RNC Day One: What to expect as Republicans descend on Milwaukee

Former President Donald Trump‘s nomination becomes official this week as tens of thousands of Republicans gather in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with festivities beginning just two days after Trump miraculously survived an assassination attempt that left his right ear slashed and a supporter dead from gunshot wounds.

The 2024 Republican National Convention lasts from Monday through Thursday, with each day focusing on a particular theme. Monday’s theme is “Make America Wealthy Once Again,” as the economy as been one of Trump’s biggest messaging points this year.

“On day one, we will throw out Bidenomics and replace it with a thing called MAGAnomics.,” Trump said at a recent rally in Miami. “We will quickly build the greatest economy in the history of the world. I will repeal every disastrous Biden regulation, of which there are many, cancel crooked Joe’s insane electric vehicle mandate.”

All eyes will also be on the lookout for an announcement about Trump’s pick for vice president. Trump arrived in Milwaukee Sunday night and would be in position make a triumphant appearance before energized delegates in the arena after his brush with death.

The nearly 2,500 delegates from across the country will hit the Fiserv Forum, home of the Milwaukee Bucks, and other nearby venues for the festivities and the formal launch of a campaign that they hope will unseat President Joe Biden — or whoever runs this fall for the Democrats.

The delegates will formally vote to nominate Trump to be the Republican nominee on Monday. Each state will take an official roll call on the convention floor to tally Trump’s delegates. Republican Nikki Haley has urged her 97 hard-fought delegates to back Trump in a sign of unity.

While Trump told the Washington Examiner’s Salena Zito that he has rewritten his convention speech to focus on unity rather than Biden, the convention is proceeding more or less as originally planned, with additional security measures put in place but the daily themes left intact.

Before the assassination attempt thoroughly rewired the campaign, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) spoke out against the “Make America Wealthy Once Again” theme.

“I want to thank the Republicans for making the first day of their convention’s theme ‘Make America Wealthy Again,’” the swing state representative told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday. “All that does is reinforce that Donald Trump wants to give his billionaire friends a cut, and doesn’t give a damn about working men and women in this country.”

How to watch the Republican convention

The convention is open only to delegates, elected officials, media members, and volunteers, but will be easy to watch from home for everyone else.

Two official sessions will run from 12:45 to 4:45 and from 5:45 to 10 p.m. local time, and coverage will be available on YouTube, X, Facebook Live, Amazon Prime, Rumble, Twitch, Fox News and, of course, the Washington Examiner.

Tuesday’s theme is “Make America Safe Again”, Wednesday’s is “Make America Strong Again” and Thursday’s is “Make America Great Once Again”.

However, the biggest news on Monday may be Trump’s announcement for a vice presidential pick to replace Mike Pence on the ticket, with the finalists reported to be Sens. J. D. Vance (R-OH), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Marco Rubio (R-FL), along with Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND).

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The official list of speakers will be much longer than just Trump and his VP, including a mix of current and former politicians and celebrities, Trump family members, and media personalities.

Among the highlighted speakers throughout the week are RNC co-chairwoman Lara Trump, singer Lee Greenwood, Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk, Teamsters labor union president Sean O’Brien, entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), 11 GOP senators, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House GOP Conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.