Trump welcomes his vanquished rivals to the RNC: 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, Henry J. Gomez and Allan Smith report from the GOP convention hall on how Donald Trump's former competitors have turned into his boosters. Plus, chief political analyst Chuck Todd writes that this is the most united GOP convention in 20 years.

Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.

Trump’s former rivals turn into his advocates at the GOP convention

By Henry J. Gomez and Allan Smith

MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump welcomed vanquished rivals at his Republican National Convention here Tuesday, keeping watch as, one by one, they stuck to a carefully stage-managed script of party unity.

There was Nikki Haley, who took more than two months to endorse him after she ended her White House bid, speaking to “those who have some doubts” about Trump. There was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trump ally-turned-challenger, unleashing a robust attack on President Joe Biden.

And there was Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who eight years ago in Cleveland urged conventiongoers to “vote your conscience,” thanking “God Almighty” for “turning [Trump’s] head on Saturday as the shot was fired” in an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.

A torrent of boos chased Cruz from the stage in 2016, but there were nothing but cheers for him Tuesday night. DeSantis, too, received thunderous applause.

Only Haley, whose holdout against Trump was freshest in delegates’ memories, heard a smattering of jeers. But she quickly won over the crowd.

“I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear,” said