SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
The Republican National Convention kicked off yesterday and Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley welcomed an enthusiastic crowd.
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MICHAEL WHATLEY: We are kicking off the biggest and best convention in the history of the Republican Party, and we are united.
PFEIFFER: All eyes were on Donald Trump's newly announced running mate, U.S. Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
That is until Trump himself appeared for the first time since Saturday's assassination attempt.
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UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) We love Trump. We love Trump. We love Trump. We love Trump. We love Trump.
INSKEEP: He wore a bandage over his ear. The two nominees give their speeches later in the week.
PFEIFFER: NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben is at the convention in Milwaukee. Good morning, Danielle.
DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE: Hey, good morning.
PFEIFFER: So J.D. Vance, this was not exactly a safe and noncontroversial choice. What are you hearing about how people feel about this choice?
KURTZLEBEN: Right, well, first of all, in that arena, the crowd was overjoyed. There were very loud cheers for Vance. They were very enthusiastic. Now, throughout this cycle, I've talked to plenty of Trump supporters about who they wanted Trump to pick. And on the one hand, Vance didn't come up much, but on the other, many told me whoever Trump picked they would love. And you definitely heard that in the arena.
Now, on the Democratic side, Democrats were ready with plenty of criticism, especially in the form of Vance's many past critical statements of Trump way back before Vance was a senator. Now, I think there are two ways to look at that. One is that Vance has said, yes, some very critical things - for example, comparing Donald Trump to Hitler. But also, Vance is a convert, and converts can be really powerful messengers. And now that Vance supports Trump, he's a former Never Trumper and a relatively young Never Trumper, it's possible that J.D. Vance could reach a new voter or two.
PFEIFFER: And the convention, of course, comes under the fresh shadow of this attempted assassination on Saturday of Trump. How is that shooting factoring into the convention?
KURTZLEBEN: Quite a bit, as you might expect. Now, first off, several times, even before Trump showed up, the crowd was pumping their fists and chanting fight, fight, fight, referencing what Trump did as Secret Service whisked him offstage on Saturday. But also what struck me was a lot of religious and specifically Christian language surrounding the assassination attempt. Here's South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. He called the near miss a miracle, and he then added this.
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TIM SCOTT: Thank God almighty that we live in a country that still believes in the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega.
KURTZLEBEN: Now, he was one of several speakers who said God in some way saved Trump. Now, that plays well in a room full of evangelicals, but also there was the idea there that God chose Trump, which is something that some evangelicals believe. And it also just plays into this grand - or you could maybe say grandiose - narrative that there are just larger forces at work.
PFEIFFER: And, Danielle, tell us what you're going to be looking for today and tonight at the convention.
KURTZLEBEN: Sure. So tonight's theme is safety, last night's was the economy. In a convention night about safety, you can bet there will be a lot about immigration because Trump and his followers often cast undocumented immigrants as threatening. Now, in addition, given that Trump just survived an assassination attempt, it wouldn't be surprising for that to fold into talk about safety. Now, as for speakers, we don't know much yet, but we do know former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will be speaking. So really trying to continue the Republican message of unity, at least intraparty unity.
PFEIFFER: That's NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben. Thank you.
KURTZLEBEN: Thank you.
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PFEIFFER: We want to give you the latest now in the investigation of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. The FBI says it has gained access to the gunman's phone. That's as agents analyze his electronic devices.
INSKEEP: Saturday's event also led to a crisis at the Secret Service. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas oversees that agency.
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ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: At President Biden's direction, an independent review of the incident will be conducted, one that will examine the Secret Service's and other law enforcement actions before, during and after the shooting.
PFEIFFER: NPR's congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales has been covering this and joins us now. Good morning, Claudia.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Good morning.
PFEIFFER: I understand you've spoken with officials from both Butler County in Pennsylvania and the Secret Service current and former. What kind of things did you hear?
GRISALES: Well, first of all, everyone I spoke with expects answers quickly, perhaps even in the coming weeks or months, but at least definitely ahead of the election in November. And this includes members of Congress who are already launching multiple investigations of their own. Congress has raised concerns about the Secret Service in the past and they're expecting briefings in the coming days, including one with the agency and the House Oversight Committee today. And that same panel expects to hear from Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testify when Congress returns on Monday.
PFEIFFER: And what are you hearing from experts about a fail of that level?
GRISALES: Some say it's pretty clear this was human error, and it comes down to the placement of security around the rally. Here's one of those experts, former deputy assistant director for the Secret Service Bill Pickle.
BILL PICKLE: I think it's human error more than it is perimeter. Perimeter really, to me, is just avoiding the fact that there was not sufficient coverage or resources to stop that from happening.
GRISALES: And by that, he's saying there's ongoing debate on how the Secret Service handled this. Pickle says a decision was made not to cover this building located about 130 yards, about the length of a football field, from where the former president was speaking. And that allowed the shooter to take advantage of the security hole.
PFEIFFER: And it turned out to be a pretty massive security hole.
GRISALES: Right.
PFEIFFER: Any more detail on how it could've happened?
GRISALES: Well, I spoke with former Secret Service Director William Basham. He says it could've happened from the very start of planning - that is, an advanced agent for the Secret Service is charged with standing at that podium where Trump was standing and get a full 360-degree view of what needs to be covered. And a decision was made that that roof should not be directly covered by the Secret Service. And he says this is part of a larger series of breakdowns that continued.
WILLIAM BASHAM: There was a breakdown in communications. There was a breakdown in terms of security planning - should've had somebody on that roof. And I just don't think there's a whole lot of mystery about what happened here.
PFEIFFER: And of course, federal and local law enforcement has to answer for this. What are they saying?
GRISALES: Well, many are at a loss at how this happened. However, I talked to Butler County District Attorney Goldinger, who told me there's a hierarchy here with the Secret Service at the top and state and local police below. And meanwhile, a spokesman for the Secret Service told me they traditionally secure these outdoor rallies by assigning an inner and outer zone, and this building was in an outer area left to local law enforcement. But this morning, they issued a new statement saying any reports suggesting they're trying to shift blame to local police is not true.
PFEIFFER: That's NPR's Claudia Grisales. Thank you.
GRISALES: Thank you.
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PFEIFFER: After that assassination attempt on his rival in the White House race, President Joe Biden paused his campaign, saying it was time for the country to cool down the rhetoric and come together.
INSKEEP: Today, after that brief pause, Biden heads back out. He's campaigning in Nevada. In that speech to the nation on Sunday, he said a campaign should be about the character of the candidates, their records and visions, not violence.
PFEIFFER: NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram has more. Good morning, Deepa.
DEEPA SHIVARAM, BYLINE: Good morning.
PFEIFFER: Yesterday, Biden did a sit-down interview with NBC News' Lester Holt, his first interview since Saturday's shooting. What did Biden say?
SHIVARAM: Yeah, I mean, this was supposed to be a chance for Biden to take some of the attention away from the Republican National Convention, but it turned into a pretty wide-ranging interview. Biden at times was defensive and was critical of some of the questions and the media in general. And Biden said he had a cordial conversation with Trump after the shooting and that he was concerned about Trump's health.
But, you know, Biden here is still trying to make his case to voters that Trump is the wrong choice. And he doesn't seem to be backing down from pointing at what he says is Trump's inflammatory rhetoric. It's gotten a little more complicated, though, because now Biden's language is getting scrutinized. For example, he admitted it was a mistake a week or so ago for him to say on a call with donors that, quote, "it's time to put Trump in the bull's-eye." And Biden said what he meant was that people need to focus on what Trump himself has said.
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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: When a president says things like he says, do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody? Look, I have not engaged in that rhetoric. Now, my opponent has engaged in that rhetoric. He talks about it's going to be a bloodbath if he loses.
PFEIFFER: So, Deepa, this is a tricky challenge for Biden. He's got to cool down the rhetoric, as he says, but speak forcefully enough to try to beat his rival. How is he planning to do that, if you have any sense?
SHIVARAM: Yeah, I mean, it's kind of an open question on how Biden's language changes here. He's been giving really fired up speeches recently talking a lot about Trump lately, especially the Project 2025 agenda. But as he travels to Las Vegas this week, it's possible Biden tries to take maybe a different approach. He's going to be talking about high rent prices and will be addressing Black and Hispanic civil rights groups. And the idea for a long time now from the Biden campaign has been to try and break through some of that Trump amnesia - right? - to remind people what Trump did and said during his presidency, what he's been saying recently, particularly that Trump is a threat to democracy. That's been a line Biden's been using a lot, but now it might get a little trickier for Biden to weave some of that narrative. And he's saying that it's time to unite the country together, but he also has to draw those contrasts with Trump because election continues to be extremely close.
PFEIFFER: Right. And so much news has happened this week that almost - it's been easy to forget that a week ago the main conversation was, should Biden drop out? That's receded a bit. But where do those conversations stand now on potentially replacing him on the ticket?
SHIVARAM: You know, they've petered out a little bit since this weekend's very shocking events. And, you know, we heard from Claudia earlier, our colleague. She spoke to a House Democrat who was granted anonymity to speak about private discussions. This Democrat said that the talk of swapping Biden in the race has ended at least for now or for good. They said there's too much instability and uncertainty after the Trump assassination attempt, and there are worries about more political violence like January 6. So there's not really an appetite to bring this conversation up again unless Biden has another major communications misstep. Biden, for his part, said in the interview last night that he's not dropping out. And he has been out in the country showing voters that he's capable of a second term.
PFEIFFER: That is NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram. Thank you for covering this.
SHIVARAM: Thanks so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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