RNC: Trump makes first public appearance since shooting

The Republican National Convention heads into its second day Tuesday in Milwaukee. 

Speakers at the convention are expected on Tuesday to mention what many Republicans have described as the former president's strength and resilience after the shooting at his rally in Pennsylvania.

Many of the speeches are set to focus on immigration and crime, according to Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee, with the theme of "Make America Safe Once Again."

Nikki Haley will likely be one of the second day's speakers. The former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor was the last major rival against Trump in the primary race.

Last week, she announced that she would instruct her convention delegates to vote for Trump, but mentioned that she would not attend the convention. But her office said after the shooting that she would speak at the event.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that tech billionaire Elon Musk said he would commit roughly $45 million (roughly €41.3) each month to a new fund backing Donald Trump for US president.

According to the report, the contribution will go to a political group dubbed America PAC, which will focus on promoting voter registration, early voting and mail-in ballots among residents in swing states.

On Saturday, Musk formally endorsed Trump's candidacy after the shooting at the campaign event in Pennsylvania.

"I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery," Musk wrote on the social media platform X, which he bought in 2022.

Following Trump's arrival, a few of the opening day's last speakers took to the stage, including a pair of benedictions from a Christian pastor and a Sikh. 

As the schedule reached its conclusion, the crowd launched into a chorus "we want Trump!" for a few seconds prior to recess being declared until 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday. 

The band played "Don't Stop Believing" as the attendees began to disperse.

Donald Trump reached the RNC and the Fiserv Forum, typically the home of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team, at roughly 9 p.m. local time (0200 GMT/UTC). 

He had a medical gauze covering most of his right ear. 

He arrived as a speaker was leaving the stage and as the band was filling a gap in proceedings. 

They played the Lee Greenwood song "God Bless the USA" after a brief introduction for Trump, who did not speak but gestured and pumped his fist as the big screens of the venue focused on him. 

"Ladies and gentleman, the 45th President of the United States, and soon to be the 47th President of the United States, please welcome Donald J. Trump," the singer told the crowd before embarking on the song's last chorus.

US President Joe Biden has said in an interview aired on US broadcaster NBC that he will take part in the second scheduled presidential debate against Donald Trump in September. 

"I'm gonna debate him when we agreed to debate. And I agreed to debate him in September," Biden said. 

Biden has faced pressure since his performance in the first debate last month and increased scrutiny at public appearances since. He was asked about this during the interview.

"Look, 14 million people voted for me to be the nominee, of the Democratic Party," Biden said, referring to the results of Democratic primaries and caucus. "I listen to them."

Asked if he'd since seen the debate in full, he said "I've seen pieces of it but not the full debate." 

Prosecutors in the US said a few hours after their case against Donald Trump for allegedly keeping classified documents after leaving office was thrown out that they would appeal the decision. 

"The Justice Department has authorized the special counsel to appeal the court's order," Special Council Jack Smith's spokesman Peter Carr said in a statement on Monday.

A trial and verdict before November's election was already looking highly improbable, now that is even less likely if the case is heard at all.

Read the full story here. 

Marjorie Taylor Greene renewed her attacks on US aid to Ukraine.

Speaking on the first night of the Republican National Convention, the US lawmaker said, "Democrats spend over $175 billion, your tax dollars, to secure Ukraine's borders."

"But they tell us the border wall is too expensive," she said. 

Greene is known for her dissent over Ukraine and earlier this year threatened to replace House Speaker Mike Johnson over staunchly backed the decision to send more aid to Ukraine. 

In April Congress approved billions of dollars in fresh Ukraine funding with bipartisan support. 

US President Joe Biden told NBC News it was a "mistake" to say he wanted to put a "bullseye" on Donald Trump.

Biden told donors in a private call several days before Trump was wounded by a gunman that "it's time to put Trump in a bullseye," according to a Politico report.

The Democrat said he had meant that the party should "focus on what he's doing."

Republicans have seized on Biden's comment after the assassination attempt, accusing the president of creating the political conditions that led a shooter to try to kill Trump, ignoring their own candidate's history of encouraging violence.

Biden sharply condemned the attack and urged Americans to "lower the temperature" in a rare Oval Office speech on Sunday after the Trump shooting.

On Monday, Biden broadly defended his rhetoric, describing his Republican opponent as a threat to democracy and signaling he will not hold back for long.

Roughly two hours after Donald Trump posted on his own social media platform to announce his running mate as JD Vance, the RNC formally selected the Ohio senator as its vice presidential nominee.

"JD is a living embodiment of the American dream," Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted as he put forward Vance's name at the RNC.

"He came from humble beginnings."

Meanwhile, Joe Biden condemned the Republicans' choice of vice presidential candidate.

"He's a clone of Trump on the issues," Biden told reporters shortly before boarding a flight to Nevada. "I don't see any difference."

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he is not dropping out of the race after US media outlets reported that Donald Trump sought his endorsement in a meeting.

"Lots of rumors going around about my meeting this morning with President Trump," Kennedy posted on social media while the RNC was underway.

"Our main topic was national unity, and I hope to meet with Democratic leaders about that as well. No, I am not dropping out of the race."

Ohio Senator JD Vance has been named as the Republican vice presidential candidate for the November election.

Vance is a 39-year-old Marine Corps veteran who rose to prominence with his 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," that tells of the hardships he faced growing up in Appalachian Kentucky and Ohio.

When Trump first ran for president that same year, Vance called him "dangerous" and "unfit for office."

However, Vance was introduced to the Trump family when Donald Trump Jr. became a fan of his book. He eventually met with Trump as president in 2021.

Once he was elected as a senator for Ohio in 2023, Vance fiercely defended Trump's policies and behavior, which he said resonated with voters who felt forgotten by the party.

"He understands what Trump is running on and, unlike the rest of the Republican Party in Washington, agrees with it," conservative commentator Tucker Carlson told Reuters.

Ideologically, Vance has been described by the president of the Heritage Foundation as a leading conservative voice on key issues including free market economics, a less interventionist foreign policy and "American culture writ large."

Democrats have called Vance an extremist on issues like abortion.

Vance signaled support for a nationwide 15-week abortion ban during his senate campaign, but he softened his stance after Ohio voters overwhelmingly backed a 2023 abortion rights amendment.

In recent days, Vance attracted controversy for his comments on the assassination attempt against Trump.

"The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs," Vance wrote on social media. "That rhetoric led directly to President Trump's attempted assassination."

Donald Trump has officially secured enough votes from delegates to become the Republican presidential nominee.

The delegation from Florida brought him across the line.

Trump's son, Eric, spoke for the Florida delegation, flanked by Trump's other children.

The delegates had already been chosen in a series of votes around the country, making the election of Trump as party nominee at the convention a purely symbolic event.

Donald Trump has named 39-year-old Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate.

"JD honorably served our country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, summa cum laude, and is a Yale Law School graduate, where he was editor of The Yale Law Journal, and president of the Yale Law Veterans Association," Trump said on social media.

"JD's book, 'Hillbilly Elegy,' became a major best seller and movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our country. JD has had a very successful business career in technology and finance, and now, during the campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond…"

Hundreds of protesters converged outside the RNC in downtown Milwaukee on Monday afternoon.

Activists from a number of groups carried signs that read: "Stand with Palestine," "We Can No Longer Afford the Rich" and "Defend and Expand Immigrant Rights."

Many also carried signs with slogans in favor of abortion rights.

The protesters marched around the perimeter of the convention in temperatures approaching 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit).

Some of the progressive demonstrators argued with pro-Republican counter-protesters on issues like LGBT rights and the Black Lives Matter movement.