The Latest: Trump picks Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his Republican running mate

The Associated Press

Donald Trump says Ohio Sen. JD Vance will be his vice presidential pick.

He said on his Truth Social Network, “After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio.”

The Republican National Convention kicked off this week, with delegates and officials descending on Wisconsin amid the tumult that follows a Saturday assassination attempt on Trump as he prepares to become the GOP’s official nominee.

Follow the AP’s Election-2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024

Here’s the Latest:

Trump gets emotional as he enters the stadium

With a large white bandage on his right ear following the assassination attempt against him, President Trump entered a convention floor where delegates stood and cheered, many holding up signs or their phones to take photos and video.

He was heralded by musician Lee Greenwood, who sang his signature song, “God Bless the USA.”

“Is there any doubt who’s going to be the next president of the United States? Prayer works,” Greenwood said when the former president took the stage.

JD Vance recalls the moment Trump called with VP news

JD Vance said his 7-year-old son was being noisy in the background when Trump called to offer him the vice president spot on the Republican ticket.

Vance knew Trump was calling with big news, but he didn’t know if it was good or bad news for him, the first-term Ohio senator told Fox News host Sean Hannity in his first interview since Trump announced his pick.

He said Trump also asked to speak to his son.

“The guy just got shot a couple of days ago, and he takes the time to talk to my seven-year-old,” Vance said.

“It’s a moment I’ll never forget.”

He said he and Trump have been close since Trump endorsed him in his 2022 Senate race, which he said he would not have won without Trump’s support.

Vance’s wife resigns from law firm

JD Vance’s wife, Usha, has left the law firm where she worked after her husband was chosen as Trump’s running mate.

“Usha has informed us she has decided to leave the firm,” Munger, Tolles & Olson said in a statement.

“Usha has been an excellent lawyer and colleague, and we thank her for her years of work and wish her the best in her future career.”

Vance met Usha at Yale, where she received both her undergraduate and law degrees. She spent a year clerking for Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he served as an appeals court judge in Washington, followed by a year as a law clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts.

Biden discusses the Secret Service response to Trump assassination attempt

President Joe Biden says whether the U.S. Secret Service should have anticipated Saturday’s assassination attempt against Trump is “an open question.”

In an NBC News interview airing Monday night, Biden was pressed on the matter and said providing security is “a complicated process.”

Biden said there’s “a major piece” of the incident that “relates to local law enforcement.” He also said he feels safe with the Secret Service.

Is it a rock concert or a political convention?

The floor speeches get plenty of attention, but it’s the time-filling band that has the internet talking during the RNC’s first night.

The band Sixwire has had delegates on their feet, clapping and waving signs and cowboy hats during covers of songs by artists including Collective Soul, John Mellencamp and Loverboy. A rendition of the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” had delegates cheering and screaming like they were at a rock concert and not a political convention.

(It probably helped that video of their nominee, Trump, was playing on screens throughout the arena as he’s danced to the same song at a number of campaign rallies.)

According to their website, Sixwire was founded in 2000, is based in Nashville and has played at a number of large sporting events, including several Super Bowls.

RNC speakers stick with stock party talking points

The U.S. economy is a diverse and sprawling behemoth. It’s possible to have a solid job market and problematically high inflation at the same time. But nuance died a long time ago at political party conventions.

That’s why the convention speech by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, hit some simple bullet points. Republicans want lower prices, tax cuts and fewer regulations, a message he sprinkled with some culture war rallying cries.

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley mentioned the recent assassination attempt on Trump and the “strength and resilience” he said the former president had shown, Whatley called on his fellow Republicans to “unite as a party,” adding, “and we must unite as a nation.”

Speakers known for incendiary rhetoric like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson have also focused on the party’s new theme of unity.

Jill Stein joins protest marching toward the RNC

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein joined with a group of about two dozen protesters who were rallying and marching in Milwaukee on Monday.

The Philadelphia-based group Poor People’s Army, which advocates for economic justice, organized the rally and march. It came after a larger march earlier Monday that attracted hundreds of people near the site of the RNC.

Stein called for a reduction in military spending and investments in public education, social housing and health care, adding that Americans were clamoring for a true third-party candidate on the ballot.

“How much do people want the same candidates that have been rammed down our throat for so long?” she said. “Not at all.”

Chicago police prepare to handle security at the DNC in August

Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling says the city’s officers are prepared to handle security at the Democratic National Convention in August in light of the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

Snelling gave few details at a press conference to address the topic but said police are responding accordingly after the attempt to ensure the safety of the convention and the surrounding neighborhoods. He said police continue to be in constant contact with the Secret Service.

“If we get any additional intel, if we see things where we know we need to make adjustments or we need additional manpower, we will make those adjustments as soon as possible,” he said.

The DNC will convene in Chicago from Aug. 19-22.

Rapper 50 Cent will not appear at the RNC

In the wake of the assassination attempt against Trump, rapper 50 Cent, who was shot nine times in 2000, posted a photoshopped cover of his 2003 debut album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” with Trump’s head on it.

“I know the vibes,” he posted online. “We are all in trouble now.” The post was later deleted.

Social media users have overlayed 50 Cent’s “Many Men (Wish Death),” a track about the people who want to kill him, with images and video of Trump’s assassination attempt.

He later lamented, “Trump gets shot and now I’m trending.”

CNN journalist Kate Sullivan reported on Monday that 50 Cent was in talks to appear at the GOP convention, however, a representative for the artist told The Associated Press that the rapper is not going to appear at the Milwaukee convention. He will be in Shreveport, Louisiana, preparing for his upcoming Humor and Harmony Festival.

Biden calls ‘bullseye’ comment about Trump ‘a mistake’

President Biden says it was “a mistake” to say he wanted to put Trump on a “bullseye” during a recent call with donors.

In a clip of an interview with NBC News airing later tonight, Biden is asked about the comment and notes that he didn’t say “crosshairs.”

The president said he meant that there was a lot of focus on his halting debate performance but not on Trump’s agenda, which he calls radical, but wasn’t getting enough attention.

Biden added of Trump, “I’m not the guy who said I wanted to be a dictator on day one.”

Some Republicans have seized on Biden’s comment after Trump was injured in an assassination attempt on Saturday. Both Biden and Trump have called for national unity after the attack.

The Biden campaign’s messaging on Vance will highlight abortion

On a call with reporters denouncing the pick, two of the four speakers were leaders of reproductive groups, both nationally and in Ohio.

“I will certainly take that matchup any day of the week and twice on Sunday,” said Jen O’Malley Dillon, the Biden campaign chairwoman. “Because while Trump and Vance have an agenda focused on themselves and their wealthy donor friends, President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting for the American people.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., added: “Trump’s vice presidential pick is great news for the wealthiest Americans and lousy news for everyone else.”

Campaign aides said Vice President Harris is prepared to debate Vance and contrast the Democratic agenda with that of Republicans when it comes to abortion rights, gun violence and the economy.

Vance, almost immediately after Saturday’s shooting at the Trump rally, accused Biden and his campaign of deploying rhetoric that “led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.” Asked about that statement, Ducklo stressed that “stopping political violence was a central motivation for this president” and repeated Biden’s statements that differences in political views have to be settled through voting, not through violence.

Vance officially nominated at RNC

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted put forward Sen. JD Vance as the vice presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention hours after Trump’s announcement.

“JD is a living embodiment of the American dream,” Husted said. “He came from humble beginnings.”

The crowd chanted in response, “JD! JD!”

Bernie Moreno, the Republican candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, seconded the motion for the convention to nominate Vance.

He was officially nominated by voice vote.

‘Fight, fight, fight, fight’

After Wyoming delegates threw their support behind Trump in Milwaukee, they broke into an impromptu chant.

“Fight, fight, fight, fight,” they shouted. The couple dozen voices spread across the floor of Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, echoing through the arena, as they had a half dozen times earlier Monday afternoon.

The chants were the early incarnations of what is sure to be repeated at Trump campaign events this summer and fall, all tracing their origins to the frightening scene from Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

Trump, bleeding from his right ear, pried himself away from the protective grip of U.S. Secret Service, pumping his fist and mouthing, “Fight, fight.”

Vance blamed Biden for Trump assassination attempt, White House declines comment

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined direct comment when asked about Vance being quick to blame Biden for the attempt on Trump’s life.

“I’m not going to politicize this moment. We’re not going to politicize this moment. It is wrong to politicize this moment,” Jean-Pierre said Monday at her daily White Houe press briefing.

She repeated what Biden said about lowering the temperature and uniting the country when he addressed the nation on Sunday night.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell booed at RNC

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell faced a flurry of boos Monday at the Republican National Convention when he stood on behalf of Kentucky to send the state’s delegates to Donald Trump.

McConnell, a onetime critic who blamed the then-president for “disgraceful” acts in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, made a remarkable turnaround in March when he endorsed Trump as the GOP nominee. The two men came face-to-face last month when Trump visited Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill where they shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

Biden’s campaign chair says Vance ‘will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6’

President Joe Biden’s campaign chair responded to Vance’s selection as Trump’s running mate by saying Vance “will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people.”

Jen O’Malley Dillon said the campaign would spend “every single day making the case between the two starkly contrasting visions Americans will choose between at the ballot box this November:”

Vance has challenged the legitimacy of criminal prosecutions and civil verdicts against Trump and questions the results of the 2020 election.

He told ABC News in February that, if he had been vice president on Jan. 6, 2021, he would have told states where Trump disputed Biden wins “that we needed to have multiple slates of electors, and I think the U.S. Congress should have fought over it from there.”

“That is the legitimate way to deal with an election that a lot of folks, including me, think had a lot of problems in 2020,” he said.

FBI says it has gained access to cellphone of suspect in assassination attempt against Donald Trump

The FBI says it has now successfully gained access to the cellphone of Thomas Matthew Crooks and are analyzing all his electronic devices for clues as to a motive in the weekend assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

The bureau also said in a statement Monday that it has finished searching the suspect’s home and car.

FBI officials said Sunday that they were trying to access Crooks’ phone. They said the limited insight they had into recent communications didn’t reveal anything with regard to a motive in the attempted assassination.

The FBI has conducted nearly 100 interviews of law enforcement officials, attendees at the rally and other witnesses, and has received hundreds of digital media tips.

Trump has received enough convention delegate votes to become the official Republican presidential nominee

Donald Trump has become the official Republican presidential nominee after receiving the votes of enough delegates at the Republican National Convention.

Trump has been the presumptive nominee for months. But it was the vote of RNC delegates in Milwaukee that made it official Monday afternoon.

Trump hit the necessary threshold with votes from his home state of Florida.

Biden orders Secret Service to protect independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

President Joe Biden has ordered the U.S. Secret Service to protect independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Kennedy is a longshot to win Electoral College votes, much less the presidency. But his campaign events have drawn large crowds of supporters and people interested in his message.

Trump was not seriously injured in the shooting over the weekend in Pennsylvania. There is an independent review of the attack.

Trump announces Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his VP pick

Former President Donald Trump says Ohio Sen. JD Vance will be his vice presidential pick.

He says on his Truth Social Network that, “After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio.”

Roll call underway to officially nominate Trump to be Republicans’ nominee for president

States are announcing their support for Trump inside the arena in Milwaukee on Monday.

Nevada GOP Chair Michael McDonald was among those who put Trump’s name up for nomination. McDonald was indicted of criminal charges related to his involvement in a scheme to present fake electors who would overturn Biden’s victory over Trump.

A judge dismissed the case against McDonald last month over a venue dispute.

North Dakota state representative disappointed Gov. Doug Burgum won’t be Trump’s pick for VP

Republican state Rep. Mike Nathe said he and others in the North Dakota political world are disappointed Trump did not choose Gov. Doug Burgum for his running mate, but he reflected on the “amazing” nature of a politician from the sparsely populated state being seriously in the running for vice president up until the last hours.

Nathe said he thinks Burgum has an excellent opportunity to be in a Trump Cabinet if the former president is elected, given his private sector skills and governing experience. Burgum could do a wonderful job leading the Interior Department, which would affect North Dakota, a major energy-producing state, Nathe said.

Burgum has been a vocal opponent of federal regulations, touting “innovation over regulation.”

Trump’s son, Eric Trump, says he’ll cast the vote declaring his father the Republican nominee

Donald Trump’s son, Eric Trump, announced on X that he’ll be casting the vote at 3:30 p.m. ET declaring his father the Republican nominee for president. He lives in Florida and is expected to cast the vote with Florida’s delegation, putting Trump over the top with enough delegates to formally become the nominee.

Congressional committees moving to investigate assassination attempt against Trump

Congressional committees are moving quickly to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

The House Committee on Oversight and Investigation has already scheduled a hearing for July 22 with the director of the U.S. Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, set to testify.

Rep. James Comer, the committee’s Republican chairman, said the Secret Service has a no-fail mission, “yet it failed on Saturday.” He said lawmakers are grateful to the agents who acted quickly to protect Trump, “but questions remain about how a rooftop within proximity to President Trump was left unsecure.”

Meanwhile, the leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee also announced Monday the committee would conduct an investigation and plan to hold a hearing on security failures that led to the attempted assassination.

They’re requesting an urgent briefing for committee members followed by a public hearing.

Trump makes his vice presidential pick. Rubio and Burgum are told it’s not them, AP sources say

Donald Trump has made his decision on his vice presidential pick, according to a person familiar with his thinking who spoke Monday on the condition of anonymity.

Trump’s pick is expected to appear at the Republican National convention later this afternoon as the vice president is formally nominated.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has been informed that he’s not Trump’s vice presidential pick, according to a person familiar with their conversation. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum also has been told he won’t be chosen as Trump’s running mate, AP sources said.

— Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller

Trump has chosen his nominee for vice president, an AP source says

And Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has been told he will not be chosen as former President Donald Trump’s running mate, an AP source says.

— Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller

At the RNC, Heritage Foundation hosts center-right celebrities at ‘Policy Fest’

Just at the edge of the RNC security perimeter, the conservative Heritage Foundation held a gathering of center-right celebrities called “Policy Fest” that amounted to a daylong flex for its Project 2025.

The project is one of the thinktank’s regular attempts to draw up a governing agenda for a new Republican president, but it’s become a flashpoint in the presidential race. Democrats have tried to use it and some of its more aggressive proposals – such as a wholesale reorganization of the federal workforce to ensure it is loyal to the president – against Trump. For his part, Trump has distanced himself from the effort, which is run by some of his closest allies and members of his last administration.

Two of those former members – Trump’s prior acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homans and Trump’s ex-head of Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan – contended the project’s role has been overblown. The two spoke onstage with former Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah about the border, urging reimplementation of Trump policies like the border wall and remain in Mexico that ended under the Biden administration.

Afterwards they scoffed at the worries over Project 2025, even though both men contributed to its immigration policy.

Mayorkas: Direct line of sight to former president ‘should not occur’

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says a direct line of sight like the one the shooter had to Trump “should not occur.”

Mayorkas was asked during an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos how the gunman could have gotten into such a position.

The secretary says that’s why an independent review is being done.

He also denied reports that the agency rebuffed requests for more resources for Trump’s detail, saying it was “unequivocally false.”

Ohio governor says he’s waiting like everyone else to find out who Trump’s running mate will be

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says he’s waiting like everyone else at the Republican National Convention to find out who will be Donald Trump’s running mate.

But he put in a strong word for Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the contender who’s from his home state. Vance, 39, is significantly younger than most of the other Republicans who’ve been mentioned as possibilities for the ticket.

“He’s very articulate. He’s got a great life story,” DeWine said. “And he can articulate President Trump’s positions very effectively and articulately. He’s the appropriate age, and represents the next generation. He’s the next generation of the party.”

Trump said to have narrowed his choices for running mate to 3 candidates

Donald Trump is said to have narrowed his list of potential running mates to three top candidates: Ohio Sen. JD Vance, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

All come with different benefits and vulnerabilities. Vance is perhaps most ideologically aligned with the former president and would energize his base. At 39, he would add a millennial contrast to the older men at the top of their parties’ tickets. But he’s served in the Senate for less than two years.

Burgum would bring business acumen and a steady hand, though Trump has noted his signing of a highly restrictive abortion law could be a drawback.

Rubio is seen in the party as a respected voice on policy and his background — as the son of Cuban immigrants and a Spanish speaker — could help Trump appeal to Latino voters. He could also help draw more moderate and establishment-minded voters and donors turned off by Trump’s coarse rhetoric. But Rubio’s candidacy is complicated by the fact that he lives in Florida, like Trump.

Protesters gather at GOP convention in downtown Milwaukee

Hundreds of activists gathered in a downtown Milwaukee park Monday as they prepared to spend the day protesting outside the Republican National Convention, saying the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump won’t affect their long-standing plans to demonstrate outside the site.

A wide range of organizations and demonstrators gathered in the park blocks from the Fiserv Forum to listen to speakers and then began marching Monday afternoon. The Coalition to March on the RNC, comprised largely of local groups, was protesting for access to abortion rights, for immigrant rights, and against the war in Gaza among other issues.

Organizers said the rally was on despite the attempt on Trump’s life Saturday during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Trump calls for RFK Jr. to get Secret Service protection

After being hurt in a weekend assassination attempt, former President Donald Trump is calling for another presidential candidate to get Secret Service protection.

“In light of what is going on in the world today, I believe it is imperative that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. receive Secret Service protection — immediately,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Given the history of the Kennedy Family, this is the obvious right thing to do!”

Kennedy’s father, Robert F. Kennedy, was shot and killed while campaigning for president and his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated while in office.

Trump expected to announce vice presidential pick on the RNC’s first day

Donald Trump is expected to announce his vice presidential pick on the first day of the Republican National Convention, he said in an interview Monday.

It remains unclear whether the shooting Saturday at his Pennsylvania rally has changed the former president’s thinking about his potential second-in-command. But he told Fox News Channel host Bret Baier in a call that he planned to make his pick Monday.

The roll call vote to nominate Trump’s pick is expected Monday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the schedule who spoke on condition of anonymity. The person cautioned that Trump could always change his mind.

— Jill Colvin and Steve Peoples

Vivek Ramaswamy urges the country to come together after assassination attempt against Trump

Vivek Ramaswamy, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur and political novice who ran in the GOP presidential primary, has distinguished himself as an aggressive voice on the right, saying often that the country is already at war with itself.

So it was notable that in remarks at an event run by the conservative Heritage Institute at the RNC on Monday he was toning down his rhetoric and urging the country to come together.

“The enemy is not the Democrats, it is an ideology,” Ramaswamy told the crowd at the Heritage Institute’s “Policy Fest” event.

Ramaswamy compared the assassination attempt on Donald Trump to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, telling reporters after his speech that “Donald Trump, in some ways, has been given the chance now, the second chance that Abraham Lincoln didn’t have to unite a country that, this time, didn’t have to fight a civil war but avoids one.”

Biden and Harris getting updated briefing on assassination attempt against Trump

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are getting an updated briefing from homeland security and law enforcement officials on the investigation into the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

The briefing is taking place in the Situation Room, the White House says.

The attorney general, homeland security secretary, FBI director and the director and deputy director of the U.S. Secret Service are among those briefing Biden and Harris.

Federal judge cites Justice Thomas in tossing Trump classified documents case

When U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump, she pointed several times to a concurrence written by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

The concurrence was part of the high court’s ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution, a finding that all but ended the prospects Trump could be tried on election-interference charges in Washington before the election.

No other justice signed onto Thomas’s concurrence. He questioned whether special counsel Jack Smith had been legally appointed and called on lower court judges to weigh the question.

Judge dismisses Trump classified documents case over concerns about legality of special counsel’s appointment

The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case of former President Donald Trump in Florida has dismissed the prosecution because of concerns over the appointment of the prosecutor who brought the case.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted the defense motion to dismiss the case Monday.

Lawyers for Trump had argued that special counsel Jack Smith was illicitly appointed and that his office was improperly funded by the Justice Department.

Jill Biden has spoken with Melania Trump after Saturday assassination attempt

First lady Jill Biden has spoken to Melania Trump following an attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The first lady’s office confirmed they spoke Sunday afternoon but have not released any details on the conversation. President Joe Biden spoke with Donald Trump following the attack at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Donald Trump is attending the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.

Milwaukee mayor: RNC has the highest security level possible and ‘I feel pretty confident’

Milwaukee’s mayor says he knows Americans will have questions about security at the Republican National Convention after Saturday’s assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, but the event has the highest security level possible “so I feel pretty confident.”

“The folks on the ground here have confidence in the work that they’ve put in over the last 18 months,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson said at a Monday morning briefing. “And I have faith and confidence as well in the Secret Service and the police and fire departments and other agencies providing security today.”

Secret Service director says she’s confident in RNC security plan

The director of the U.S. Secret Service says she’s confident in the plan to secure the Republican National Convention that begins Monday in the wake of an attempt on the life of presidential candidate Donald Trump.

In a statement, Kim Cheatle said Monday the security plans for the event are “designed to be flexible.”

“The Secret Service will continuously adapt our operations as necessary to ensure the highest level of safety,” she said.

Cheatle says the plan will change as necessary to ensure the continued safety of attendees at the Milwaukee event.

A man shot at Trump from a rooftop near a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday. Trump is recovering and will attend the convention. President Joe Biden ordered a national security review of the incident over the weekend.

King Charles writes to Trump

King Charles III has written to Donald Trump after the assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, Buckingham Palace said.

The palace did not disclose the contents of the monarch’s private message, which was delivered on Sunday through the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The message follows a call to Trump on Sunday by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who condemned the violence, expressed condolences for the victims and their families and wished a quick recovery for the former president and those injured.

Trump in ‘great spirits’ Sunday

Donald Trump spent much of Sunday on the phone with friends, news hosts and local and foreign officials the day after he was injured in an assassination attempt.

Ohio Pastor Darrell Scott, a longtime ally, said Trump “was in great spirits” when they spoke Sunday morning, hours after the shooting.

“He was great, like he always is. He didn’t even make a big deal of it,” Scott said. “He was actually trying to downplay it somewhat, asking how I was doing.”

Former RNC chair Reince Priebus, who also served as Trump’s White House chief of staff, told ABC’s “This Week” that Trump was “grateful for the miracle of what happened, in his case. … One quarter inch turned the other direction and we’re obviously talking about something very different this morning.”

Leading Christian conservative calls shooting “wake-up call” on rhetoric and social media

Tony Perkins, among the most influential Christian conservatives in the Republican Party, was preparing to mount a confrontation with convention planners over his disdain for how debate during the RNC’s platform committee was shut down on Monday, all but eliminating objections to the Trump campaign’s desire to soften language on abortion.

The attempted assassination changed all that, Perkins told The Associated Press after a prayer service in suburban Milwaukee Sunday evening.

“We live in a violent society. And we run the risk of becoming callous to it. And if we become callous to it, we’re going to have more of it,” Perkins said. “I’m hoping and praying it’s a wake-up call in many ways.”

“So, as a result, I’m stepping back from forcing the issue on the platform,” he added. “More divisiveness would not be healthy.”

Perkins called social media “a contagion” for toxic rhetoric passed along by people who do not feel that they’re heard by their government or leaders, and attributed the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol in part to the notion of overheated online rage.

“We need to stop,” he said.

And while thanking God during the service for Trump’s survival, Perkins told more than 100 in the Pewaukee church, “Lord, I believe that our nation is at such a volatile moment that yesterday could have torn this nation right in half.”