ivana was “watching over” Donald Trump during the shocking attempt on his life at a campaign rally on Saturday.

The former first daughter highlighted that the Pennsylvania shooting happened almost exactly two years from her mother’s death in 2022.

Trump fell to the floor and then covered by Secret Service agents after popping sounds, now known to be multiple gunshots, were heard as he began the campaign event. He had appeared to move his head slightly in the seconds beforehand.

Read more:

Ivanka says her mother was watching over Donald Trump during assassination attempt

How has JD Vance responded to providing Ukraine with aid against Russian war

Tuesday 16 July 2024 06:02 , Namita Singh

JD Vance, the GOP pick for vice president, has been a vocal critic of foreign aid packages, including providing assistance to Ukraine.

Arguing that the US should encourage a peace deal in which Ukraine cedes land to Russia, he has previous dismissed concerns that it would motivate Vladimir Putin to attack other European countries.

“The most fundamental question: How much does Ukraine need and how much can we actually provide?” he asked in a guest essay in the New York Times. “Mr Biden suggests that a $60 billion supplemental means the difference between victory and defeat in a major war between Russia and Ukraine. That is also wrong … . Fundamentally, we lack the capacity to manufacture the amount of weapons Ukraine needs us to supply to win the war.”

He had previously said that the US should focus on Asia, instead of Ukraine.

“There are a lot of bad guys all over the world. and I’m much more interested in some of the problems in East Asia right now than I am in Europe,” the Ohio senator said during the Munich Security Conference in February this year.

ICYMI: Elon Musk commits $45 million a month to Trump’s re-election

Tuesday 16 July 2024 06:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Elon Musk has vowed to donate $45 million a month to a pro-Donald Trump super PAC, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The group, called the America PAC, also receives donations from major figures like the Winklevoss twins and former ambassador Kelly Craft, according to the Journal.

This comes after reports over the weekend that the Tesla CEO had donated a “sizeable amount” to the group.

Republicans line up behind Trump, congratulating Vance on VP pick

Tuesday 16 July 2024 05:58 , Namita Singh

Republicans are expressing their approval of JD Vance as the vice presidential pick for the Republicans, with senator Rand Paul writing on X: “It’s great to have an opponent of endless wars and more aid to Ukraine on the ticket.”

House speaker Mike Johnson welcomed the decision saying the Ohio senator “possesses a profound understanding of the anxieties of working families and has both the lived experience and the policy expertise to help President Trump deliver a government worthy of the people it is supposed to serve.”

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell also backed Donald Trump’s running mate, saying: “Senator JD Vance is a fierce advocate for the president’s policies and is the obvious pick for President Trump. He’ll make a strong case on the campaign trail on why we need to turn the page on the disastrous policies of the Biden administration.”

Tom Cotton, who is also believed to have been considered as running mate, applauded the choice. “JD Vance is a friend and a conservative champion who fights for American workers. He’ll make an outstanding vice president,” he wrote on X.

How Democrats have reacted to Vance as Trump’s VP choice

Tuesday 16 July 2024 05:55 , Namita Singh

The Biden campaign has been quick to launch a scathing attack on Donald Trump’s newly-picked running mate JD Vance.

“Here’s the deal about JD Vance,” said president Joe Biden in a post. “He talks a big game about working people. But now, he and Trump want to raise taxes on middle-class families while pushing more tax cuts for the rich.

Former Barack Obama adviser Van Jones also condemned Mr Vance as the VP choice for the Republicans.

He told CNN that while Trump represents an “instinctive, impulsive, intuitive nationalist. JD Vance is an ideological nationalist.

“That‘s a much more dangerous virus because he can make this – he can polish this stuff and make it seem palatable to people. He can sell this stuff to Silicon Valley, he can sell this stuff to other places.

“What it does is it locks the Republican Party on a pathway that I think is dangerous for the world.”

Vance calls for ‘full-scale investigation’ in Trump assassination attempt

Tuesday 16 July 2024 05:16 , Namita Singh

JD Vance has called for a “full-scale investigation” into the assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

“We need to understand what happened because clearly mistakes were made,” said Trump’s running mate, while appearing on Fox News.

JD Vance

Sharing his fears upon first hearing the news, the Ohio senator said: “My first reaction was just to pray for him. I was terrified if President Trump had been killed, of course, terrible, terrible, terrible. But the reverberations in the country... it would have been a world-historic tragedy. Thank God he was OK.”

Mr Vance had previously claimed that Joe Biden’s campaign rhetoric “led directly to” Trump’s assassination attempt.

How JD Vance rose from a broken home to be a Republican star

Tuesday 16 July 2024 05:02 , Namita Singh

JD Vance, the famed Appalachian memoirist turned pugnacious Republican senator, has been named Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee as the former president looks to take back the White House.

It is an extraordinary ascent for a 39-year-old former US Marine and child of a violent, broken home, best known for his searing 2016 book about the poverty and despair of America’s Rust Belt.

Hillbilly Elegy – which sought to explain Trump’s rise by dissecting and sharply criticizing the culture that he’d grow up in – made Vance an instant media darling, hailed by many shell-shocked left-wingers as a “Trump whisperer.”

My colleague Io Dodds has more:

How JD Vance rose from a broken home in ‘hillbilly’ country to be a Republican leader

Trump makes dramatic appearance at RNC just days after being shot during assassination attempt

Tuesday 16 July 2024 05:01 , Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump made his first public appearance since an assassination attempt at a campaign rally when he appeared at the Republican National Convention on Monday night.

The former president had a bandage covering his ear, showing the wound from the bullet.

Trump made a surprise appearance on the stage at the Fiserv Forum hours after he formally clinched the Republican Party’s presidential nomination and announced Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate.

Read more:

Trump appears at RNC days after assassination attempt

Teamsters head warns his union not ‘beholden’ to Democrats in RNC speech

Tuesday 16 July 2024 04:45 , Namita Singh

Teamsters union chief Sean O’Brien made history on Monday when he delivered the closing address at night one of the Republican National Convention and applauded the new populist trend the GOP has adopted under Donald Trump.

“We are not beholden to any party,” Mr O’Brien said on Monday — a remark that seemed a clear shot across the bow of the Democrats who criticized him for accepting a speaking slot at the convention.

“I don’t care about getting criticized. It’s an honor to be the first Teamster in our 120-year-history to speak to the Republican National Convention.”

John Bowden reports from Milwaukee:

Teamsters head warns his union not ‘beholden’ to Democrats in RNC speech

In video: JD Vance and RFK Jr to receive Secret Service protection after Trump shooting

Tuesday 16 July 2024 04:37 , Namita Singh

RFK Jr and JD Vance to receive Secret Service after Trump rally shooting

The connections that catapulted JD Vance from Trump critic to running mate

Tuesday 16 July 2024 04:27 , Namita Singh

The journey from the foothills of Appalachia to the halls of Congress proved one thing: JD Vance understands how to accumulate power in American politics.

Less than two years after being elected to Congress for the first time, he has officially climbed further than anyone expected for such a short time — and could end up being springboarded to even greater heights.

Let’s call Monday’s announcement what it is: a massive coup by the freshest of freshman senators, writes our Washington DC correspondent John Bowden.

The connections that catapulted JD Vance from Trump critic to running-mate

Musk is donating $45m a month to Trump PAC in shooting’s aftermath

Tuesday 16 July 2024 04:19 , Namita Singh

Elon Musk, one of the world’s richest people, is planning to donate roughly $45m every single month to a PAC backing Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, according to reports.

The Tesla and SpaceX boss, who also owns the social media platform X, had already reportedly donated a “sizeable amount” to a pro-Trump fundraising group, but the amount was unknown.

Now, The Wall Street Journal has reported the longtime electric vehicle advocate will be donating the staggering monthly sum to a new pro-Trump super PAC alongside coal billionaire Joe Craft, Palantir co-founder Jo Lonsdale and the Winklevoss twins, citing anonymous sources.

Report:

Musk is donating $45 million a month to pro-Trump PAC in shooting’s aftermath

Biden criticises Vance as ‘a clone of Trump’

Tuesday 16 July 2024 04:17 , Namita Singh

President Joe Biden has slammed former president Donald Trump for choosing Ohio Senator JD Vance to be his running-mate, calling the Hillbilly Elegy author turned MAGA politician identical to the ex-president on policy matters.

Mr Biden weighed in on his opponent’s choice when asked by reporters as he boarded Air Force One for a trip to Las Vegas.

He said Mr Vance is “a clone of Trump on the issues,” adding that he doesn’t see any difference between them.

Andrew Feinberg has more:

Biden scorches JD Vance as VP pick: ‘A clone of Trump’ who is ‘proudly anti-choice’

Vance reveals the moment Trump asked him to be on the ticket

Tuesday 16 July 2024 04:01 , Namita Singh

JD Vance says that when Donald Trump called him to offer him the position of his running mate, the former president spoke to his seven-year-old son, and that it was a moment he would “never forget.”

The Ohio senator – who was announced as Trump’s pick for vice president on Monday – said that even being considered for the role had been “an honor.”

The announcement was made by Trump on his social media platform Truth Social, shortly before he was confirmed as the GOP nominee at the Republican National Convention, which is underway in Wisconsin.

My colleague Mike Bedigan has more on Mr Vance’s first interview since being named as Trump’s running mate.

Vance reveals moment Trump asked him to be VP in first interview since nomination

SEE IT: Trump appearance at RNC on Monday night

Tuesday 16 July 2024 04:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Vance reveals the moment Trump asked him to be on the ticket as he speaks for the first time since nomination

Tuesday 16 July 2024 03:42 , Katie Hawkinson

JD Vance says that when Donald Trump called him to offer him the position of his running mate, the former president spoke to his 7-year-old son, and that it was a moment he would “never forget.”

The Ohio senator – who was announced as Trump’s pick for vice president on Monday – said that even being considered for the role had been “an honor.”

The announcement was made by Trump on his social media platform Truth Social, shortly before he was confirmed as the GOP nominee at the Republican National Convention, which is underway in Wisconsin.

Vance reveals moment Trump asked him to be VP in first interview since nomination

Teamsters president speaks as union’s endorsement in question

Tuesday 16 July 2024 03:32 , Katie Hawkinson

Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, spoke at the Republican National Convention on Monday evening.

O’Brien is the first Teamsters leader to speak at the convention.

“I don’t care about getting criticized,” O’Brien said. “It’s an honor to be the first Teamster in our 120-year-history to speak to the Republican National Convention.”

However, the union has yet to endorse either candidate in the 2024 election. The union may choose not to hand out an endorsement, Reuters reports.

“At the end of the day, the Teamsters are not interested in if you have a D, R or an I next to your name, O’Brien continued. “We want to know one thing: What are you doing to help American workers?”

Watch: Donald Trump met with ‘USA!’ chants on arrival at RNC

Tuesday 16 July 2024 03:23 , Katie Hawkinson

Trump appears at RNC venue with bandaged ear

Tuesday 16 July 2024 03:04 , Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump has arrived at the Republican National Convention.

The former president walked through the crowd with a bandaged ear after an assassination attempt against him at a Butler, Pennsylvania rally on Saturday.

He was met with cheers as he shook the hands of several speakers and his newly-announced pick for vice president, JD Vance.

Donald Trump enters RNC venue, expected any moment: report

Tuesday 16 July 2024 02:50 , Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump has reportedly entered the Republican National Convention venue and is expected to appear any moment, according to Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

Biden scorches JD Vance as Republican VP pick: ‘A clone of Trump on the issues’ who is ‘proudly anti-choice’

Tuesday 16 July 2024 02:45 , Andrew Feinberg

Biden team scorches JD Vance as Republican VP pick: ‘Bend over backwards to enable Trump’

President Joe Biden’s campaign has slammed former president Donald Trump for choosing Ohio Senator JD Vance to be his running-mate, calling the Hillbilly Elegy author turned MAGA politician a blank check for the ex-president’s worst impulses.

In a statement, Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said Trump selected the Buckeye State Republican because he would “do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people.”

Dillon also said Vance would “make it his mission” to implement the extreme policies laid out in the Trump-aligned Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, including a national abortion ban.

Read on:

Biden scorches JD Vance as VP pick: ‘A clone of Trump’ who is ‘proudly anti-choice’

Kamala Harris congratulates JD Vance on being Trump’s running mate – and challenges him to debate

Tuesday 16 July 2024 02:30 , Io Dodds

Kamala Harris has called Donald Trump’s new running mate JD Vance to congratulate him on being selected and to challenge him to a debate this summer.

A Biden campaign official said on Monday that the vice president left Vance a voicemail message, expressing “her hope that the two can meet in the vice presidential debate proposed by CBS News.”

Vance, a freshman senator from Ohio best known for his best-selling 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy, was chosen on Monday to be Donald Trump’s vice president if he wins back the White House this November.

Read more:

Kamala Harris congratulates JD Vance on Trump VP pick – and challenges him to debate

Trump and Vance expected to appear together tonight: report

Tuesday 16 July 2024 02:26 , Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump and his newly-announced running mate JD Vance are expected to appear together in the family box at the Republican National Convention tonight, CNN reports.

It would mark their first public appearance since Trump announced the Ohio Senator as his vice presidential candidate.

Trump’s motorcade recently left a nearby hotel and made its way to the venue, ABC News reports. However, the former president is not expected to speak tonight, according to ABC News.

The former president’s speech is scheduled for Thursday.

JD Vance addresses prior opposition to Donald Trump

Tuesday 16 July 2024 02:18 , Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance, addressed his previous comments that he would never support the former president.

“I said some bad things about Donald Trump ten years ago, but I think it's actually important to be able again to admit that you're wrong,” Vance told Fox News on Monday night.

This isn’t the first time the Ohio lawmaker has recanted his “never-Trump” attitude.

“Like a lot of people, I criticized Trump back in 2016,” Vance said in 2021. “And I ask folks not to judge me based on what I said in 2016, because I’ve been very open that I did say those critical things and I regret them, and I regret being wrong about the guy.”

JD Vance reveals fateful phone call with Donald Trump

Tuesday 16 July 2024 02:09 , Katie Hawkinson

JD Vance is giving his first interview after Donald Trump named the Ohio senator as his running mate on Monday afternoon.

“I hope I'm not betraying too many confidences here, but when the President called me today to actually formally offer for me to become the vice presidential nominee — which just sounds crazy — my seven-year-old son, was making noise in the background,” Vance told Fox News.

“I'm getting so embarrassed. It's like, oh my God, Donald Trump is asking me to be his vice president,” he continued.

Vance said the former president also took time to speak with his son.

“The guy just got shot at a couple of days ago, and he takes the time to talk to my seven-year-old,” he revealed. “It's a moment I'll never forget.”

CEO of Goya Foods speaks at RNC, claims Biden used FBI to ‘go after’ Catholics

Tuesday 16 July 2024 02:08 , Katie Hawkinson

Robert Unanue, CEO of Goya Foods, repeated prior baseless claims that the Biden administration has tried to use the FBI to persecute Catholics.

“The Biden-Harris administration disrespects our values and has abused our community,” Unanue said on Monday night. “They buried our businesses with inflation and government red tape. They even used the FBI to go after traditional Catholics as if we were terrorists.”

Unanue appears to be referring to a FBI memo leaked in early 2023 about the potential threats posed by “radical-traditionalist” Catholics. Afterward, some Republican lawmakers claimed without evidence that the Biden administration was plotting a larger persecution of Catholics, the New York Times reported earlier this year.

The memo violated professional standards but there was “no evidence of malicious intent,” a Justice Department inquiry into the memo found, according to the Times.

Elon Musk commits $45 million a month to Trump’s re-election

Tuesday 16 July 2024 01:46 , Katie Hawkinson

Elon Musk has vowed to donate $45 million a month to a pro-Donald Trump super PAC, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The group, called the America PAC, also receives donations from major figures like the Winklevoss twins and former ambassador Kelly Craft, according to the Journal.

This comes after reports over the weekend that the Tesla CEO had donated a “sizeable amount” to the group.

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website