GOP builds on Trump’s border message

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is introduced at the Republican National Convention Tuesday with his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

MILWAUKEE — Donald Trump was feted Tuesday at the Republican National Convention by former rivals who once sharply criticized him, a remarkable display of unity that reflects how he has shaped the GOP in his image over the past decade.

Eight years ago, one of his main rivals in the Republican primary was booed and thrown off stage at the Republican convention in Cleveland when he refused to endorse Trump. On Tuesday night, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz began his speech to Trump and thousands of Republican delegates by shouting, “God bless Donald J. Trump!”

The Democratic Party, which was already united behind the former president, became even more vocal in his support after Trump survived an assassination attempt at his rally on Saturday. Democrats, meanwhile, are divided over whether President Joe Biden should continue his re-election campaign after his disastrous debate performance.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley was announced as a speaker Sunday, the day after the shooting, after her office initially said she would not appear at the convention. Haley, who was Trump’s last major challenger in this year’s Republican primaries, addressed her supporters directly after taking the stage Tuesday to a mix of cheers and boos.

“My message is simple: You don’t have to agree with Trump 100 percent to vote for him,” Haley said.

She was followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a former Trump ally turned primary rival who has worked to rebuild his relationship with the former president since dropping out of the primary.

“Donald Trump has been demonized. He’s been prosecuted. He almost lost his life,” DeSantis told the crowd. “We can’t let him down. And we can’t let America down.”

GOP builds on Trump’s border message

Several speakers highlighted a key element of the former Trump’s political brand that helped endear him to the Republican base when he launched his first campaign in 2015.

Immigration has long been a key issue for Trump, as he has criticized the unprecedented number of migrants entering the country illegally through the U.S. border with Mexico.

Senate candidates speaking at the convention Tuesday not only blamed Biden for the number of migrants crossing the border, but just as often criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, who Republicans are increasingly focusing on amid speculation she could replace Biden as the Democratic nominee after the president’s poor debate performance.

Republican candidates, concerned about their own race, have also sought to shift the blame to their Democratic opponents. Pennsylvania candidate David McCormick, for example, echoed his opponent, Sen. Bob Casey, in talking about “Biden-Harris-Casey, wide-open borders.”

Security incidents outside the congress

On Tuesday, five Ohio police officers who were in Wisconsin for the convention shot and killed a man who was in a knife fight near the convention, Milwaukee’s police chief said.

The man shot by police had a knife in each hand and refused to comply with police commands, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said at a news conference. Two knives were recovered at the scene, the chief said.

On Monday, a man armed with an AK-47 pistol and wearing a ski mask was arrested near the Fiserv Forum where the convention is taking place, a federal law enforcement official said Tuesday.

The 21-year-old was arrested after being encountered by officers from the U.S. Capitol Police and Homeland Security Investigations who said he was acting suspiciously, according to the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Police found the weapon in his backpack, the official said.

Anticipation for Trump’s speech grows

Trump and Vance were scheduled to speak in the lobby each night of the convention, with Vance scheduled to speak on Wednesday and Trump on Thursday.

Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Lawrence Tabas said he hopes the assassination attempt on Trump will change the tone nationally, starting with Trump’s planned remarks Thursday.

“After having a brush with death, I believe – going through that – his message will be better and it will appeal to our best emotions,” Tabas said in an interview after the Pennsylvania Republican delegation’s breakfast in suburban Milwaukee.

Donald Trump, who has long criticized his rivals with harsh language and raised the possibility of suing his opponents if he wins a second term, appeared ready to deliver a more moderate speech. His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., said in an interview with Axios outside the RNC that he spent three or four hours reviewing his father’s convention speech with him, “trying to defuse some of that rhetoric.”

“I think it’s lasting,” the younger Trump said of his father’s change of speech. “There are events that change you for a few minutes, and there are events that change you permanently.”