Republican national convention enters day two after formalizing Trump-Vance ticket – live | Donald Trump

Joe Biden was pressed, during his interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt on Monday, on whether he had done any “soul-searching” about whether his language could “incite people who are not balanced”. Biden said:

Look. How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when the president says things like he says? Do you just not say anything because you might incite somebody?

Look. I have not engaged in that rhetoric. Now, my opponent has engaged in that rhetoric. He talks about there will be a bloodbath if he loses, talking about how he’s going to forgive all the … actually, I guess suspend the sentence of all that were arrested and sentenced to go jail because of what happened at the Capitol. I’m not out there making fun of … like, remember the picture of Donald Trump when Nancy Pelosi’s husband was hit with a hammer, talking about it? Joking about it?

Biden suggested that Donald Trump’s apparent forgiveness of January 6 rioters was also an incitement to violence.

When you say that there’s nothing wrong with going to the capitol … putting up a noose for the former vice-president, and then you say you’re going to forgive people for that?

George Chidi

Joe Biden has addressed his previous comments about putting Donald Trump “in the bullseye”, saying he thinks there needs to be more focus on the former president’s agenda.

During a high-stakes conversation at the White House with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt on Monday, Biden was asked about the language he had used to describe Trump – as an “existential threat”, and, on a call with Democratic donors, that “it’s time to put Trump in the bullseye” – and the consequences for the election of the attempted assassination of his opponent two days ago in Pennsylvania. Biden said:

I didn’t say crosshairs. I was talking about ‘focus on’. The truth of the matter was, I guess what I was talking about at the time was, there was very little focus on Trump’s agenda.

“The term was ‘bullseye’,” Holt said. Biden replied:

It was a mistake to use the word. I didn’t mean … I didn’t say crosshairs. I meant bullseye … I meant focus on it. Focus on what he’s doing. Focus on his policies. Focus on the number of lies he told in the debate.

Biden fumbled somewhat during the answer, leaving it unclear whether he was apologizing for telling donors to put Trump in a bullseye or whether he was correcting himself after using the word “crosshairs” instead of “bullseye”.

Key takeaways from day one of the RNC

Lois Beckett

Just two days after a gunman targeted a Trump campaign rally in Pennsylvania, leaving the candidate grazed by a bullet and one of his supporters dead, the Republican national convention kicked off in Milwaukee in a strikingly normal fashion.

Donald Trump, who made his first public appearance but did not yet address the convention, has now been officially nominated as the Republican presidential candidate. Here are key takeaways from the day:

1. As VP, Trump picks JD Vance, Hillbilly Elegy author who once called him ‘America’s Hitler’: For his vice-president, Trump chose 39-year-old JD Vance, a bestselling author who swiftly transformed himself from a self-described “never Trumper” to a Trump loyalist.

2. Trump makes his first public appearance since surviving a shooting attack in Pennsylvania: Donald Trump looked unusually somber as he emerged from backstage and joined his sons, and his new vice-presidential pick, JD Vance, in a VIP section of the convention hall audience.

3. Post-shooting speeches focus on Trump’s relationship with God, not blaming Biden: Amid multiple media reports that Trump wanted to strike a note of unity after what he saw as his own miraculous escape from death, Axios reported that “Trump ordered aides not to allow the convention’s prime-time speakers to update their remarks to dial up outrage over the shooting.”

4. Teamsters president Sean O’Brien praises Trump’s toughness in defiant pro-labor speech: One of the most prominent labor union leaders in the US brought a fiercely anti-corporate message into the heart of the GOP convention, where he wove together a denunciation of corporate power with praise of Trump’s willingness to hear from alternate voices.

5. Elon Musk is reportedly discussing major donations to a pro-Trump Super Pac: Trump’s choice of former venture capitalist and Peter Thiel protege JD Vance as his vice-presidential nominee already strengthened the link between the 2024 Trump campaign and Silicon Valley.

Read full story: Trump’s arrival and ‘our God saves’: key takeaways from day one of the RNC

Good morning US politics readers. The Republican national convention heads into its second day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – now with Donald Trump as its official presidential nominee and Ohio senator JD Vance as his running mate.

Republicans will be looking to keep party members’ energy high on Tuesday after an eventful day, during which the former president made a surprise appearance at Fiserv Forum with a bandage over his injured ear, his first since the assassination attempt against him on Saturday. Trump is expected to give his nomination acceptance speech on Thursday, while Vance is expected to take the stage on Wednesday night.

The theme for the convention today is “Make America Safe Once Again”, with speakers expected to focus on immigration and border security. Among those we’re expecting to hear from is Nikki Haley, Trump’s former primary rival.

Here’s what else we’re watching:

• The Democratic National Committee are moving quickly to confirm Joe Biden as his party’s presidential nominee by the end of July, weeks before the Democratic national convention next month, according to reports.

• Joe Biden wants to curb rent increases by penalizing landlords who hike rents beyond 5% each year, but he needs the help of Congress to put the plan into action.

• The House oversight committee will receive a briefing from the Secret Service about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.