“Night of hope”: In his speech, Vance said Trump would “put America first” and described Wednesday as a “night of hope” after the former president survived an assassination attempt last week. Both men will kick off the campaign with their first rally Saturday in the battleground state of Michigan.
Covid diagnosis: President Joe Biden has cut short a campaign trip to Nevada after he tested positive for Covid-19. The White House said he has mild symptoms.
From CNN's Eric Bradner, Daniel Strauss, Gregory Krieg and Arit John
US Sen. JD Vance speaks at the 2024 Republican National Convention hosted at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Two days after being tapped as Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance introduced himself to voters in a speech that highlighted the populist direction the two aim to take the Republican Party — and the nation.
Vance’s Republican National Convention speech capped a night Republicans spent prosecuting what they see as President Joe Biden’s biggest foreign policy failures and their consequences.
Republicans, including the former president’s granddaughter, 17-year-old Kai Trump, also spent much of their time attempting to show Trump’s human side.
Here are five takeaways:
Vance introduces himself and slams Biden: Vancespoke of beingraised in rural Ohio, joining the Marines and attending Yale Law School, where he met his wife, Usha. He also used his political leanings — populist and isolationist — to target Biden’s career as a politician.
A softer edge: Though parts of Vance’s speech were Trumpian, Vance used his speech to paint himself as an everyman and appealed to poor and middle-class voters across the political spectrum.
Usha Vance takes the stage: JD Vance’s wife, Usha, laid out her husband’s biography and compared it to her middle-class upbringing in suburban San Diego with Indian immigrant parents. In a humanizing moment, she noted that JD adapted to their differences.
Gold Star families lambast Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal: The audience heard sharp criticism of Biden from the families of some of the 13 service members who were killed in a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul during the United States’ 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
GOP senators confront Secret Service director: Republican senators confronted Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and chased her through Fiserv Forum, demanding answers to questions about Saturday’s assassination attempt.
Analysis: What a Trump-Vance win might mean for America's relationship with China – and Taiwan
From CNN's Simone McCarthy
The official launch of the Republican presidential campaign ticket of Donald Trump and JD Vance this week has been closely scrutinized by governments around the globe looking for clues to what a return of an “America First” foreign policy might look like – including in the world’s second-largest economy.
Vance, a junior senator from Ohio, wove several mentions of China – and what he painted as its negative impact on the American economy – into the introduction of his own life and views to the Republican National Convention on Wednesday when he accepted the nomination to be Trump’s vice-presidential candidate.
Much like his running mate, Vance claimed that policies in past decades supported by President Joe Biden and “out-of-touch politicians” in Washington meant the US “was flooded with cheap Chinese goods, with cheap foreign labor, and in the decades to come, deadly Chinese fentanyl.”
The comments, which were among the few direct references to foreign nations throughout the nearly 40-minute speech, come in a week where Vance and Trump have shown signals of how their administration would shape US policy and relations with China – and US partners in Asia.
That’s drawn attention from the region, where countries’ ties with the US could change if power changes hands in the November elections.
Analysis: Trump triumphant as Biden descends into a deepening crisis
From CNN's Stephen Collinson
Donald Trump at the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17.
Bernadette Tuazon/CNN
Donald Trump will pull off his greatest feat yet as Joe Biden confronts his darkest hour.
The ex-president, 78, will accept the Republican nomination Thursday, advancing one of the most stunning comebacks in political history after his bid to steal the 2020 election, an unprecedented criminal conviction and an assassination attempt.
Biden, 81, is meanwhile being rocked by a Democratic rebellion. Concerns about whether he can again defeat his 2020 opponent have boiled back up amid lawmakers’ concerns about his health and cognitive state and despair over his chances of blocking the extreme possibilities of a second Trump term.
Sources told CNN Wednesday that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently told the president that polls show he can’t beat Trump and could crush Democratic hopes of winning the House if he stays in the race.
A White House race that slumbered for months has suddenly erupted over a momentous three weeks bookended by Biden’s cataclysmic debate performance and the attempted assassination of Trump – a whiplash of events unseen in half a century.
The 45th president’s comeback will only be fully realized if he becomes the second one-term president to win a return to the White House in November. But his rebound to this point may be even more unlikely than his unexpected win in the 2016 election.
His return to the top of the GOP ticket means it is now clear that Trump was not simply an aberration, but is becoming a historic political force who has utterly transformed his party and could do the same for the nation, for better or worse, if he comes back to White House on January 20, 2025.
"With age comes wisdom": Biden again responds to calls for him to drop out of the race
From CNN's Jalen Beckford
President Joe Biden, alongside Maritza Rodriguez, a campaign advisor for the Biden Nevada state team, greets people as he arrives at a restaurant ahead of a radio interview in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 17.
Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images
President Joe Biden has again responded to calls for him to drop out of the presidential race, telling media outlet Univision that “with age comes wisdom.”
The interview with host Luis Sandoval was taped Wednesday, shortly before the White House announced that Biden tested positive for Covid-19.
Asked about calls for him to exit the race, including from Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, Biden addressed the debate performance that sparked the concerns.
Biden also addressed concerns about his age, saying: “with age comes wisdom.”
When asked how confident he is that he’ll get the Latino vote, Biden responded “I feel good,” adding: “I’m indebted to the community.”
The full interview is set to air Thursday afternoon across all Univision-Uforia radio stations.
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In pictures: Day 3 of the Republican National Convention
Vance, 39, was announced as Trump’s running mate on Monday, and he has appeared with Trump at the convention the last two nights. Trump will give his nomination acceptance speech on Thursday, the final day of the convention.
Trump was still wearing a bandage on his right ear, which was injured in Saturday's assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Bernadette Tuazon/CNN
Stacey Goodman, a delegate from Arizona, wears a bandage on her ear in solidarity with Trump.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Anti-Trump protester Nadine Seiler demonstrates outside the convention on Wednesday.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Convention attendees watch Wednesday's events at the Fiserv Forum.
Bernadette Tuazon/CNN
Vance is greeted by his wife, Usha, after his speech.
Rebecca Wright/CNN
House Speaker Mike Johnson watches Vance's speech next to Vance's mother, Beverly. During his speech, Vance spoke of his mother’s struggle with addiction and acknowledged her where she sat in the VIP box.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
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Former Vance rival's advice to VP Kamala Harris: "You have to pin him down"
Former Democratic Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan speaks with CNN on July 18.
CNN
Former Democratic Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, who lost a 2022 Senate bid to JD Vance, offered some advice to Vice President Kamala Harris as she prepares to debate Vance.
“Kamala Harris is uniquely qualified against him because you have to pin him down. He tries to deny things that he said,” Ryan told CNN’s Laura Coates.
Ryan said Harris’s extensive experience as a prosecutor may come to her aid in a face-off with Vance.
Remember: The Biden administration had accepted two dates for a potential vice presidential debate on CBS News — July 23 and August 13 — and a campaign official told CNN earlier today that they have now accepted August 12 as a third possible date.
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Fact checking night 3 of the RNC
From CNN staff
People sing the National Anthem at the 2024 Republican National Convention hosted at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17.
Rebecca Wright/CNN
Night three of the Republican National Convention spotlighted former President Donald Trump’s choice for vice president, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, and other speakers who made false and misleading claims.
Here are some of the claims — about the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and more — that CNN’s Fact First team put under the microscope:
Biden acknowledges questions about his age and fitness are "legitimate" in BET interview
From CNN's Sam Fossum
President Joe Biden said in an interview with BET News taped on Tuesday that, while questions around his age and fitness are “legitimate,” he is in better physical shape than his rival Donald Trump and those concerns should be put aside if he can show his “ability to compete.”
Gordon then pressed Biden on whether he would be willing to be a more temporary transitional candidate and, if he wins in November, to look at his health and capabilities from year to year in a second term.
Biden was also asked about Trump’s vice president pick, JD Vance. Biden complimented him as a hardworking senator but said that he believes him to be a “really, really conservative MAGA Republican.”
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What to know about the 3rd day of the Republican National Convention
From CNN staff
Sen. JD Vance speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, July 17.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Ohio Sen. JD Vance introduced himself to America and officially accepted the nomination to be Donald Trump’s running mate at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday. He talked about his upbringing and said that Trump — and his policies — are the best option for the United States.
It was the first time Vance spoke at a convention, and also his first time attending one. He was introduced by his wife, Usha Vance, a trial lawyer and former judicial clerk.
Sen. JD Vance started his speech by saying that it was a “night of hope” after the assassination attempt. He attacked President Joe Biden’s policies that he said hurt small-town and rural communities — like where he grew up in Ohio. Vance also looked to appeal to White working-class voters in a callout to battleground states. He addressed factory and energy workers and said that Trump is the person who will put American workers first. In speaking about his upbringing and his background, Vance talked about his mother’s struggle with addiction.
Usha Chilukuri Vance,JD Vance’s wife, underscored the different backgrounds the couple come from, calling him “the most interesting person I knew. She said they met in law school at Yale. “That JD and I could meet at all, let alone fall in love and marry is a testament to this great country,” she said.
Donald Trump Jr. used the start of his speech to remember the life of the man who died Saturday during the attack on the former president and praised Vance. His daughter, Kai Madison Trump, also took the stage to talk about her grandfather. She also said she was shocked to hear about the attempt on his life.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum,who was on Trump’s VP shortlist, focused much of his speech on energy. He accused Biden of “acting like a dictator” with his energy policy “using mandates to shut down reliable baseload electricity.” He said Trump would make the US “more energy dominant.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tried to contrast the former president’s — and his own — immigration and border policies with those of Biden. He vowed to continue busing migrants to other cities “until we finally secure our border” and highlighted efforts he is making in his state.
Peter Navarro, former director of the US Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, who was released from prison today, was greeted by a cheering crowd. He told the convention that Republicans needed to win the election and take control of all branches of the government with the upcoming election.
Pressure on Biden: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi privately told Biden that polling shows he cannot defeat Trump and that he could destroy Democrats’ chances of winning the House if he continues seeking a second term, according to four sources briefed on the call. Earlier in the day, Rep. Adam Schiff called on Biden to drop out of the race. Separately, Biden told BET, that the only thing that would push him to reconsider his reelection bid would be a medical condition.
Fact Check: RNC video makes outdated claim about US wages
From CNN's Tami Luhby
A video that played before vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance’s speech at the Republican National Convention hit President Joe Biden over his handling of the economy.
“Under Biden, wages are going down while prices skyrocket,” the video said.
Facts first:The claim in the video is outdated. While inflation outpaced wages during the first half of the Biden administration, that reversed in the middle of last year.
Inflation rose sharply during the early years of the Biden administration but has since slowed to an annual rate of 3% in June. In fact, prices fell in June for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Meanwhile, real average hourly earnings – which take inflation into account – began increasing in mid-2023. They rose 0.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis, from June 2023 to June 2024, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
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Fact Check: Vance’s misleading claim about Trump and the invasion of Iraq
From CNN's Daniel Dale
Sen. JD Vance speaks on the third night of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, in Milwaukee.
Rebecca Wright/CNN
Former President Donald Trump’s choice for vice president, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, insinuated in his speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday that Trump had opposed the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
Vance said, “When I was a senior in high school, that same Joe Biden supported the disastrous invasion of Iraq.” After mentioning other past Biden positions as well, Vance said, “Somehow, a real estate developer from New York City by the name of Donald J. Trump was right on all of these issues while Biden was wrong. President Trump knew, even then, that we needed leaders who would put America first.”
In his 2000 book, “The America We Deserve,” Trump argued a military strike on Iraq might be necessary. And Trump did not express a firm opinion about the looming war in a Fox interview in January 2003, saying that “either you attack or don’t attack” and that then-President George W. Bush “has either got to do something or not do something, perhaps.”
Trump began criticizing the war in 2003, after the invasion, and also said that year that American troops should not be withdrawn from Iraq. He emerged as an explicit opponent of the war in 2004, the year before Biden did.
But Vance suggested Trump had been right on the invasion itself while Biden got it wrong, and there’s no basis for the claim that they were on opposing sides of the issue.
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Vance celebrates his mother being "10 years clean and sober" after addiction struggles
From CNN's Elizabeth Wolfe
Beverly Vance, mother of Sen. J.D. Vance, reacts as her son speaks during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, July 17.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
During his speech, JD Vance spoke of his mother’s struggle with addiction and acknowledged her where she sat in the VIP box.
Vance gestured to his mother in the audience, who stood to a standing ovation as the audience cheered “JD’s mom!”
His mother mouthed, “I love you, JD.”
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Sources: Biden defensive after Pelosi privately told him polls show he can't win and will take down the House
From CNN's MJ Lee, Jamie Gangel and Jeff Zeleny
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi privately told President Joe Biden in a recent conversation that polling shows that the president cannot defeat Donald Trump and that the president could destroy Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November if he continues seeking a second term, according to four sources briefed on the call.
More background: This phone call would mark the second known conversation between the California lawmaker and Biden since the president’s disastrous debate on June 27. While the exact date of the conversation was not clear, one source described it as being within the last week. Pelosi and Biden also spoke in early July.
None of the sources indicated whether Pelosi told Biden in this conversation that she believes the president should drop out of the 2024 race.
Pelosi has spent the weeks following Biden’s disastrous debate performance listening to concerns from her colleagues. Pelosi made waves when she said in an interview last week: “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”
When asked for comment, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates did not respond to the details of CNN’s reporting on the recent Pelosi-Biden call. “President Biden is the nominee of the party. He plans to win and looks forward to working with congressional Democrats to pass his 100 days agenda to help working families,” Bates said.
A Pelosi spokesperson told CNN that the former House speaker has been in California since Friday and she has not spoken to Biden since.
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Vance shouts out battleground states in his RNC speech
From CNN's Jack Forrest
Republican Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s pick for vice president, leaned on his childhood growing up in rural Ohio as he looked to appeal to White working class voters in his callout to battleground states during his Republican National Convention speech.
“But my fellow Americans, this moment is not about me; it’s about all of us and who we’re fighting for,” Vance said, before going on to appeal to voters in states Trump will likely need to win over to return to the White House.
“It’s about the factory worker in Wisconsin, who makes things with their hands and is proud of American craftsmanship,” later telling the crowd that the Trump-Vance presidency would bring more manufacturing jobs to the US.
Vance ended his speech by again linking his upbringing in Middletown, Ohio, to battleground states, saying, “All the forgotten communities in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and every corner of our Nation, I promise you this - I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from.”
This post was updated with additional remarks from Vance.
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Vance says Biden's policies hurt communities like the one where he grew up
From CNN's Elise Hammond
Sen. JD Vance speaks on the third night of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, in Milwaukee.
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Vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance talked about his upbringing and attacked President Joe Biden’s policies. He argued that Biden hurt communities like the one where he grew up in Ohio.
Vance said the country needs leaders “who would put America first.”
Vance was born in Middletown, Ohio, on August 2, 1984, and spent some of his childhood in Kentucky. He captured growing up in his best-selling book “Hillbilly Elegy.”
He went on to serve in the Marine Corps from 2003 to 2007 before attending Ohio State University and Yale Law School. Vance later worked as a venture capitalist before running for office.
He argued that the country needs a leader who “answers to the working man, union and non-union alike” and will fight to bring back factories. Trump is the person who would accomplish these things, he said.
This post has been updated with more remarks from Vance.
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Fact Check: Kimberly Guilfoyle claims that "Trump handed Biden a booming economy"
From CNN's Tami Luhby
Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks on stage during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, in Milwaukee.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.’s fiancée and former Fox News host, slammed President Joe Biden for his handling of the economy in her speech on the third night of the Republican National Convention.
Facts First:Guilfoyle’s comments are misleading. While the economy did well during the first three years of the Trump administration, it was upended by the Covid-19 pandemic. While it had recovered somewhat by the end of 2020, there were still multiple weak points heading into 2021, when Biden took office.
The US economy grew at an annualized and seasonally adjusted rate of 4% in the fourth quarter of 2020. That would usually be a great rate, but it didn’t make up for a weak first quarter and terrible second quarter spurred by the pandemic. For all of 2020, the GDP fell 3.5% from the prior year, the worst decline since 1946.
Also, disposable incomes fell by 9.5% on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter of 2020, and the unemployment rate was 6.7% in December of that year. The US economy shed 140,000 jobs that month — a far worse outcome than economists predicted at the time. Covid-19 infections had increased that month, prompting some states to take additional containment measures.
Trump was the first president since Herbert Hoover to leave office with fewer jobs than when he entered, largely because of the pandemic.
Sen. JD Vance speaks on the third night of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, in Milwaukee.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Ohio GOP Sen. JD Vance has formally accepted the nomination to be Donald Trump’s running mate during his speech on Wednesday at the Republican National Convention.
Trump, who is watching the speech from inside the arena, stood up to clap.
In tapping a 39-year-old first-term senator from the country’s heartland over more experienced Republicans with deeper party ties, Trump is looking ahead to the future of his political movement.
Those close to Trump say he is looking to Vance to lead the party beyond his time in office, an expectation he never seriously harbored for his previous vice president, Mike Pence.
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Vance applauds Trump's calls for unity
From CNN's Jack Forrest
Sen. JD Vance speaks on the third night of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, in Milwaukee.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Republican Sen. JD Vance, repeating similar claims he made following the attempted assassination on Donald Trump, casting the former president’s opponents as leading to Saturday’s violence as he celebrated Trump’s subsequent calls for unity.
“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. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
In his speech, Vance added: “And then President Trump flew to Milwaukee and got back to work. Now that’s the man that I’ve gotten to know personally over the last few years. He’s tough — and he is — but he cares about people. He can stand defiant against an assassin one moment and call for national healing the next.”
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Trump's VP pick JD Vance starts speech by saying it "is a night of hope" following assassination attempt
From CNN's Elise Hammond
Sen. JD Vance speaks on the third night of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, in Milwaukee.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance started his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee saying it could have been a day of “heartache and mourning” after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
He also chanted “O-H-I-O” at his state’s delegation. He was introduced by his wife, Usha, with chants of “JD” from the crowd when he came on stage.
The onetime “Never Trump” Republican, Vance, 39, shot to fame over his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” and would eventually win over Trump ahead of his run for Senate. The former lawyer and venture capitalist has since become a loyal follower of Trump and heir-apparent to his particular brand of Republican populist politics.
Watch his speech in the video player above the page and follow instant analysis here.
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Usha Vance says her meeting JD Vance, with their different backgrounds, is "a testament to this great country"
From CNN's Aditi Sangal
Usha Vance speaks during the third day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, July 17.
Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Images
Usha Vance, the wife of Ohio Sen. JD Vance, opened her address Wednesday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee by sharing the story of how they met at Yale Law School.
“We were friends first,” she said. “He was then, as now, the most interesting person I knew — a working class guy who had overcome childhood traumas that I could barely fathom to end up at Yale Law School, a tough marine who had served in Iraq, but whose idea of a good time was playing with puppies and watching the movie ‘Babe.’”
She also underscored the different backgrounds the couple come from.
“My background is very different from JD’s. I grew up in San Diego in a middle-class community with two loving parents — both immigrants from India — and a wonderful sister,” she shared.
JD and Usha Vance embrace on stage during the convention on Wednesday, July 17.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
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Senators confront Secret Service director on convention floor
From CNN's Alayna Treene and Morgan Rimmer
A stunning scene played out at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday as a group of GOP senators chased US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle through the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, shouting that she has refused to answer questions regarding Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“It’s stonewalling!” said Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the third-ranking Senate Republican.
In a video Blackburn posted to X, where she is joined by Barrasso, as well as Sens. James Lankford and Kevin Cramer, Barrasso demanded Cheatle’s “resignation or full explanation to us, right now.”
Blackburn noted that many senators on a virtual briefing with the Secret Service and the FBI Wednesday afternoon didn’t have a chance to ask their questions, saying “whomever was running” the call didn’t let them do so. Cheatle responded, “That was not on us at all.”
When pressed by Blackburn why Trump was still able to go on stage when they had already been made aware of a threat, Cheatle replied, “I don’t think that this is the forum to have this discussion.” At this point, Barrasso accused her of hanging up on them earlier.
Cheatle indicated she’ll address their questions at another time and moved to leave. At that point, the senators said “we’re going with you,” and began following her.
As they walked, Barrasso accused her of having “no shame, no concern.”
“You’re supposed to protect the president of the United States!” he said.
“You answer to us!” added Cramer.
The post has been updated with more details on the confrontation between the senators and Cheatle.
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Fact Check: North Dakota governor claims Biden has waged a "war on energy"
From CNN’s Daniel Dale
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum claimed Wednesday night as he addressed the Republican National Convention that President Joe Biden had waged a “war on energy.”
Facts First: This claim needs context. Biden has stressed the importance of renewable energy during his administration, but the US under Biden is producingmore crude oil than any country ever has. The world record was set by the US in 2023, according to the federal Energy Information Administration, averaging about 12.9 million barrels per day – exceeding the Trump-era record, an average of about 12.3 million barrels per day in 2019. US production of dry natural gas also hit a new highin 2023. So did US crude oil exports.
CNN’s Matt Egan reported in December that the US was exportingthe same amount of crude oil, refined products and natural gas liquids as Saudi Arabia or Russia were producing, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights.
This doesn’t mean that Biden is the reason that domestic oil production has increased; market factors are the key driver of companies’ investment and production decisions, and the Energy Information Administration has credited technological improvements in fracking and horizontal drilling technology that have made oil wells more productive.
Trump's granddaughter describes her heartbreak on hearing about the assassination attempt
From CNN's Elizabeth Wolfe
Donald Trump Jr. on stage with his daughter, Kai Madison Trump, on Wednesday, July 17.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Before giving his speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, Donald Trump Jr. passed the microphone to his daughter, Kai Madison Trump, who spoke about how she was shocked to hear of her grandfather’s assassination attempt on Saturday.
Kai Trump described former President Donald Trump as a proud grandfather who is an inspiration to her.
“I’m speaking today to share the side of my grandpa that people don’t often see. To me, he’s just a normal grandpa. He gives us candy and soda when our parents aren’t looking. He always wants to know how we’re doing in school,” Kai Trump said.
She added: “He always encouraged me to push myself to be the most successful person I can be. Obviously, he sets the bar pretty high. But who knows maybe one day I’ll catch him.”
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Donald Trump Jr. praises father's choice of JD Vance as running mate
From CNN's Jack Forrest
During his remarks at Republican National Convention, Donald Trump Jr. praised JD Vance, who his father on Monday chose as his running mate.
Trump Jr., a close friend and unabashed supporter of Vance, helped make a last-minute push for his father to pick the Ohio Republican as his running mate, CNN reported.
“And by the way, JD Vance is going to make one hell of a vice president,” Trump Jr. said, just minutes before Vance is set to speak.
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Donald Trump Jr. remembers man killed during Saturday's attempted assassination
From CNN's Jack Forrest
Donald Trump Jr. speaks on stage during the third day of the convention on Wednesday, July 17, in Milwaukee.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Donald Trump, Jr., Donald Trump’s son, used the start of his speech to remember the life of the man who died Saturday during the assassination attempt on the former president.
“We came millimeters away from one of our darkest moments in American history,” he said, referring to the shooting.
After attacking Democratic party policies, he looked to capitalize on questions surrounding President Joe Biden’s physical and mental fitness: “And honestly, who is actually running the country anyway. It’s obviously not Joe Biden. So who are they asking us to elect? Seriously, who’s running things, does anyone really know?”
He cast a split screen to his father raising his fist and chanting “fight, fight, fight,” after the assassination attempt: “I’ve never been prouder of my father than in that moment. That is when the world found out that there is tough. And then there is Trump tough.”
This post has been updated with more of Trump Jr.’s remarks.
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Read some excerpts from JD Vance's upcoming RNC speech
In his first speech since being chosen by Donald Trump as his running mate, Vice presidential candidate JD Vance will look to tie his upbringing in “forgotten” rural Ohio with policies President Joe Biden once supported in a bid to win over White working class voters, according to excerpts from his speech.
He is also expected to praise the former president for his reaction to the assassination attempt against him last week and declare that Trump — and his policies — are the best option for the United States.
Read some excerpts from his upcoming speech below:
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"We know he stands with the American hostages," family of hostage held by Hamas says of Trump
From CNN's Tori B. Powell
Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of US-Israeli citizen Omer Neutra, held hostage in Gaza since October 7, speak during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, July 17.
Mike Segar/Reuters
The family of Omer Neutra, an Israeli hostage held by Hamas, delivered remarks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday night.
The crowd at one point began to chant: “Bring them home,” in reference to the Israeli hostages who are still held by Hamas.
Omer’s father, Ronen Neutra, joined in with the crowd on the chant.
Hamas militants on October 7 killed 1,200 people in Israel and took more than 250 people hostage. Following the attack, Israel launched a war in Gaza that has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
“This was not merely an attack on Israel,” he said, noting that 45 of the victims were Americans. “This was and remains an attack on Americans.”
He asked where American outrage is when it comes to returning the hostages and said former President Donald Trump personally called his family after their son was take hostage.
“We know he stands with the American hostages,” Ronen Neutra said. “We need our beautiful son back and we need your support.”
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Fact Check: Florida Rep. Mike Waltz's false claim about electric tanks
From CNN’s Haley Britzky
Co-Chair Committee on Platform Mike Waltz on stage the first day of the Republican National Convention on Monday, July 15
Leon Neal/Getty Images
Florida Rep. Mike Waltz said Wednesday that President Joe Biden is “focused on building electric tanks.”
“What do we have today with President Biden? What’s he focused on? … Here’s my favorite, he’s focused on building electric tanks. Has anyone seen any charging stations in the Middle East for Biden’s electric tanks?” he said.
Facts first: The claim that Biden is focused on building electric tanks is false.
The Army released a climate strategy in 2022 that called for a move toward various kinds of electric vehicles, including “fully electric tactical vehicles by 2050,” but that would not include tanks. And, regardless, a strategy is not a mandate.
An engineer with the RAND Corporation told FactCheck.org of similar claims made by former President Donald Trump regarding electric tanks in the military: “While it may be true that an electric tank would have limited range, the Army is not planning on fielding or deploying an electric tank, though there have been prototypes of hybrid tanks.”
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Fact Check: Rep. Mike Waltz’s false claim about spy balloons
From CNN's Haley Britzky
Republican Rep. Mike Waltz said Wednesday that there were no spy balloon incidents during the Trump administration, like the Chinese spy balloon that transited over the continental US in 2023 before being shot down over the Atlantic Ocean.
“We had a president who defeated ISIS, broke Iran, stood with Israel, always stood with our allies, made China pay. You didn’t see any spy balloons under President Trump, did you?” Waltz said.
Facts first: The claim that there were no spy balloons under President Donald Trump is false.
Three suspected Chinese spy balloons transited over the continental US during the Trump administration, but they were not discovered until after President Joe Biden took office. Gen. Glen VanHerck, then commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said in 2023 that a “domain awareness gap” allowed the balloons to travel undetected.
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Fact Check: Florida lawmaker’s claim about extremism training in the military
From CNN’s Haley Britzky
Florida Rep. Brian Mast claimed at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday that the Biden administration has distracted the military “with millions of hours of so-called extremism training.”
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have once again weakened our armed forces and … distracted our troops with millions of hours of so-called extremism training,” Mast said.
Facts first: The claim that the US military has “millions of hours” of extremism training is false.
While there has been training in the military on extremism, it is not millions of hours’ worth. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered units in 2021 to hold a one-day “stand down” to discuss extremism in the military. The undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness said in a 2022 memo that “discussions about extremist activity” would be included in “periodic training.”
But the Biden administration has also shown an unwillingness to require more training on extremism in the military. In 2021, the White House said that while the administration “shares the goal of preventing prohibited extremist activities and holding offenders accountable,” it would not support the establishment of an Office of Countering Extremism in the Pentagon “because it would impose onerous and overly specific training.”
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Photos: Some Trump supporters are wearing bandages on their ears at the RNC
From CNN staff
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Some attendees at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee are wearing bandages (or white material that looks like a bandage) over their right ears, similar to what was seen on former President Donald Trump after he appeared this week following the assassination attempt on Saturday at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
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JD Vance is set to address the RNC soon. Here are key things to know about the Trump critic-turned-VP pick
From CNN's Jack Forrest
Trump and Vance at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16.
Bernadette Tuazon/CNN
With Donald Trump’s choice to make JD Vance his running mate, he adds to the ticket the Ohio senator once known as a “Trump whisperer” for his understanding of the former president’s voter base.
The onetime “Never Trump” Republican, Vance, 39, shot to fame over his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” The former lawyer and venture capitalist has since become a loyal follower of Trump and heir-apparent to his particular brand of Republican populist politics.
Once a Trump critic CNN reported last month that Vance liked tweets in 2016 and 2017 that harshly criticized Trump and his policies. CNN previously reported that Vance deleted past anti-Trump tweets ahead of his announcement in 2021 that he would run for the open Ohio Senate seat.
Senate The freshman senator won his election after receiving Trump’s endorsement. He was also funded heavily by pro-Trump tech mogul Peter Thiel.
Vance has been a vocal opponent of foreign aid in Congress, opposing legislation to send more aid from the US to Ukraine amid Russia’s war.
A day after Ohio voters approved a 2023 ballot measure to protect access to abortion, Vance urged Republicans to embrace a federal ban on the procedure to more effectively make the case to voters about the GOP’s position — breaking from Trump’s stance that the issue should be left up to states.
Pivot to support Trump “Like a lot of people, I criticized Trump back in 2016,” Vance told CNN in 2021. “I regret being wrong about the guy.”
Vance stood by Trump’s side at a New York courthouse during his hush money trial. He has also made clear that his view of the constitutional limits on a vice president’s role in certifying election results differs from that of former Vice President Mike Pence, who drew Trump’s ire in 2021 when he opted not to interfere in the process of approving electoral votes for Joe Biden.
Vance earlier this year told ABC he would not have certified the 2020 election results until states submitted pro-Trump electors.
He committed to accepting the 2024 election results in May in an interview with CNN, provided it’s a “free and fair election” and despite the winner.
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Families of US service members killed in Afghanistan slam Biden at Republican National Convention
From CNN's Elise Hammond
The family members of several Americans killed in action on the the Republican National Convention stage on Wednesday, July 17.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
The families of several American service members killed in the 2021 attack at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, during the US troop withdrawal took the Republican National Convention stage on Wednesday.
Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Sgt. Nicole Leeann Gee, talked about the time former President Donald Trump spent with her family after Gee’s death.
The 23-year-old Marine was one of 13 US service members killed in bombing attacks at the Hamid Karzai International Airport that left more than 170 other people dead. At least 20 US Marines were among the hundreds of people wounded.
Cheryl Juels, Gee’s aunt, attacked President Joe Biden for the withdrawal, saying “the humiliation of our nation was not an extraordinary success.”
Herman and Alicia Lopez, the parents of Cpl. Hunter Lopez, who was 22 years old, said the Biden administration pushed them away.
“The Biden administration has not owned up to the bad decisions,” Alicia Lopez said.
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Fact Check: Peter Navarro’s false claims about his prosecution for contempt of Congress
From CNN’s Holmes Lybrand
The same day he got out of prison after serving his sentence for contempt of Congress, former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro claimed that the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol demanded he break the law.
“They demanded that I break the law because they have no respect for it. I refused,” Navarro told the audience at the Republic National Convention on Wednesday, adding that the committee wanted him to betray former President Donald Trump.
Navarro also claimed that special counsel Jack Smith “indicted and prosecuted me.”
In a ruling last summer, prior to his trial where a jury convicted Navarro of being in contempt of Congress, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Navarro could not argue that Trump asserted executive privilege to shield him from the congressional subpoena.
Mehta concluded that either Trump himself or someone authorized to assert privilege or immunity on his behalf would have had to personally invoke the privilege for it to be validly asserted. The judge said Navarro had not put forward adequate evidence to show such an assertion when he was subpoenaed for testimony and documents by the House committee in February 2022.
A jury in Washington, DC, found that Navarro broke the law in refusing to comply with Congress, not the other way around as the former adviser suggested.
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Fact Check: RNC chairman’s false claim about the 2020 economy
From CNN’s Daniel Dale
Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley said in his opening remarks at the party convention on Wednesday: “Our economy is not nearly as strong as it was four years ago.”
Facts First: This is false. Four years ago, in mid-2020, the US economy was in dire straits because of the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, the June 2020 unemployment rate was 11%, well over double the June 2024 rate of 4.1%. In late July 2020, the federal government announced that the US economy had just experienced its worst contraction on record – shrinking by an annual rate of 32.9% in the quarter running from April 2020 through June 2020.
We give politicians wide latitude to express opinions, and many Trump supporters have argued that the pre-pandemic economy under Trump, in 2019 and prior, was stronger than the current Biden-era economy. That’s a matter of subjective debate. But it’s plainly inaccurate that the mid-2020 economy was superior to the current economy.
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Donald Trump Jr. will use his speech to "pump up" Sen. JD Vance, source says
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
Donald Trump Jr., who is scheduled to speak shortly, is expected to “pump up” his friend and now vice presidential nominee JD Vance in his speech, a source familiar told CNN.
Trump Jr., who will speak right before Vance is introduced, was influential in his father’s choice of Vance and personally pitched the Ohio senator to the former president regularly, including in the lead up to Trump’s announcement.
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Kimberly Guilfoyle says this is "the most important election in our lifetime"
From CNN's Tori B. Powell and Veronica Stracqualursi
Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks during day three of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 18, in Milwaukee.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former member of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., called the upcoming presidential election “the most important election in our lifetime.”
Guilfoyle said the choice between “safety and chaos” is on the line, as well as “wealth or poverty” and “national sovereignty or open borders.”
“This election is a choice between Joe Biden’s vision for American weakness and Donald Trump’s vision of American greatness,” she said.
She argued that “we are closer to World War III than any time in my life” and that the US is “facing an unprecedented invasion of millions of illegal aliens across our southern borders.”
Guilfoyle went on to say that Trump left Biden with “a booming economy” and “all Joe had to do was leave it alone and take a nap.”
This post has been updated with additional comments from Guilfoyle.
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NOW: Donald Trump has entered the convention arena ahead of JD Vance's speech
From CNN's Aditi Sangal
Former President Donald Trump arrives for the third night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, July 17.
Rebecca Wright/CNN
Former President Donald Trump is back for night three of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
He entered the arena ahead of the scheduled speeches by his son Donald Trump Jr., and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance.
In the box today: He greeted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. He is also flanked by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and his son, who will speak later tonight. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert are also in the box.
Trump has been at the convention both of the prior days as well, and is set to formally accept the GOP presidential nomination tomorrow night and address the convention.
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Fact Check: Newt Gingrich on the war in Afghanistan under Trump
From CNN’s Jennifer Hansler
Former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich seen on the third day of the convention on Wednesday, July 17.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich claimed that “President Trump orchestrated an orderly end to the Afghanistan war with no American killed in nearly two years.”
Facts first: Both of these claims are false.
Although then-President Donald Trump oversaw a deal with the Taliban aimed at the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the war did not end under his presidency. The last US troops left Afghanistan in August 2021 under the Biden administration. Moreover, there is no period of “nearly two years” under Trump’s presidency where no American service member was killed.
During his four years in office, there were 45 US service member hostile deaths, according to the Defense Casualty Analysis System. The longest stretch without combat deaths was at the end of his presidency, from March 2020 until he left office in January 2021 – less than a year.
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Biden "receptive" in discussions about his future, source says
From CNN's Jeff Zeleny
As President Joe Biden flies back to Delaware from Las Vegas tonight, cutting his trip short after testing positive for Covid-19, he faces one of the most momentous decisions of his long political life: Should he heed the rising calls from his fellow Democrats to extinguish his bid for reelection?
For Biden, is it a new moment?
Even though anger and panic have been steadily rising inside the Democratic Party for nearly three weeks since Biden’s alarming debate performance in Atlanta, the White House and the Biden campaign are in a new place, multiple Democratic officials tell CNN.
“The private conversations with the Hill are continuing,” a senior Democratic adviser tells CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid alienating the campaign and the White House. “He’s being receptive. Not as defiant as he is publicly.”
The Biden campaign, which is also facing a growing outcry from Democratic donors, dismissed the suggestion the president was rethinking his candidacy.
This post was updated with a response from a Biden spokesperson.
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Fact Check: Former Trump intel chief misleadingly says "Taliban is back"
From CNN’s Haley Britzky
Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell on stage during the third day of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, in Milwaukee.
Leon Neal/Getty Images
Richard Grenell, who served as the acting Director of National Intelligence in 2020, said Wednesday night that under President Joe Biden “the Taliban is back.”
“[A]fter four years of Joe Biden, wars are back, the Taliban is back and members of ISIS have slipped through America’s broken southern border,” Grenell said.
Facts first: The claim that the “Taliban is back” is misleading, as it insinuates the Taliban ever left.
While it’s true that the Taliban returned to power after the United States’ 2021 withdrawal, the Taliban remained present in Afghanistan throughout former President Donald Trump’s time in office. The US, under the Trump administration, and the Taliban signed a historic agreement in 2020 that set into motion the US’ withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
Officials within the Trump administration also met with Taliban representatives “repeatedly” in Doha for nearly a year, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said in a 2019 report.
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Kellyanne Conway highlights Trump lifting up of women during his administration
From CNN's Jack Forrest
Kellyanne Conway speaks during the third day of the Republican National Convention Milwaukee on Wednesday, July 17.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
Kellyanne Conway, former counselor to President Donald Trump, recalled being tapped as the first woman to lead a successful presidential campaign in an attempt to highlight the former president’s elevating of women during his administration.
She recalled being in a senior staff meeting at the White House “and as I glanced around the table, something caught my eye. In that meeting,” she said, were four other women staffers.
“I soon realized that among us, we have 19 children, at the time ages 2-16. Show me a C-suite in America where five working moms of 19 young children could have the highest rank in the company and work alongside the president. In the Trump White House we lived it.”
She said Trump could be the envy of former presidents if he were not to run again.
“He’s a billionaire who can play golf everyday at his golf courses. He can enjoy a magnificent life with his incredible five children his 10 amazing grandchildren and that extraordinary, elegant, beautiful, brilliant wife.”
Conway remained in the White House after helping Trump get elected until August 2020, when she announced she was stepping away from her role, citing the need to focus on family.
“How often do we hear, ‘I want Trump policies without Trump’s personality.’ Well, good luck with that. We don’t get those policies without that personality,” she said.
This post has been updated with additional remarks from Conway.
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Fact Check: Rep. Ronny Jackson’s false claim of "record-high inflation"
From CNN's Daniel Dale
Rep. Ronny Jackson speaks on stage during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, in Milwaukee.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas claimed in his Republican National Convention speech on Wednesday that there has been “record-high inflation” under the Biden administration.
Facts First: This is false. The record for US inflation, set in 1920, is 23.7%; the Biden-era peak was 9.1% in June 2022. Jackson could fairly say there was a four-decade high under Biden – that June 2022 figure was the highest since late 1981 – but there was nothing close to a new record.
In addition, Jackson didn’t mention that inflation has fallen sharply since the Biden-era peak two years ago. The current inflation rate, for June 2024, is 3%.
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Gov. Doug Burgum declares Trump will make America energy dominant
From CNN's Tori B. Powell
Governor of North Dakota Doug Burgum speaks on stage during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, in Milwaukee.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum opened his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee asking the crowd multiple times, “Who will make America energy dominant?”
The crowd answered resoundingly each time: “Trump.”
Burgum claimed that “unleashing American energy dominance is our path back to prosperity and peace through strength,” adding that Trump would make the US “more energy dominant.”
He said serving as governor under Trump’s administration “was like having a beautiful breeze at our back.” In comparison, Burgum said being governor under President Joe Biden “has been like a gale force wind in our face.”
He went on to criticize what he called “Biden’s war on energy,” claiming that his administration’s policies have hurt “every American.”
The conservative second-term governor ran against Trump in the GOP primary earlier this year before suspending his campaign.
Some background: As governor, Burgum has tried to play both sides of climate policy. In 2021, he set an ambitious goal for North Dakota to be carbon neutral by 2030, and he signed a bill in 2017 to create North Dakota’s first Department of Environmental Quality.
But as he’s stepped onto the national stage and ingratiated himself to Trump after dropping out of the Republican presidential primary, critics say Burgum has shifted to emphasize his support of oil. He has harshly criticized Biden administration climate regulations, and joined Trump for a fundraiser with oil executives at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Trump has praised him on the topic, saying at a rally that Burgum “probably knows more about energy than anybody I know.”
This post has been updated with additional comments from Burgum and background.
CNN’s Allison Gordon and Casey Tolan contributed reporting.
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Behind the scenes, the Biden camp is daring donors and lawmakers to oppose the president
From CNN's Kayla Tausche
In private conversations with donors, President Joe Biden’s campaign has dared big money backers to pause their donations — telling them it’s their choice whether they want to be complicit in the re-election of Donald Trump.
Three people who have participated in such conversations told CNN the mood among the donor class is one of resignation, as they watch Trump rack up massive pledges from tech billionaires who hadn’t previously supported the former president.
“It’s a waste,” the donor said of backing Biden now.
As questions intensified about Biden’s candidacy, donor sources told CNN that “everything is frozen” until the top of the ticket was solidified.
That was before Trump survived an attempted assassination over the weekend, memorializing the moment in history with his fist in the air. And before Biden was sidelined with Covid at a time when his campaign sought to prove the president’s vitality
In tandem with the feedback from donors about Trump’s momentum in recent weeks, Democratic leaders in Congress have shared in “direct and unambiguous” terms the concerns among their members, especially those in vulnerable districts, sources said.
A person briefed on the meeting between Biden and top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries says Jeffries stopped short of calling on Biden to step aside — instead pinning the suggestion on his members, according to a person briefed on the meeting. Biden, in turn, pushed back aggressively, daring more members, including Jeffries himself, to come out against him. Jeffries’ office declined to comment on what he said to Biden.
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Vance has "been tapped" as the GOP "heir apparent," a Republican senator told CNN
From CNN's Phil Mattingly in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
In conversations with more than a half dozen GOP officials here in Milwaukee, there’s a consistent view that Sen. JD Vance was selected to be far more than just a running mate by former President Donald Trump.
It’s a reality that underscores the stakes for Vance as he prepares for the biggest moment of his political career tonight — national GOP officials are not just watching a potential vice president, but their next standard bearer.
“I think everyone knows this is a lot more than just a VP pick. He’s the heir now,” a House Republican told CNN.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott contrasts his and Trump's immigration policies with Biden's
From CNN's Elise Hammond and Ali Main
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during the third day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, on Wednesday, July 17.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the United States needs more security at the US-Mexico border during his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
He slammed President Joe Biden for rolling back measures Trump put in place, trying to contrast the former president’s — and his own — immigration and border policies with those of Biden.
“The president’s most sacred duty is to secure our country. Donald Trump fulfilled that duty,” he said, arguing that Biden “deserted” his duty.
Texas has been locked in a hard-fought legal battle with the Biden administration over its efforts to curtain illegal immigration. Abbott signed into law a controversial measure that allows state officials to arrest and detain people they suspect of entering the country illegally. The law, Senate Bill 4, is on hold in Texas while a legal challenge against it plays out in court.
“Biden is even fighting tooth and nail to stop Texas and other Republican states from securing our own border,” Abbott said.
In 2022 Abbott started bussing migrants to deep-blue cities — with a total of more than 100,000 sent to Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. In his speech, he said he will continue to bus migrants “until we finally secure our border.”
This post has been updated with additional remarks from Abbott.
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Wednesday night is also Usha Vance's big debut
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
Sen. J.D. Vance kisses his wife Usha as they arrive at the convention on Monday, July 15.
Tannen Maury/UPI/Shutterstock
Before JD Vance delivers his acceptance speech, he will be introduced by his wife Usha. She is relatively unknown, and Wednesday will serve as her public debut.
Usha Vance, a trial lawyer and former judicial clerk, is the daughter of Indian immigrants who grew up outside of San Diego. She met her husband at Yale law school, where she also earned her undergraduate degree. Her family is Hindu. JD Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019.
For years, the junior senator from Ohio has described his wife as a key part of his success.
Last month, Usha Vance sat down for an interview alongside her husband and admitted she wasn’t necessarily eager for the inevitable scrutiny that would come if he were to be picked as former President Donald Trump’s running mate.
She added that she was open to seeing how things unfolded.
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Fact Check: RNC chairman’s false claim about Russia’s nuclear missiles near Cuba
From CNN’s Haley Britzky
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley speaks during on stage during the third day of the convention on Wednesday, July 17.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley claimed in his opening speech on Wednesday evening that Russia has “parked a nuclear missile capable boat” in Cuba.
“Where are we today? Russia has invaded Ukraine,” he said. “They’ve parked a nuclear missile capable boat 90 miles off our shore in Havana, Cuba.”
Facts first: This claim about the status of a Russian boat is false. While Russia did have a nuclear-powered submarine visiting Cuba in June along with other Russian Navy vessels, all of the vessels – including the submarine – have since left.
A group of four Russian Navy vessels arrived in Cuba on June 12 as part of what Pentagon and State Department officials stressed is a routine activity and noted that Cuba has hosted Russian ships every year between 2013 and 2020. A Pentagon spokesperson, Maj. Charlie Dietz, said in June that “given Russia’s long history of Cuban port calls, these are considered routine naval visits, especially in the context of increased US support to Ukraine and NATO exercises.”
The nuclear-powered submarine, the Kazan, was the first of the vessels to leave Havana on June 17.
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Jill Biden staying in Rehoboth Beach as president plans to isolate after his Covid-19 diagnosis
From CNN's Arlette Saenz
First lady Jill Biden is planning to stay in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, a White House official said, as her husband, President Joe Biden, heads to their home there to isolate after testing positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday.
The first lady last saw the president on Saturday and is not symptomatic, the official said. She has spent most of the last week in Rehoboth.
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Former Trump aide Peter Navarro who left jail today is greeted by loud cheers at RNC
From CNN's Aditi Sangal
Peter Navarro speaks during the third day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, July 17.
Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Images
Peter Navarro, former Donald Trump White House adviser, was greeted by a cheering crowd at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Many supporters stood up to cheer him on before he started his address.
He told the convention that Republicans need to win the election and take control of all branches of the government with the upcoming election.
Remember: Navarro traveled from Miami, where he was released from a federal prison Wednesday after completing his four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from the January 6 congressional committee.
This post has been updated with more of Navarro’s remarks. CNN’s Tierney Sneed, Katelyn Polantz and Denise Royal contributed to this report.
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After Covid-19 diagnosis, Biden posts fundraising appeal on his personal X account
From CNN's Donald Judd
In a two-part post to his personal account on social media platform X Wednesday, President Joe Biden shared a tongue-in-cheek fundraising appeal, writing, “I’m sick,” and adding, in a subsequent post, “of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election. And if you agree, pitch in here.”
The post comes after the White House says the president tested positive for a mild case of Covid-19 during a swing in Las Vegas, Nevada, and just days after billionaire Elon Musk announced his endorsement of—and financial support for—former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
In a post to his official @POTUS account, Biden took a more serious approach, writing, “I tested positive for COVID-19 this afternoon, but I am feeling good and thank everyone for the well wishes.”
“I will be isolating as I recover, and during this time I will continue to work to get the job done for the American people,” he added.
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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich contrasts Trump and Biden foreign policy in RNC speech
From CNN's Jack Forrest
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich speaks during the third day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, July 17.
Rebecca Wright/CNN
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich looked to differentiate former President Donald Trump’s foreign policy from President Joe Biden’s in his speech to the Republican National Convention Wednesday.
He said that the contrast between Trump’s “realistic policy of resolute strength in a dangerous world, and President Biden’s policies of appeasement, weakness and self-delusion may be the biggest difference between the Make America Great Again movement and the make America weak ideology of the left.”
Gingrich, who resigned from Congress in 1999 and ran for president in 2012, was an early backer of Donald Trump’s 2016 run.
This post has been updated with additional remarks from Gingrich.
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Fact Check: RNC video falsely claims there was peace in the Middle East under Trump
From CNN’s Daniel Dale
A video played early in the Republican National Convention proceedings on Wednesday night claimed that the “strength” of President Donald Trump kept “the Middle East at peace.” Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley had similarly claimed in his convention speech on Monday that the Middle East was “at peace” four years ago under Trump.
Facts First:The claim that there was peace in the Middle East under Trump is false. Whatever the merits of the Abraham Accords that Trump’s administration helped to negotiate, in which Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates agreed in 2020 to normalize relations with Israel (Morocco and Sudan followed), there was still lots of unresolved armed conflict around the Middle East when Trump left office in early 2021.
“It’s a highly inaccurate statement,” Miller, who worked on Mideast peace negotiations while in government and is now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said last fall, when Trump himself made a similar claim about having achieved peace in the Middle East.
Dana El Kurd, senior nonresident fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC think tank, also called that claim “false” when Trump made it. She said in a November email: “The Abraham Accords did not achieve peace in the Middle East. In fact, violence escalated in Israel-Palestine in the aftermath of the Accords (using any metric you can think of – death tolls, settlement violence, etc).”
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Rep. Matt Gaetz: "Donald Trump is unstoppable"
From CNN's Elise Hammond
Rep. Matt Gaetz speaks during the third day of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, in Milwaukee.
Rebecca Wright/CNN
Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz started his speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday with an impassioned call for Donald Trump to be reelected.
Gaetz, a fierce Trump ally, praised Trump’s pick of vice president, Sen. JD Vance, and said Republicans are “on a mission to rescue and save this country and we ride or die with Donald John Trump to the end.”
The Florida congressman pledged that he would be “President Trump’s strongest ally” in pursuing priorities on the Hill like passing term limits in Congress and stopping lawmakers from becoming lobbyists.
The son of a prominent Florida politician and businessman, Gaetz arrived in Washington in 2017 along with Trump and quickly focused on building his personal brand, going on television and getting close to the new president.
He also echoed Trump’s lies about the 2020 election being stolen and even defended Trump in the hours after the deadly January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
Trump has since praised Gaetz for defending him through numerous controversies.
This post has been updated with remarks from Gaetz.
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Fact Check: RNC video cites right-wing think tank without mentioning it was doing so
From CNN’s Daniel Dale
A video played at the beginning of Republican National Convention proceedings on Wednesday evening attacked President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy – and featured a narrator saying, “The Defense News reports today that the US military is in decline and threats from China are formidable.”
Facts First: This claim is misleading. Defense News, an independent publication covering national security, did not itself assert that the US military is in decline. Rather, the publication reported that the right-wing Heritage Foundation think tank had made that assertion.
A Defense News article in October 2022 was headlined, “US military in decline, threats from China ‘formidable,’ report says.” The article explained that these assertions came from “a new report by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that each year analyzes the strength of the armed forces and the threats to America.”
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Sen. JD Vance set to introduce himself to many Republicans tonight
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
When Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance takes the stage tonight, he will have had just over 48 hours to prepare the most important speech of his life. Tonight will be Vance’s formal introduction to the world – including many Republicans who are not familiar with the junior senator from Ohio.
Allies of Vance have encouraged him to dive deep into “Hillbilly Elegy,” his 2016 best-selling memoir, noting that his biography and assessment of the Rust Belt resonated with many who read it. Others have urged him to present himself as the future, not just of the MAGA movement, but also of the Republican Party. At a campaign event earlier in the day, Vance said his goal is to fire up the crowd and make the case that “we have got to reelect President Donald J. Trump back to the White House.”
Vance has at times shown a pugilistic approach to politics, an appealing trait for a political running mate. But for tonight’s remarks introducing himself to a national audience, some Republicans will be watching to see whether he moderates his message at all and emphasize a message of unity.
One Republican convention delegate told CNN that much of the conversation around Vance has been his past negative comments about Trump, saying it would be worthwhile for the Ohio senator to speak to his evolution in embracing the former President.
As he prepares for this consequential speech, Vance will have to craft a message that fits into the roughly 20 minutes of allotted speaking time.
“I joked with the president that, you know, I’m very excited about this evening. I don’t plan to screw it up, but if I do, it’s too late. He made the pick, right? It’s official now,” he said.
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When Vance takes the stage tonight, it’ll be the first time he's spoken at — or attended — a convention
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins
When Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, takes the stage tonight at the Republican convention, not only will it be the Ohio Republican’s first time speaking at one, but it’ll also be his first time attending one.
A source close to Vance confirms that the relative newcomer to politics has never attended a political convention before. Tonight he’ll make his debut in a primetime slot.
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Rep. Ronny Jackson praises Trump's leadership following assassination attempt
From CNN's Tori B. Powell
Rep. Ronny Jackson speaks on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, in Milwaukee.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas praised former President Donald Trump’s character, mentioning his resilience since last weekend’s recent assassination attempt.
He went on to criticize President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“She is as unfit in character as Joe Biden is in body and mind,” he said of Harris.
Some background: Jackson served as the White House physician for former President Barack Obama as well as for Trump. He was elected in 2020 to represent the 13th Congressional District in Texas.
The Navy demoted Rep. Ronny Jackson in 2022 after a scathing report from the Defense Department watchdog found the former White House physician drank on the job, routinely screamed at subordinates and acted inappropriately. Jackson, who retired in 2019 as a one-star rear admiral, was demoted to the rank of captain, according to two US officials.
The post was updated with more of Jackson’s remarks and background.
CNN’s Oren Liebermann contributed reporting to this post.
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The third night of the RNC is underway
From CNN staff
Volunteers walk through the plaza at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, July 17.
Rebecca Wright/CNN
The third night of the Republican National Convention has begun in Milwaukee.
Here are the notable speakers expected to take the stage tonight:
You can watch the speeches and CNN’s special coverage in the video player above this page.
CNN’s Kristen Holmes contributed reporting to this post.
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Biden campaign will do as much as possible remotely following the president's Covid-19 diagnosis, source says
From CNN's Dana Bash and MJ Lee
After President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday, the campaign will readjust, according to a campaign source.
The Biden campaign will do as much as possible remotely, the source said.
Biden has had Covid-19 before and got through those periods by doing a lot of video calls, a White House official said, adding that we should expect similar in the days ahead.
President Biden, who was spotted not wearing a mask after it was announced he has Covid-19, was wearing one in the car and is wearing one on Air Force One now, a White House official said.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris will stick to her scheduled appearance at a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, tomorrow, per an administration staffer.
The post was updated with Harris’ plans for Thursday.
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President Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid-19 and has mild symptoms, White House says
From CNN's Donald Judd, MJ Lee and Sam Fossum
Biden gives a "thumbs up" as he prepares to board Air Force One after he tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday, July 17.
Biden, 81, tested positive following his first event in Las Vegas, where he was expected to later speak at the UnidosUS annual conference. The president’s doctor said Biden has received his first dose of Paxlovid, and will be self-isolating at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, in line with US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.
The White House’s confirmation followed an announcement at the conference by UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía, after Biden was an hour and a half late to his scheduled appearance.
“I was just on the phone with President Biden. And he shared his deep disappointment at not being able to join us this afternoon. The president has been at many events as we all know and he just tested positive for Covid,” Murguía told attendees.
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Trump is closely watching the effort in Washington to replace Biden on the Democratic ticket
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins
As he prepares his Thursday address for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, former President Donald Trump has also been closely monitoring a problem brewing in Washington, DC: efforts to replace President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket.
While Trump has been meeting with allies and surrogates from his hotel, he has also kept a close eye on the developments to push his challenger off the Democratic ticket, two sources tell CNN. Trump has repeatedly asked people whether they think Democrats will ultimately be successful and how that could upend the 2024 race.
Trump went public with his thoughts earlier.
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Vance's speech tonight will focus heavily on his life story, source says
From CNN's Alayna Treene
Sen. JD Vance shakes hands with attendees at the 2024 Republican National Convention hosted at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16.
Rebecca Wright/CNN
JD Vance’s speech on Wednesday night — which is being referred to by Donald Trump’s campaign as “the VP’s night” – is expected to focus heavily on his personal life story, a source with direct knowledge of his remarks tells CNN.
Vance will describe how he came “from nothing,” the source said, and highlight his journey from an unstable childhood with a family that struggled with opioid addiction in rural Ohio, to a Yale law school graduate, marine, venture capitalist, best-selling author, and ultimately becoming Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee after just a year-and-a-half in the Senate.
One thing to watch: The undercurrents already percolating regarding Vance being viewed as the torch bearer for the MAGA movement.
Trump’s senior advisers told CNN the former president wanted to select a running mate that would help keep the party united around the Trump agenda.
“The president’s been very clear about the primary focus of his choice being a person that he believes would have a great eight years of service after his next four-year term,” according to one of the advisers.
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JD Vance, the new heir to Trump’s MAGA movement, steps into the spotlight tonight
From CNN's Steve Contorno
JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, on stage at the RNC Convention doing a microphone and teleprompter check on the floor at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 16.
Melina Mara/The Washington Post/Getty Images
A faint burst of applause broke out from the Republican National Convention floor as Sen. JD Vance took the stage for the first time as Donald Trump’s running mate.
The Gettysburg Address was loaded into the teleprompters, adjusted for Vance’s towering frame. Arms crossed over a navy suit and gold tie – an Ohio State man dangerously close to sporting Michigan colors – Vance looked out during his midday walkthrough, a hint of a smile on his face. Before him was an arena of empty chairs soon to be filled by members of the party he has been hand-picked to one day lead.
On Wednesday, when Vance addresses the convention, he will do so not only as the party’s vice presidential nominee but as its MAGA heir-in-waiting.
In tapping a 39-year-old first-term senator from the country’s heartland over more experienced Republicans with deeper party ties, Trump is looking ahead to the future of his political movement. Those close to Trump say he is looking to Vance to lead the party beyond his time in office, an expectation he never seriously harbored for his previous vice president, Mike Pence.
His choice of whom to carry the torch remained concealed until Trump was ready to reveal it, but the anointment of Vance shouldn’t come as a surprise. Trump’s campaign had said for months that the former president sought in a running mate “a strong leader who will make a great president for eight years after his next four-year term concludes.”
Key things to know about Usha Vance, the wife of Trump's running mate
From CNN's Arit John
Sen. JD Vance and his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance look on as he is nominated for the office of Vice President on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 15.
She is set to introduce him tonight as Vance formally accepts the nomination and addresses the convention.
For years, the senator has described his wife as a key part of his success, dating back to when the two attended law school together at Yale University, where Usha Vance also graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree.
In his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” JD Vance described her as his “Yale spirit guide,” helping him navigate life at the elite university where they met.
The daughter of Indian immigrants, Usha Chilukuri grew up in a suburb of San Diego. After college – two stints at Yale and a master’s of philosophy at the University of Cambridge – she has clerked for two Supreme Court justices – Brett Kavanaugh when he served on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and Chief Justice John Roberts.
Harris takes aim at Sen. JD Vance over abortion stance as she campaigns in Michigan
From CNN's Ebony Davis
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event on Wednesday, July 17, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Chris duMond/Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday criticized Sen. JD Vance over his abortion stance during a campaign event in Michigan as she tried to draw a contrast between the Biden and Trump administrations.
Last year, Vance urged Republicans to embrace a federal abortion ban to more effectively make the case to voters about the GOP’s position, a day after Ohio voters approved a 2023 ballot measure to protect access to abortion — breaking from Trump’s stance that the issue should be left up to states.
Harris, who has become the administration’s foremost voice on this issue, made the case that President Biden will continue working to restore women’s reproductive freedom if he is reelected in November.
“This is where the power is with the people, we have an election coming up. In contrast to the former president, Joe Biden has been very clear. If there were any attempt at a national abortion ban, he would veto it,” she said. “And if we have the right people in Congress, people like Debbie Stabenow and others, and they put back in law the protections of Roe v. Wade, our President Joe Biden will sign it into law.”
This visit to Michigan marks Harris’ fourth trip to the state this year and seventh since taking office.
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Giuliani drains half of bank account for personal expenses while creditors pursue what he owes them
From CNN's Katelyn Polantz
Rudy Giuliani has drained roughly half of the money in a personal bank account in the last week to pay for personal expenses, a court proceeding revealed Wednesday, as he attends the Republican National Convention while being hounded from afar by people to whom he owes millions.
The numbers are being publicly revealed now because Giuliani owes around $350,000 to a forensic accountant who worked on tracing his assets during the bankruptcy, and a federal judge is following up, with growing frustration, on how to get that bill paid.
Giuliani only appears to have a portion of that amount in his personal bank account, which keeps being depleted to pay other bills, Wednesday’s federal court proceedings in White Plains, New York, revealed.
Giuliani has been slow to disclose what cash he has on hand in liquid accounts, and hasn’t been fully transparent, the judge has found.
She told the judge Wednesday afternoon Giuliani’s lawyers had provided new information about one personal bank account, where he had $60,000 a week ago. But in the last few days, the account went to “half that much,” Strickland said.
Last Friday, Giuliani’s bankruptcy protection ended, and creditors such as the 2020 election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss are now able to pursue his $10 million net worth.
As the RNC anoints its candidates for presidential race, divisions roil the Democratic Party. Catch up here
From CNN staff
An attendee puts out signs in support of Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump ahead of Day 3 of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, July 17.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
As the Republican Party faithful prepare to hear tonight from Donald Trump’s running mate for the 2024 presidential campaign at the convention in Milwaukee, the Democratic Party is still wrestling with questions over the viability of President Joe Biden as its candidate for November.
On Wednesday, Rep. Adam Schiff called on Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, becoming the most prominent elected Democrat to do so publicly following Biden’s disastrous CNN debate late last month. The California Democrat, who is running for Senate, is the 20th congressional Democrat to call on the president to step aside.
A Biden campaign official rejected Schiff’s call and pointed to a July 8 letter to congressional Democrats that noted the president’s intentions to stay the course.
Separately, Biden told BET, a media outlet with a focus on Black culture, that the only thing that would push him to reconsider his reelection bid would be a medical condition.
Here’s what else to know:
Virtual DNC nomination: The Democratic National Committee is moving ahead with its plans to virtually nominate Biden in the coming weeks, sending out an email to its members Wednesday morning. The committee will meet on Friday to determine the steps and timeline for the nomination, according to an email sent to members of the convention rules committee that was obtained by CNN. Importantly, the letter states that “no virtual voting will begin before August 1.”
Push and pull: The DNC memo also clearly states that the committee’s goal is to not fast-track Biden’s nomination. “None of this will be rushed,” it said. This comes amid a push and pull among Democrats. As CNN reported Tuesday, some Biden allies are quietly pressure campaigning to accelerate that virtual nomination process ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August in Chicago, and that has sparked an uproar inside the Democratic Party. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was involved in the lobbying push to delay the virtual roll call vote past August 1, according to multiple sources.
Contentious call between Biden and House Democrats: Biden lashed out during a Saturday call with House Democrats, according to sources. Here are two exchanges:
Colorado Rep. Jason Crow told the president that voters are concerned about his vigor and strength, especially as it is perceived on the world stage. The president responded to Crow, an Army Ranger who served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, that he knows the congressman is a Bronze Star recipient, like his son Beau, but that “he didn’t rebuild NATO.” The exchange became even more contentious when Crow pushed back, according to two sources familiar with the call. At one point, Biden told Crow, “I don’t want to hear that crap” and that if Crow wants to walk away from him, then he can walk away.
Pennsylvania Rep. Chrissy Houlahan told Biden that she represents Bucks County, a crucial part of the state that she said he needs to win in order to carry Pennsylvania again in November, sharing concerns about his standing there. Biden pushed back, suggesting that he didn’t believe that, which prompted Houlahan to tell Biden that she had polling and it is what she is seeing.
Polling: A 65% majority of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say that President Joe Biden “should withdraw and allow his party to select a different candidate,” an AP-NORC poll released Wednesday finds, with just 35% saying he should continue running for president.
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These are the notable speakers expected on the third night of the RNC
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
The highlight of the third night of the Republican National Convention will be the keynote speaker, former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
The theme of the evening is “Making America Strong Once Again” and will also feature some of Trump’s staunchest supporters, including one ally released from prison earlier in the day. In addition to Vance, the lineup includes a top vice presidential contender, the family of a hostage held in Gaza, veterans and Gold Star families, and a contributor to Project 2025 — a playbook crafted by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation — a source familiar with the schedule told CNN.
You can watch the speeches and CNN’s special coverage in the video player above the page when the program begins at 7 p.m. ET.
JD Vance in 2022 advocated for "abortion to be illegal nationally"
From CNN's Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck
Former President Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, said two-and-a-half years ago he was open to a national abortion ban, a stark contrast to comments he made this week where the Ohio senator said he adhered to Trump’s view that abortion should be a state issue.
Vance argued in 2022 that people seeking abortions would travel from states where abortion is banned to states with liberal abortion laws, necessitating federal action.
On Monday, the Ohio senator said he adhered to Trump’s view that abortion was a state issue, though in practice that means abortion can be banned in one state and entirely protected in another.
“My view is that Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, and his views on abortion are going to be the views that dominate this party and drive this party forward,” Vance said to Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday. “Alabama’s going to make a different decision from California. That is a reasonable thing. And that’s how I think we build some bridges and have some respect for one another.”
Read more about what Vance has said in the past abortion here.
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Biden administration urges Supreme Court to let it continue implementing student loan repayment program
From CNN's Katie Lobosco and Devan Cole
The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to let it continue cutting monthly student loan payments for roughly three million borrowers enrolled in a student loan repayment plan implemented last year.
The fate of the program, known as SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education), is in flux as lower courts consider two legal challenges to it. Earlier this month, a group of three GOP-led states behind one of those challenges asked the high court to maintain a partial block on the program while the states’ larger legal challenge to it unfolds.
A Denver-based appeals court later allowed the Biden administration to move forward with the program, which it began implementing this month. The student loan repayment plan began phasing in last year before it was temporarily paused amid legal challenges.
Lawyers for the Biden administration told the high court on Wednesday that it should keep in place the order that let the program move forward. They argue that “borrowers would stand to suffer significant and irreparable harm” and many would “experience intense confusion” about the status of their loans if the court blocked the administration from lowering their monthly payments as planned.
SAVE is one of the Biden administration’s key student loan policies. The Department of Education implemented the repayment plan last year after the Supreme Court struck down the administration’s sweeping, one-time student loan forgiveness program in 2023.
Read more about the Biden administration’s effort to keep the SAVE program here.
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Trump campaign pokes at Biden political standing in response to potential VP debate
From CNN's Jamie Gangel and Kit Maher
As President Joe Biden continues to face calls to pass the torch in 2024, the Trump campaign is poking at his political standing within his own party, letting their commitment to a vice presidential debate hang in the balance.
Man arrested with AK-47 pistol near the RNC was also carrying ammunition and other supplies, complaint says
From CNN’s Joe Sutton
Officials have identified the man who was arrested carrying a concealed weapon without a permit near the site of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday as 21-year-old Donnell Tinsley.
According to the criminal complaint released Wednesday by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, law enforcement officers were patrolling the RNC exterior zone and spotted Tinsley wearing a ski mask and carrying a “tactical backpack.” The complaint said law enforcement observed him walking away from an RNC security checkpoint.
The law enforcement officials included Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Capital Police.
During the search of the backpack, a special agent “immediately observed a concealed AK-47 pistol,” according to the complaint. When Tinsley was asked if he had a concealed carry permit, he acknowledged he didn’t.
The district attorney’s office told CNN it did not have information at this time as to whether Tinsley had an attorney.
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Russia welcomes JD Vance's position on Ukraine
From CNN’s Mariya Knight
Russia welcomed the Republican candidate for vice president Sen. JD Vance’s position on Ukraine on Wednesday.
Vance is a staunch critic of sending support to Ukraine as it tries to defend itself against Russia. At the Munich Security Conference in February, Vance suggested Ukraine should negotiate with Russia because the US and other allies cannot support it.
Lavrov also said that Russia “will be ready to work with any American leader elected by the American people” as long as this leader “is ready for an equitable, mutually respectful dialogue.”
He also emphasized that such dialogue was possible during the Trump administration.
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Biden says only a medical condition would push him to reconsider whether he should stay in the race
From CNN's Sam Fossum
Biden is interviewed by BET News’ Ed Gordon on Tuesday, July 16.
From BET News
President Joe Biden said that the only thing that would push him to reconsider his reelection bid would be a medical condition as he continues to fight off continued concern from Democrats over whether he should stay atop the ticket following his disastrous debate performance last month.
The president then went on to defend his decision to not be a transitional candidate, something he originally committed to during last cycle’s election.
“When I originally ran, you may remember it, I said I was going to be a transitional candidate. And I thought that I’d be able to move from this to pass it on to someone else. But I didn’t anticipate things getting so, so, so divided,” he said, adding that his age has brought wisdom.
“There’s more to do and I’m reluctant to walk away from that,” he added.
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Special counsel will appeal dismissal of Trump's classified documents indictment
From CNN's Tierney Sneed, Marshall Cohen and Devan Cole
This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and partially redacted by the source, shows a photo of documents seized during the August 8 FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.
Department of Justice via AP
Special counsel Jack Smith formally indicated on Wednesday that he is appealing Monday’s decision to throw out the classified documents indictment against Donald Trump.
The special counsel team filed a notice of appeal, the initial procedural mechanism that sets the appeal in motion, on Wednesday.
The notice came just two days after US District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the prosecution — and well ahead of the 30-day deadline the prosecutors faced for bringing the appeal.
The move by prosecutors means the shock ruling from Cannon will be reviewed by judges from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is based in Atlanta.
The two-page filing from Smith’s team did not indicate whether the prosecutors will seek to speed up the appeals process.
Cannon in her ruling on Monday had said that she had concluded that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional, warranting the dismissal of the case against Trump.
CNN’s Katelyn Polantz contributed reporting.
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Vance makes his first official campaign appearance outside of the RNC
From CNN's Kit Maher
Sen. JD Vance appears at a campaign event on Wednesday, July 17
Pool
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, in his first campaign appearance since being named the Republican vice presidential candidate, argued the media falsely portrays Donald Trump, and spoke about his character.
Ahead of his primetime speech at the RNC Wednesday night, Vance said his goal is to fire up the crowd and make the case that “we have got to reelect President Donald J. Trump back to the White House.”
Vance went on to talk about the stakes of the election, what he will try to do as Trump’s running mate and Joe Biden’s presidency.
The post has been updated with more of Vance’s remarks.
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Oklahoma senator says he believes Vance "has the ability to change" foreign policy stance
From CNN's Tori B. Powell
Sen. Markwayne Mullin is seen in the US Capitol on Tuesday, April 23.
Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullins called his Senate colleague and Vice President nominee JD Vance “a smart guy,” but added that he has “different opinions on a few things.”
When asked about what he thinks about Vance’s viewpoint on foreign policy — specifically the war in Ukraine — Mullins said he believes Vance “has the ability to change.”
Some background: Vance, a junior senator from Ohio, is a staunch critic of sending support to Ukraine as the country tries to defend itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion. Like Trump, he has repeatedly criticized NATO and its European members for not spending enough on defense. And he has made a number of comments that have raised eyebrows across the pond — including when he said the United Kingdom would become the “first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon” under the new Labour government.
His nomination puts an end to the hopes by some of America’s allies that Trump might soften his foreign policy stance if reelected.
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Wisconsin congressman decries political violence after confrontation with protester
From CNN's Ali Main
GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden decried political violence on Wednesday after he said he was assaulted by a protester outside a Republican National Convention event the day before.
“Free speech is free speech. When you cross that line and physically touch someone, you have committed a crime, and we will not tolerate this any longer,” he told Wisconsin’s Republican delegation.
The Wisconsin Republican posted on X Tuesday that he was “assaulted” by a protester while waiting in line to enter an RNC event.
Pivoting to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Van Orden noted the former president’s “immediate response” was to “stand up and raise his fist in defiance, as blood was running down his head, and telling us to fight.”
Van Orden said that when Trump urges his supporters to “fight” — in what has become a new rallying cry for the GOP — he is not talking about physical violence.
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Jeffries involved in push to delay DNC's virtual roll call vote past August 1, according to sources
From CNN's Manu Raju
Jeffries seen at the US Capitol on Thursday, July 11.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Sipa USA
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was involved in the lobbying push by Democrats to delay the Democratic National Committee’s virtual roll call vote past August 1, according to multiple sources.
Jeffries was relaying concerns he was hearing from his members, many of whom were furious that the DNC was considering holding the vote next week.
Jeffries has publicly maintained he supports President Joe Biden atop the ticket, even as panic is growing in Democratic ranks over Biden’s chances.
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Biden campaign says president remains committed to staying in race after call from Schiff to drop out
From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez and Annie Grayer
Biden departs the White House on Monday, July 15.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/File
A Biden campaign official responded to the call from California Rep. Adam Schiff for the president to drop out of the race by pointing to a July 8 letter to congressional Democrats that noted his intentions to stay the course.
The campaign also referenced his support from an array of Democratic lawmakers, including the chairs of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congressional Black Caucus.
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Biden lashed out at moderate Democratic members in tense weekend call, sources say
From CNN's Dana Bash
President Joe Biden speaks during the NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Tom Brenner/Reuters
During a Saturday call with House Democrats, President Joe Biden lashed out at Rep. Jason Crow after the Colorado Democrat bluntly told him that voters are concerned about his vigor and strength, especially as it is perceived on the world stage.
The president responded to Crow, an Army Ranger who served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, that he knows the congressman is a Bronze Star recipient, like his son Beau, but that “he didn’t rebuild NATO.”
According to two sources familiar with the call, the exchange became even more contentious when Crow pushed back on the president, who also argued that NATO leaders are supportive of him. Crow told the president that he needs to understand that voters aren’t seeing him that way.
At one point, Biden told Crow, “I don’t want to hear that crap” and that if Crow wants to walk away from him, then he can walk away.
Crow responded to the president that he does not want to walk away from him, which is why he was on the call, but an angry Biden dismissed the congressman by saying he should just do it.
Separately, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, shared concerns with Biden that he was losing ground in her state. Biden pushed back, suggesting that he didn’t believe that, which prompted Houlahan to tell Biden that she had polling and it is what she is seeing.
One House member who was on the call said it was “extremely disheartening” and it “looked like he (Biden) could fall asleep any moment,” except when he got riled up by criticism from other Democratic members on the call.
The source said Biden started off the session citing a poll that was in his favor, but quickly rebuffed any other polls that were brought up showing him behind. The source called it “almost delusion” because “every time someone else brought up what the polling says, he dismissed it.”
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly quoted Biden. His quote has been updated.
The post has been updated with more details from the Biden call on Saturday.
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Biden campaign accepts new potential date of August 12 for vice presidential debate
From CNN's MJ Lee
Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. JD Vance
AP/Getty Images
President Joe Biden’s campaign has been extended — and accepted — a new potential date from CBS News for the vice presidential debate, according to a campaign official, on the heels of former President Donald Trump choosing Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate.
Weeks prior, the Biden campaign had accepted two dates for a possible VP debate: July 23 and August 13. It has now also said yes to August 12.
“Now that the Trump campaign has selected a running mate, we encourage them to agree to a debate between Vice President Harris and Senator Vance,” the campaign official said.
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Schiff becomes most prominent Democratic lawmaker to call on Biden to drop out of race
From CNN's Manu Raju
Rep. Adam Schiff speaks at a press conference in 2023.
Getty Images
Rep. Adam Schiff has called on President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, the most prominent elected Democrat to do so publicly following Biden’s disastrous CNN debate late last month.
The California Democrat, who is running for Senate and served as an impeachment manager, has been one of the sharpest critics of former President Donald Trump. He is the 20th congressional Democrat to call on Biden to step aside.
“While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch. And in doing so, secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election.But make no mistake, whoever our party ends up nominating, or if the nomination remains with the president, I will do everything I can to help them succeed. There is only one singular goal: defeating Donald Trump. The stakes are just too high,” he added.
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Nearly two-thirds of Democratic voters say Biden should withdraw from candidacy in new poll
From CNN's Ariel Edwards-Levy
President Joe Biden is seen on monitors in the press briefing room of the White House on Sunday night as he addresses the nation from the Oval Office.
Susan Walsh/AP
A 65% majority of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say that President Joe Biden “should withdraw and allow his party to select a different candidate,” an AP-NORC poll released Wednesday finds, with just 35% saying he should continue running for president.
By contrast, roughly three-quarters of Republican-aligned adults (73%) say that former President Donald Trump should continue running for president. Overall, majorities of the public say they’d like to see each candidate drop out.
The AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,253 US adults from July 11 to 15, using a nationally representative online panel. The poll was conducted largely before Saturday’s assassination attempt on Trump. Results for the full sample have a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percentage points.
By the numbers: There are racial and age divides in Democratic-aligned adults’ preferred course for their party’s nominee. Black Democrats are closely split, with 50% saying Biden should continue running and 49% that he should withdraw, while majorities of Hispanic Democrats (64%) and White Democrats (67%) want him to bow out of the race. A 57% majority of Democrats who are 45 and older say Biden should withdraw, rising to 75% among those younger than 45.
Most Democrats (70%) continue to view Biden favorably. But 48% say they’re not very or not at all confident that he has the mental capacity to serve effectively as president, up from 32% in February, and 48% say they’re dissatisfied with him as the nominee, up from 38% in a pre-debate June survey.
While most Democrats give Biden the advantage over Trump for honesty (74%), having the right vision for the country (68%) and capability of handling a crisis (56%), just 37% say Biden is more capable than Trump of winning this 2024 election.
Correction: An earlier version of this post included the incorrect number of people surveyed in the poll. It has now been updated.
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California congressman says he's canceled formal letter calling to delay Biden's nomination
From CNN's Lauren Fox
Rep. Jared Huffman speaks during a news conference in 2022.
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/FILE
A spokesperson for California Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman told CNN that in light of the Democratic National Committee letter to hold a virtual roll call in August, he will not be sending a formal letter calling on the party to delay nominating President Joe Biden, which had been circulated earlier this week.
Huffman drafted a letter to House Democrats to delay Biden’s nomination until delegates gathered at the convention.
The source said that Huffman is pleased to see the pressure that members were putting on the DNC not to hold a virtual roll call by the end of July was successful.
The DNC said Wednesday it is still going to move quickly, which will give any members still on the fence about Biden’s candidacy little time to take action or rally around an alternative.
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Analysis: Trump's comments show America will return to being a volatile force in the world if he wins
From CNN's Stephen Collinson
Donald Trump at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16.
Bernadette Tuazon/CNN
Donald Trump is still six months away from the Oval Office – if he ever gets back there.
But the Republican nominee is back to causing geopolitical earthquakes. His latest concerns Taiwan and his comment in a new interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that the democratic island should pay the US for defending it from China.
His comments, published during the Republican National Convention, immediately raised alarms over whether he’d abandon the policy of strategic ambiguity that governs how the US would respond to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan – that is designed to prevent such an attack by keeping Beijing guessing.
But this also looks like a familiar Trump gambit – one that he used in his presidential term to drive up spending by US allies in Europe and Asia on defense. It also underscores the transactional view he has of even the most critical pillars of American foreign policy.
In a recent article in Foreign Affairs, Robert O’Brien, Trump’s former national security adviser, who is tipped for a top job in any second term, condemned China’s pressure on Taiwan but called on Taipei to up military spending – much of which already goes to US arms manufacturers – and to expand conscription.
Trump is running on a platform of avoiding foreign wars so it’s not surprising there are real doubts about whether he’d spend US blood and treasure to defend Taiwan. His comments show that if he wins in November, Washington’s foreign policy will once again be dictated by what an unpredictable president thinks at any given moment and America will go back to being a volatile force in the world.
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Senate Republicans will meet with Vance on Thursday in Milwaukee
From CNN's Daniel Strauss
Senate Republicans in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention are gathering on Thursday for a private meeting with Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
The meeting is one of the first of its type since Vance was nominated as former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee. It will occur on Thursday near where the convention is being held.
The gathering is hosted by Sen. John Barrasso, the third-ranking Republican in the party’s Senate caucus, according to a copy of the event invitation obtained by CNN.
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Usha Vance is the 4th person of South Asian descent to be part of the presidential campaign
From CNN's Chelsea Bailey
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance is accompanied by his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance as he arrives for Day 1 of the Republican National Convention, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15.
REUTERS
Shalabh “Shalli” Kumar was filled with pride Monday night as Donald Trump made his highly anticipated announcement of who would be his running mate in the 2024 election.
But it wasn’t Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s name alone that elicited the reaction for the founder of the Republican Hindu Coalition and the chair of the Hindu and Indian Coalition of the Republican National Committee.
“Hindus have come a long way,” Kumar said, noting the growth of their population and political power since he moved to the United States in the late ‘60s.
The 2024 presidential campaign has seen three politicians of South Asian descent vying for the White House: former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy both competed during the Republican primaries, while Vice President Kamala Harris is running for a second term with President Joe Biden.
As Usha Vance joins the Trump campaign, Asian American political activists from both parties say they hope the increase in representation will correspond with a push to connect with a voting bloc that has long been overlooked.
DNC moving forward with Biden virtual nomination, with voting to begin no sooner than August 1
From CNN's MJ Lee
The Democratic National Committee is moving ahead with its plans to virtually nominate President Joe Biden in the coming weeks, sending out an email to its members Wednesday morning stressing that that is “the wisest approach” — despite fierce pushback from some Democratic lawmakers.
According to an email sent to members of the convention rules committee within the last hour that was obtained by CNN, the committee will proceed with its previously scheduled meeting on Friday to deliberate — and set in motion — the steps and timeline for virtually nominating Biden.
Importantly, the letter states that “no virtual voting will begin before August 1.”
As CNN reported Tuesday, the DNC’s decision to move ahead virtually nominating Biden in the coming weeks — and a quiet pressure campaign by some Biden allies to accelerate that process ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August in Chicago — has sparked an uproar inside the Democratic Party.
A growing faction of House Democrats, convinced that Biden is too politically damaged to defeat Trump in November, is calling on the DNC to ditch those plans, and a draft letter is circulating among Democratic lawmakers calling on the party to slow down the process.
CNN’s Ethan Cohen and Kayla Tausche contributed to this report.
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Analysis: America, and the world, is about to meet JD Vance
From CNN's Stephen Collinson
Donald Trump’s brand new sidekick takes the stage at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night and is expected to lay out a hardcore populist agenda on trade, economics, and foreign policy.
Vance will deliver the second most important speech of the week after Trump’s own due on Thursday and is sure to root his appeal to voters in his hard knocks childhood, service as a US Marine, top-of-the-class performance at Yale Law School and time as venture capitalist. At 39, Vance is one of the youngest people ever to serve on a presidential ticket and he’s only been in the Senate for less than two years. He’s already seen as Trump’s heir apparent in the MAGA movement.
Speeches by vice presidential nominees get a massive buildup but are often soon forgotten. One exception was the electrifying address by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as Sen. John McCain’s Republican running mate in 2008. Palin famously declared: “They say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull – lipstick.” But her nomination was soon on thin ice after it became clear she was disastrously unready for political prime time.
Vance’s top job is to avoid any mistakes that derail a so-far successful and rigidly disciplined convention and above all else to avoid overshadowing his new boss – who can get tetchy when others grab the spotlight.
But win or lose in November, Vance is going to be a fixture in national politics in the next decade, so Wednesday night represents a critical definitional moment.
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It's day 3 of the RNC. These are the basics of how the convention works and why it's important
From CNN's Antoinette Radford
The stage inside Fiserv Forum, the host arena of the Republican National Convention, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 13.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
The Republican National Convention takes place over four days every four years. This year, it’s in Milwaukee from July 15 to 18, and the city is expecting more than 50,000 guests for the event, according to the RNC website.
Milwaukee is a center of Democratic power in Wisconsin and home to more voters than any other city in the state. Former President Donald Trump reportedly called the city — in a key swing state in this year’s election — “horrible” behind closed doors in the month before the convention began, although his campaign has rejected that characterization.
At the convention, the presidential and vice presidential candidates for the upcoming elections are nominated by GOP delegates from each state and territory. This year, that’s Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance. While Trump was officially nominated at the RNC, it was known he would become the GOP nominee since he won 1,215 Republican delegates in March.
The convention provides an opportunity for Republicans to make their policies clear going into the November election, and to publicize some of the key elements of their platform.
A variety of events — from film screenings to delegate breakfasts — are held, and the official sessions take place in the evening during the convention.
These are the four themes for each day of the gathering:
Monday: “Make America Wealthy Once Again”
Tuesday: “Make America Safe Once Again”
Wednesday: “Make America Strong Once Again”
Thursday: “Make America Great Once Again”
On Monday, Trump picked Vance as his running mate, with the Ohio senator set to introduce himself to Republicans across the nation in a speech on Wednesday night. Trump will speak on Thursday evening, and aides have said Trump rewrote his speech since the attempt to assassinate him on Saturday.
CNN’s Steve Contorno contributed to this report.
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Biden says presidential election is "just getting down to game time now"
From CNN's Nikki Carvajal
BET News
President Joe Biden said the 2024 presidential election is only “getting down to game time now” as he argued young Americans don’t tune in until later in the campaign cycle.
He added that, historically, “presidents who have won at this stage of the game, the last seven or eight presidents, five of them were losing at this time by significant margins.”
The full BET interview will air Wednesday night.
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Ex-Trump White House adviser Navarro expected to head to RNC after being released from prison today
From CNN's Tierney Sneed, Katelyn Polantz and Denise Royal
Former Donald Trump adviser Peter Navarro arrives for a press conference before turning himself in to a federal prison on March 19, 2024, in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro is expected to quickly travel to Milwaukee so he can appear at the Republican National Convention, after he was released from a Miami federal prison.
He was released Wednesday morning, according to a federal prison spokesperson, after completing his four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from the January 6 congressional committee.
It’s unclear if Navarro’s speaking slot is on Wednesday or Thursday.
He is one of two members of former President Donald Trump’s circle who were convicted for failing to comply with subpoenas from the now-defunct House Select Committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Trump adviser Steve Bannon started serving his four-month sentence earlier this month at a federal prison in Connecticut.
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Usha Vance will introduce her husband VP nominee JD Vance tonight
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance will be introduced by his wife Usha Vance tonight, a source familiar with the schedule tells CNN.
For years, the Ohio senator has described his wife as a key part of his success, dating back to when the two attended law school together at Yale University, where Usha Vance also graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree.
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New Democratic-funded polling shows Biden losing ground to Trump in key states
From CNN Staff
Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden debate at CNN's Atlanta studios on June 27, 2024.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
CNN’s Jake Tapper has obtained polling from the firm BlueLabs — funded by some Democratic donors — that shows, post-debate, that President Joe Biden is losing ground to former President Donald Trump in 14 key states, including the five that Biden flipped against Trump in 2020: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
He is also vulnerable post-debate in Colorado, Minnesota, Maine, New Mexico, Virginia and New Hampshire.
The data also found four Democrats outpaced Biden in a matchup with Trump in battleground states: Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
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Trump taking new approach to RNC speech after assassination attempt, campaign adviser says
From CNN's Liz Brown-Kaiser
Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said that Donald Trump’s life is changed after Saturday’s assassination attempt, adding that the tone of the GOP nominee’s speech will be totally different than the version drafted before the weekend attack.
On Trump’s convention speech, Miller predicted Trump would discuss his recent “firsthand experience” with the shooting and explained that “we’re still going to talk about those important issues” on Thursday, but that the approach will be different than previously planned.
Miller also pushed back on criticism of the members of Trump’s Secret Service detail that physically shielded him on Saturday.
“You saw the way that they pounced,” he said.
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Day 3 of the RNC is themed "Make America Strong Once Again": Here's what to expect
The third day of the Republican National Convention will focus on the theme of “Make America Strong Once Again,” while the evening is being referred to by the Trump campaign as “the VP’s night.”
The day’s official session begins at 6:45 p.m. ET, and Trump’s vice-president pick, JD Vance, is expected to address the convention this evening. His speech that is expected to focus heavily on his personal life story, a source with direct knowledge of his remarks tells CNN.
Earlier in the day, Marjorie Taylor Greene will be in Milwaukee for a book signing, and several films will be shown. The Republican Convention calendar has a full list of events happening throughout the day, and we’ll bring you the latest from the official session right here.
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Melania Trump and family members will attend RNC on Thursday, according to source
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
Melania Trump and former President Donald Trump attend the 2024 Senior Club Championship award ceremony at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 24.
Marco Bello/Reuters/File
Former President Donald Trump’s family members are expected to attend the Republican National Convention on Thursday as he accepts the GOP nomination for president, according to a source familiar with the plans.
Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to attend, the source said. Two of Trump’s sons, Don Jr. and Eric, have been present at the convention this week.
CNN previously reported that Melania Trump had maintained a low profile throughout her husband’s campaign, having attended just two public appearances since Trump launched his third presidential bid — the kickoff of his campaign in November 2022 at their Mar-a-Lago home and a brief appearance in March when she accompanied Trump to vote in the Florida presidential primary.
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Analysis: Pro-worker groups are skeptical of JD Vance's populist tones
From CNN's Allison Morrow
Trump’s vice president pick, 39-year-old JD Vance, is widely viewed as the vanguard of a Millennial far right that ostensibly champions blue-collar workers and chastises greedy executives (a view that Democrats and labor advocates dispute, but more on that in a moment).
He has repeatedly run afoul of the Reagan-era Republican dogma that has long made the party popular with deep-pocketed business leaders.
Vance caught flak from Republicans earlier this year for complimenting Biden’s top antitrust crusader, FTC chair Lina Khan. Vance has even teamed up with Wall Street’s No. 1 nemesis, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, on legislation that would crack down on big banks.
Just last month, Vance himself alluded to the evolution of his views, telling the New York Times’ Ross Douthat: “The people on the left, I would say, whose politics I’m open to — it’s the Bernie Bros.
”Vance isn’t alone in this newly business-hostile wing of the GOP. Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley is another young buck (44 is the new 24 in Congress) who’s all-in on Trump and positioning himself as an advocate for workers. Last month, Hawley stood out – even among Democrats – when he publicly shamed Boeing’s CEO for taking a huge pay raise while stiffing the rank and file.
Investors and industry moguls aren’t loving those optics for the Trump ticket. Read more about why here.
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Biden will unveil a series of new actions for the Latino community today
From CNN's DJ Judd
US President Joe Biden speaks on economics during the Vote To Live Properity Summit at the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 16.
Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images
When President Joe Biden resumes his three-day trip to Las Vegas on Wednesday, he will talk with the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, and unveil new steps on immigration and expanding access to educational opportunities.
According to a White House fact sheet shared with CNN, Biden will announce that certain undocumented children and spouses of US citizens will be able to apply for lawful permanent residency without leaving the country starting on August 19, following an executive action he signed last month.
Biden’s outreach to the Latino community is crucial, and his allies had quietly pushed for more immigration actions to benefit those who have been in the US for years to balance the administration’s aggressive border security measures, culminating in last month’s executive action.
The move was seen as a direct appeal to Latinos, some of whom live in mixed-status households, and per the White House is expected to apply to about half a million spouses of US citizens and 50,000 noncitizen children whose parent is married to a US citizen.
These are some of the other moves that are expected to be unveiled:
The Department of Education will unveil a proposed rule expanding the federal TRIO program—which provides low-income students with educational opportunities including college visits and application support—to ensure DACA recipients, or Dreamers, can enroll.
New programs to increase access to immigration services, including a DOJ program to expand volunteer legal support in immigration court hearings and a new program through DHS to increase outreach from US Citizenship and Immigration Services to local communities.
Biden will sign an Executive Order establishing a newly formed White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Hispanic-Serving Institutions
The president’s outreach comes as immigration has taken center stage during night two of the Republican convention in Milwaukee, a contrast the president’s campaign is eager to draw.
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Takeaways from Day 2 of the Republican National Convention
From CNN's Gregory Krieg and Eric Bradner
Former President Donald Trump raises his fist at the 2024 Republican National Convention hosted at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16.
Rebecca Wright/CNN
On the second night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, speakers were loyal to former President Donald Trump, describing him as a self-sacrificial leader who took America to its greatest heights, only to see President Joe Biden undo his work.
Former foes – including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley – lined up to praise Trump, admit their errors and sell voters on the promise of a second term.
Here are five takeaways:
Haley gets on board: Haley took the stage, at Trump’s invitation, to a mix of cheers and jeers, but quickly turned the crowd around with her full endorsement of Trump.
The (other) ring kissers: Other onetime rivals, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, also kissed Trump’s ring. They also included Vivek Ramaswamy, former Housing and Urban Development secretary Ben Carson, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Christie’s bombshell op-ed: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a one-time Trump ally who has evolved to one of his most vocal Republican critics, dropped an op-ed in the New York Times just as Tuesday’s speeches got underway. Christie called Trump’s early attempts to “rein in some of the worst rhetorical impulses” in their party “less than promising.”
Candidates make their cases: Several Republican candidates in key House and Senate races made their own cases Tuesday night — with a range of approaches, from Arizona Senate candidate Keri Lake’s combative words to Pennsylvania Senate contender Dave McCormick’s call for unity.
Family programming: Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law and co-chair of the national party, closed out Tuesday’s festivities with an olive branch to fence-sitters:
