MILWAUKEE, WI — Two days after their party’s candidate survived an assassination attempt, the Republican National Convention officially opened on Monday night in Milwaukee.
Earlier in the day, Republican delegates officially nominated Donald Trump for the third consecutive presidential election while Trump named his vice presidential pick.
In case you missed it, here are three takeaways from Day 1 of the Republican National Convention:
Trump makes his return
For the first time since he survived an assassination attempt over the weekend, Trump made his first public appearance at the convention. He walked into the convention hall with a bandage over his injured right ear as Lee Greenwood performed “God Bless the USA”.
Trump waved to the crowd and pumped his fist in the air. The crowd chanted “USA! USA! USA!” and “Fight! Fight! Fight!” and “We love Trump! We love Trump! We love Trump!”
JD Vance is in
Trump officially named JD Vance his running mate on Monday afternoon, calling Vance 20 minutes before he announced he picked the Ohio senator.
“As Vice President, J.D. will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“He is consistent with Trump’s appeal to working men and women,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said of Vance. “Also, someone who shares his desire to expand the base of the Republican Party.”
Vance was born in Middleton, Ohio, and served in the Marine Corps. He later attended Ohio State University and eventually graduated from Yale Law School.
Worker friendly agenda
The most surprising moment of the night came from the main speaker: Sean O’Brien, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters president. The surprising moment? It happened at the Republican Convention.
O’Brien, the head of a 1.3 million member union that has not endorsed in the 2024 presidential race.
“Today, the Teamsters are here to say, we are not beholden to anyone or any party,” he said.
O’Brien urged the crowd to embrace worker-friendly positions that are at odds with much of the party’s conservative platform.
“The American people aren’t stupid. They know the system is broken. We all know how Washington is run. Working people have no chance of winning this fight,” O’Brien said.
