12:30 Report

12:30 Report — Haley could face dicey reception at RNC

by Cate Martel 07/16/24 12:30 PM ET

Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley walks out to speak during a news conference, Wednesday, March 6, 2024, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Presented by PhRMA — Welcome to Day 2 of the Republican National Convention

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12:30 REPORT

It’s Tuesday — greetings from Milwaukee, where it’s a beautiful 76 degrees! (Sorry friends in D.C., where it may hit 100 degrees for the third day in a row!) It’s Day 2 of the Republican National Convention, and today’s speakers are still somewhat unknown. Here’s what else is going on:

Former President Trump’s ex-rival Nikki Haley is now scheduled to speak, while Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) got booed Monday, so this will be worth watching. They’re aiming for unity, but Trump critics beware.
Trump made an appearance at the Republican National Convention last night with a bandage on his ear.
Trump’s VP pick, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), was spotted by my colleague this morning, out and about with his family and flanked by his Secret Service detail.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) described to CNN how Trump let him know he would not be his VP.
President Biden sat down for an interview with NBC News’s Lester Holt. There are some interesting nuggets.

Filing while en route to the arena, I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-release.thehill.com.  Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. 

🧀 In Milwaukee

No adVANCE warning here:

After what feels like years of speculation and game show-style teases over former President Trump’s VP pick, it’s Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), the 39-year-old bestselling author of “Hillbilly Elegy” with the same conservative populist agenda as his new boss.

I watched Vance get formally nominated in Milwaukee Monday, and he was beaming from ear-to-ear. My colleague, Mychael Schnell, was right near him on the floor and captured his reaction. 📹 Watch her clip and watch this clip of the convention when Vance walked out.

📸 Watch the Vances embrace before walking onto the convention floor, from the great Doug Mills

Some of the chatter about Vance on the ticket: The Hill’s Niall Stanage points out: “I find it weird that people are arguing there’s no political advantage to Vance. Whether you like him or not, he won his Senate race easily in Ohio, a state abutting Pennsylvania and demographically similar to it. If the Trump-Vance ticket wins PA, it’s pretty much over.”

What happened behind the scenes: Trump called the Ohio senator 20 minutes before the announcement to offer him the role. But it’s worth noting that he was spotted getting a motorcade escort amid speculation over the weekend. Meanwhile, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that when the former president called to tell him he would not be the running mate, he called him “Mr. Secretary,” appearing to imply he could appoint him to a Cabinet post in his next administration. 📹 Watch Burgum’s description

THIS MORNING — spotted with his shiny new security detail: The Hill’s Al Weaver spotted Vance going for a walk with his family in downtown Milwaukee this morning, flanked by his new Secret Service detail. He’s wearing a plain T-shirt and jeans.

📸 Photo

📸 Another photo on the way to Walgreens

📹 Watch Vance carry his kid on his shoulders

The merch hasn’t quite caught up: Because Trump didn’t announce Vance as his pick until Monday afternoon, Trump-Vance swag wasn’t available Monday

Trump building the suspense meant Trump-Vance swag wasn’t available Monday. I saw some delegates write “Vance” on their Trump signs, however. And of all the swag being sold outside the venue, there was obviously no Vance merch yet. But the Trump campaign did post a photo of the new Trump-Vance plane. That was a fast turnaround!

Even more emotional for Republicans than the Vance moment: Trump made an appearance at the convention hall, wearing a bandage on his right ear. 💻Here’s a clip 💻And another clip

I would love to be a fly on the wall near Mike Pence right now: Trump’s adult son, Eric Trump, posted the Trump-Pence slogan on Instagram, but replaced the first two letters to make it say Vance. 📸Eric Trump’s edited Instagram photo

💻 Throwback: Last month, The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman posted a clip of Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, sitting down for a Fox News interview. This is pretty interesting to watch.

What you don’t see on TV:

For these conventions, what you see on TV and read in articles are the speakers on stage, delegates cheering and journalists bopping around Milwaukee. But what you don’t see is all of the logistics that allow people to be in these places.

First, there’s a security perimeter blocking off the area surrounding the venue. That’s the furthest that Ubers can go. Then, we walk several blocks until we hit airport-like security.

Once we go through security, it’s off to the media filing center — that’s another several blocks. Have a TV hit? Oh, that’s probably in the Panther Arena. Walk outside another block or two. Want to see the convention venue? Another several blocks. Need to charge your laptop? Walk back 4-5 blocks back to the filing center. And once you’re inside any of these spots, we’re talking massive arenas.

So, anyway, I have ditched my cute work shoes and am rocking sneakers all week. 👟

💻 Watch my on-the-ground reporting Monday from the Fiserv Forum

➤ SIGH, BUT NOW WHAT WILL WE SPECULATE ABOUT?!:

Here are some reads on JD Vance:

‘The Radicalization of J.D. Vance’: The Washington Post
‘How Trump got to ‘yes’ on Vance’: “A personal bond, a play for Pennsylvania and above all, loyalty.” The Washington Post
‘What J.D. Vance really believes’: “The dark worldview of Trump’s choice for vice president, explained.” Vox
‘J.D. Vance is now the heir apparent to the MAGA movement’: The Economist
‘J.D. Vance on the Issues, From Abortion to the Middle East’: The New York Times

➤ SIGHTS AND SOUNDS IN MILWAUKEE:

📹 It was a party scene on the floor last night: Politico’s Olivia Beavers posted a video of delegates forming a conga line.

Curious what kind of swag is being sold?: Vendors have street festival-style booths set up, selling local Milwaukee food (yes, cheese curds!) There’s a stark contrast between the tone inside of unity and lowering the temperature in American politics — and the red meat merchandise sold outdoors. This was almost certainly made before Saturday night’s attempted assassination, but it’s striking to see. Think: “Rigged 2020” stickers and “I’m voting for the felon” T-shirts. The vendor told my colleague, Judy Kurtz, that these two “felon” shirts are easily his bestselling items. 📸 Photo of the swag

Spotted — a Nikki Haley sticker: PBS’s Lisa Desjardins noticed a Nikki Haley hat on the floor. 📸 Photo

Now THIS is the content we want: Look at this adorable dog on the convention floor. His name is Tzeitel, and he came with a Texas delegate. (h/t Judy)

This literally sounds like a “Veep” episode: Vice President Harris reportedly called Vance and left a voicemail. CNN’s Alayna Treene reported that “JD Vance didn’t answer VP Harris’ phone call because it came from an unknown number, and he was unable to call back. Staff for Vance’s team is now in touch with Harris’ team, and they are working on setting up a call, according to two sources familiar with the matter.”

This this this this!: CBS News’s Kathryn Watson pleaded on X: “For the love of style, and for my own sanity, we’re going to need @JDVance1 to settle this one on the record: “JD” or ‘J.D.’ ? Senate site and official Twitter say JD, personal @JDVance1 and book say J.D., please settle our newsroom debate.”

📺 News from Washington

Listen closely, you can still hear Dems grumble over their Biden problem:

President Biden sat for an interview with NBC News’s Lester Holt on Monday. I’m not used to seeing this many media interviews with him! The Hill’s Alex Gangitano and Caroline Vakil created a list of the five notable moments:

Biden, Trump had [a] “cordial” conservation.
Biden pushes back on Holt’s questions.
Suggests “bullseye” remark was a “mistake.”
Trump’s legal woes come up.
Biden shares thoughts on Vance.

Read their short explainer for each moment

💻 Watch the full interview

🐝 Internet Buzz

🌽 Celebrate: Today is National Corn Fritters Day!

🔥 I am here for this level of pettiness: “Overheard District” posted a photo on X of a sign outside a church. “Whoever stole the A/C unit, keep it! It’s hotter where u r going…”

📷 Behind the scenes of the historic photos: Axios’s Aïda Amer reports how those photos of former President Trump’s assassination attempt were captured.

📆 On The Agenda

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Las Vegas, and Vice President Harris is in Washington. (all times Eastern)

1 p.m.: Biden receives his daily briefing.
3 p.m.: Biden participates in an interview with BET’s Ed Gordon.
4 p.m.: Biden speaks at the 115th NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas.
6:45 p.m.: Biden participates in an economic summit with Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.)

👋 And Finally…

Let’s all pause for a minute to watch Gus the puppy try a cuke for the first time.

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