Takeaways from the first night of the GOP convention: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the a special edition From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.

Tonight, we are wrapping up all the highlights from the first night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and bringing you the inside story of how Donald Trump landed on his running mate choice.

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Republican convention aims for unity — but keeps some of the old red meat

By Matt Dixon, Allan Smith and Katherine Doyle

MILWAUKEE — The economy was the focus of the first night of the Republican National Convention, but it was Donald Trump’s first public appearance since the attempted assassination at his rally Saturday that stole the show.

Electricity pulsed through Fiserv Forum when Trump, wearing a large white bandage over his right ear, entered the venue. The crowd erupted into raucous cheers as Lee Greenwood performed “God Bless the U.S.A.” — a song played at every Trump rally — in a moment that made a number of people in the crowd, including the former president’s son Don Jr., emotional.

Imitating Trump’s remarks after he was shot and stood back up, rally attendees shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Most speakers stuck to the night’s theme — “Make America Wealthy Again” — but interspersed through the night were mentions of the shooting and rhetoric that, at times, contradicted Trump’s own calls for unity.

High inflation, and what the speakers said was the lackluster economy under President Joe Biden, was a key talking point throughout the night.

“Many families today are having that same experience,” said North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark