Washington – The Republican National Convention kicks off Monday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the GOP is set to formalize the nomination of former President Donald Trump just days after an assassination attempt against the former president.
Republicans from across the country are descending on Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum arena to nominate Trump, who clinched the nomination in March having amassed the 1,125 delegates needed.
How the shooting reshapes the convention remains to be seen. Secret Security officials said Sunday that the agency has been working on the RNC security plan for more than a year, and the plan will remain in place.
Trump said Sunday that he wouldn’t delay his trip to Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention.
“Based on yesterday’s terrible events, I was going to delay my trip to Wisconsin, and The Republican National Convention, by two days, but have just decided that I cannot allow a ‘shooter,’ or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
Trump’s nomination is a formality, but it is still a mystery who the former president will select as his running mate. Sources familiar with the planning told CBS News that Trump will announce his pick for vice president before the expected roll call vote to nominate the person later in the day at the convention.
What’s on the agenda?
The roll call delegate count is expected to begin Monday afternoon, when around 2,400 delegates from around the country will come together to officially nominate Trump. Proceeding in alphabetical order, states are expected to announce how many delegates they will be delivering to each candidate. Trump is expected to officially accept the nomination in a speech on Thursday.
Each day of the convention features a theme that plays off of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” tagline. Monday’s theme is “Make America Wealthy Once Again,” in a nod to the economic policies under the Trump administration and the promise to “usher in a new age of prosperity” should the former president return to office, his campaign outlined.
The first official session gets underway at 12:45 CT, or 1:45 ET. For a detailed schedule of events, see the RNC’s master calendar on their website.
Who’s speaking?
The RNC and the Trump campaign announced a list of speakers for this week’s convention on Saturday, which includes lawmakers, television personalities and artists, members of the former president’s family and others. A detailed, daily schedule of the speakers has yet to be released.
Among Trump’s family members, his two older sons are slated to speak, along with his son Donald Jr.’s fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle and RNC co-chair Lara Trump, who is married to Eric Trump. Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, has not been named as a speaker, nor has his daughter Ivanka Trump, who worked in his first administration.
Though the list of speakers is primarily dominated by governors, lawmakers and officials, others like country music stars Lee Greenwood and Chris Janson, along with rapper Amber Rose are also on the list of speakers, as is Tucker Carlson.
Top contenders for Trump’s vice presidential pick, like North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Sen. J.D. Vance and Sen. Marco Rubio are also slated to speak over the course of the week.
Trump’s former rival for the GOP nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is also scheduled to speak. And in a surprise reversal, Nikki Haley, another Trump primary rival, has also accepted an invitation to speak at the convention, two sources familiar with the planning told CBS News.
How to watch the 2024 RNC with cable
CBS television stations will have coverage beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern during the four days. Find your local CBS station here.
How to watch the 2024 RNC without cable
CBS News 24/7 will have coverage of the convention throughout the day and will stream each night’s keynote speeches, and can also be viewed on your mobile or streaming device.