By SUZANNE LYNCH

 

Greetings from Milwaukee, where Donald Trump appeared before an ecstatic crowd of adoring fans last night after officially clinching his party’s nomination as the Republican presidential candidate.

I’m Suzanne Lynch, bringing you all the action from the Republican National Convention. I’m equipped with the usual media accoutrements of laptop, notepad and recorder — plus earbuds to battle the decibel levels in the Fiserv Forum.

DIVINE INTERVENTION: There was something of the spiritual about the former president’s appearance on a balcony overlooking the convention floor last night, two days after he survived an attempt on his life. A visibly emotional, and uncharacteristically silent, Trump basked in the adulation of his base to strains of the soft-rock ballad “God Bless the USA.”

“Reassuring” was how former head of the Small Business Administration Linda McMahondescribed his appearance in an interview with told POLITICO’s Victoria Guida this morning, arguing that it showed to supporters he was a “strong warrior.”

RUNNING MATE: The former reality TV star still knows how to jumpstart the news cycle. His announcement of J.D. Vance as pick for vice-president was worthy of an episode of The Apprentice. Throughout the morning, vice-president hopefuls who had made the trip to Milwaukee were told they had not made the cut, before Trump finally revealed the winner in a statement, leading to chants of “J.D., J.D.” from the Stetson-wearing crowds on the arena floor.

DAY TWO of the Convention is now underway, with “Make America Safe Once Again,” the theme of the day — expect lots of focus on the border, law enforcement and immigration. Among the speakers due to address the convention tonight are Trump’s former rivals for the Republican nomination, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron De Santis. State delegations have been busy hosting events throughout the city this morning, with the main man’s son Eric Trump dropping in to the Florida and California delegation breakfast events.

Make sure to follow POLITICO’s full program of live interviews on the ground from the POLITICO-CNN grill throughout the week on politico.com/rnc  —  speakers include some of the top newsmakers in Republican politics, with Georgia governor Brian Kemp, who has previously clashed with Trump, telling our own Eugene Daniels in the last hour that the former president now has the opportunity in his speech this week to connect with “a segment of people who maybe have not liked him all that much.”

LET’S VANCE

VEEP STAKES: The choice of 39 year-old J.D. Vance for the vice president slot on the Republican ticket has cemented Trump’s brand of #MAGA Republicanism as the driving force of his party. Like many Republicans, Vance, a relative political newcomer, has undergone a Damascene conversion, evolving from a self-avowed “never-Trumper” to fully embracing the former president.

How it happened: My colleague Alex Isenstadt, in this must-read piece, reveals how Trump landed on Vance for his pick for running mate, including new reporting on a visit by the Ohio senator to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on Saturday.

What it means for the world: Europe was already panicked about a second Trump presidency and its implications for U.S. foreign policy. With the announcement of Vance, an ardent isolationist, as Trump’s running mate that alarm has only escalated.

America First: Vance is a strident critic of aid for Ukraine and has called out what he sees as Europe’s dependence on the U.S. for military investment. He expounded these views in an interview with your own Global Playbook author at the Munich Security Conference back in February — doubling down on his view that Ukraine should ultimately cede territory to Russia.

Such talk was verboten in the hallowed halls of the MSC, traditionally a bastion of transatlantic unity and a forum frequented by such luminaries as the late senator John McCain and President Joe Biden. Vance’s decision to skip a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was hugely symbolic. “I didn’t think I’d learn anything new,” he shrugged as he explained his absence.

On the guest list? Let’s see if Vance shows up at the Munich Security Conference’s Friends & Family reception hosted by Wolfgang Ischinger at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee this evening.

Not just Brussels: Vance also has had choice words for Britain just last week at the National Conservatism Conference, dismissing the United Kingdom as an “Islamist country” with a nuclear weapon since the election of the new Labor government. “I don’t recognize that characterization, I’m very proud of the election success that Labour had recently. I think he said quite a lot of fruity things in the past as well,” Angela Rayner, Britain’s deputy prime minister, said this morning.

Just in: Trump and Vance will hold their first rally together in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday night — the latest indication that the Trump campaign hopes Vance will help the former president win swing states in the Midwest.

REPUBLICANS SCENT VICTORY

NEW-LOOK TRUMP: As you might expect, there are bejeweled cowboy hats aplenty, MAGA merchandise everywhere and country rock anthems belting out throughout the Fiserv Forum. But compared to the typical Trump rally attended by this correspondent over the years, there is something new in the air — confidence.

Polling: A YouGov poll out on the opening day of the convention shows Trump leading across seven major swing states. That polling is from last week, and most expect further bumps for Trump as voters rally behind the former president after the failed assassination attempt Saturday.

Union dues: Particularly concerning for Democrats was last night’s prime time appearance by Sean O’Brien, who became the first president of the the Teamsters union to address a Republican convention. It’s a personal blow for President Biden, who launched his 2020 presidential campaign in a union hall in Pittsburgh and has long-standing links with the labor movement. Reuters reports that the union, which backed Biden in 2020, may not endorse any candidate in November’s election.

Not for turning:  Biden, who is campaigning in Las Vegas today, showed no sign that he is considering bowing out of the race. Asked if he was staying on the ballot, in an NBC  interview which aired Monday night he replied: “Unless I get hit by a train, yeah.”

Give peace a chance: Donald Trump’s new found interest in fostering unity since his near-death experience on Saturday appears to have had mixed results. Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has clashed with Trump since the January 6th attack on the Capitol, was booed by the crowd as he attempted to read Kentucky’s delegates on the convention floor. Nonetheless, many seemed to lean in to the new cuddly side of Trumpism. Here’s a selection of quotes.

—   Montana Senator Steve Daines, in conversation with POLITICO’s Rachel Bade at the POLITICO-CNN Grill, in an attempt to shut down the conspiracy theories circulating about the apparent Trump assassination attempt, said: “I see no evidence of a conspiracy. None. Let’s get the facts out.” He also called for more civility in politics: “I don’t think we need to talk about President Biden’s mental acuity. I think we should be talking about his policies.”

—   Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy at the Heritage Foundation breakfast, said: “I think we were a hair’s breadth away from a civil war just a few nights ago,” but added: “our enemy is not the Democrats.”

—    Eric Trump, in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on the convention floor, said: “I think politics needs to be done with a lot more respect, and a lot more love. … we’ve got to cool it down; we’ve got to stop.”

AROUND TOWN

LOCAL DELICACIES: The CNN-POLITICO Grill at Turner Hall is the place to be seen this week, running a series of VIP-only events each evening at the convention. It’s also serving some of the best food in town — don’t miss the Wisconsin golden cheese curds and crispy-fried chicken Sammie served with bushel and peck pickles, cabbage slaw and basil mayo.

BOYS IN BLUE: With thousands of law enforcement officials in town for the convention, even those keeping attendees safe need to take a break. Crowds of police officers have been gathering in the aptly named “Copper” bar to enjoy some down time outside the main perimeter.

GENDER WARS SURFACE: Speaking of law enforcement, footage of several female agents intervening to protect Trump on Saturday in Pennsylvania has spawned a wave of commentary from right-wing activists online who are unhappy at female representation in the service. But Trump’s former National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien backed women’s participation in conversation with POLITICO’s Kevin Baron Monday, noting that he had a female detail lead for two years (though he doesn’t support quotas in law enforcement).

PLAYING FOOTSIE: Cowboy boots are the footwear of choice at the Republican National Convention — Senator Daines set the fashion bar high as he rocked a mid-thigh pair of leather boots at the opening session of the CNN-POLITICO Grill Monday. But others have opted for comfort. Ubiquitous political operator David Axelrod was spotted rushing from Turner Hall to the CNN studio in the hall in a pair of comfy-looking Skechers.

THE BIG SCREEN: The Republican party on display here in Milwaukee may be a far cry from the party of Ronald Reagan, but the new movie “Reagan” starring Dennis Quaid is showing at the city center Hilton throughout the week.

SPOTTED

— Former New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani posing for photos with police officers outside the security perimeter.

— Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, who lost her seat in this month’s election, conducting an interview with Sky News.

— Alabama Senator Katie Britt, who raised eyebrows with her State of the Union rebuttal address in March, posing for selfies with supporters on arrival at Milwaukee airport.

— MyPillow CEO and Trump supporter Mike Lindell speaking to our own Brittany Gibson outside the Fiserv Forum, praising Trump’s choice of running mate.

— At the American Global Strategies at Third Coast Provisions last night: former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Republican Members of Congress Michael Waltz (Fla.), Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), Ken Calvert (Calif.) and Celeste Maloy (Utah); Amazon’s Virginia Boney, former Domestic Policy Council Director Andrew Bremberg.

— At the CNN-POLITICO Grill on Monday: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Manu Raju and Shimon Prokupecz, POLITICO’s John Harris, Jonathan Martin, Goli Sheikholeslami and Cally Baute, Wall Street Journal’s Molly Ball, consultant Tammy Haddad, Tony Zagora of Bayer, Advanced Advocacy’s Andrew Kovalcin.

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