Takeaways from the first day of the Republican National Convention

CNN —

With a white bandage over the ear clipped just two days earlier by an attempted assassin’s bullet, Donald Trump stole the show when he made his first public appearance since the shooting on the opening night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Trump joined the man he’d chosen hours earlier as his vice presidential running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, in a box in the 10 p.m. Eastern time hour for Monday night’s final speeches.

The crowd chanted “fight” — the word a bloody-faced Trump had shouted several times, while pumping his fist in the air, as the Secret Service rushed him off the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

It was a memorable moment on a day that Republican delegates officially nominated Trump for the third consecutive presidential election, confirmed Vance as his running mate and opened a four-day convention aimed at making the case for another Trump term and against reelecting President Joe Biden.

Here are six takeaways from the RNC’s first night:

Trump picks Vance

Rather than choose his running mate before Republicans gathered in Milwaukee, Trump wanted an element of surprise at this year’s convention — and he got it, keeping the veepstakes guessing game alive until Monday afternoon.

Trump called Vance 20 minutes before he announced he’d chosen the Ohio senator on Truth Social, a source familiar with the process told CNN. The two had met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Saturday, before the rally at which Trump was shot in the ear.

The choice reflects Trump’s belief that Vance is an effective communicator who can sell Trump’s populist agenda — particularly to working-class voters in states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where presidential elections can be decided