Happy Wednesday from cheese curd land. It’s a beautiful 74 degrees and everyone in Milwaukee is incredibly friendly. I think I may stay! ???? What’s happening on-the-ground at the Republican National Convention:

• Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) and Donald Trump Jr. are speaking at the convention tonight.
• Trump’s ex-rival Nikki Haley took the MAGA plunge. She spoke at the RNC last night, and based on a few recent words she’s used to describe Trump, it’s *notable.*
• Rudy Giuliani tripped and fell while on the convention floor — and it was caught on video. Tough.
• Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) got up in former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) face during an interview. The clip looks straight from Bravo.
• Sources are telling The Hill that the effort to replace President Biden at the top of the ticket may be over, despite lingering pushes.

Filing from Blue Ribbon Hall where the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics and the Cook Political Report are chatting about the most-recent polling, I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com.  Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.  

I’ve attended many-a-Nikki-Haley campaign event once she got her sea legs in the Republican presidential primary and she got comfortable slamming her former boss, Donald Trump.

Just a few months ago, she called him “unhinged,” “not qualified” and said voting for him “is like suicide for our country.” Those sure sound like quotes from a bitter rival, not someone on stage at the Trump show in Milwaukee. *nervous laugh*

(Here are more of Nikki Haley’s past scathing Trump quotes)

That’s what made Tuesday night’s Republican National Committee speech so strange to watch, but also so strategic.

Someone please pair Nikki Haley's convention footage with this TikTok sound: “Don’t be suspicious. Don’t be suspicious.”

“President Trump asked me to speak to this convention in the name of unity,” she said. “It was a gracious invitation, and I was happy to accept.”

*Looks around — she knows we remember, right?*

Ah, OK, she addressed the elephant in the room: “There are some Americans who don’t agree with Donald Trump 100 percent of the time,” she said. “My message to them is simple: You don’t have to agree with Trump 100 percent of the time to vote for him.”

A funny observation from the room: The audience didn’t seem to know how to react at times during her speech. She received a mix of boos and cheers when she walked on stage. When she acknowledged her frosty winter with her ex-Republican rival, it was quiet. No boos, but only a smattering of claps. ???? Watch the cheers and boos from my vantage point

Back-to-back dropouts: Another former primary rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), addressed the convention immediately following Haley. DeSantis’s appearance wasn’t as much of a surprise — he immediately endorsed Trump when he ended his primary bid in January — but it was strategic to have them speak back-to-back.

“Our enemies do not confine their designs to between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. … We need a commander in chief who can lead 24 hours a day and seven days a week,” DeSantis said, taking a verbal swing at President Biden. “America cannot afford four more years of a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ presidency.”

One of DeSantis’s biggest applause lines: “Florida is a solid Republican state.”

Another interesting observation from in the room: Trump at various moments was seen in his box at the convention smirking and occasionally smiling as his former rivals heaped praise on him from the stage and ticked through the many reasons they said he should be elected again.

????Why this was such a strategic move for Republicans: The tone of the presidential election changed in an instant Saturday when a gunman tried to assassinate former President Trump. President Biden and Trump have largely set aside their differences, at least for the moment. That “moment” happens to coincide with a nationally televised, prescheduled event that comes with a built-in audience of millions. That’s what makes both Haley and DeSantis’s appearances (but specifically Haley’s) so meaningful. But man, it was striking to hear Haley’s unity message after her repeated personal swings at Trump over the past year.

Tidbit during her speech: C-SPAN’s Howard Mortman noticed that Sean Hannity tossed footballs into the crowd while Haley spoke. ???? Watch

Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and his wife, Usha Vance, are expected to address the convention this evening. And so will Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. Rep. Matt Gaetz and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) (or should I say “Mr. Secretary?!”) are also on the list of today’s speakers.

Timing: Programming will start around 6:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. in Milwaukee). Tonight’s livestream

Here’s the full list of tonight’s speakers, via The New York Times

Where are Melania and Ivanka?: Trump’s second eldest son, Eric Trump, told “CBS Mornings” that former first lady Melania Trump and his sister, Ivanka Trump, will be “coming in full force” to the convention. Their timing for this week is unclear, though.

Top Trump pollster and senior adviser Tony Fabrizio says that Republicans have videos of Vice President Harris ready to be swapped in just in case President Biden steps aside before the convention.

“Rest assured, we are 100 percent ready,” Fabrizio just said during a Milwaukee event hosted by The University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics and The Cook Political Report. “In fact, we have videos ready to go [to] change out all of our Biden videos to Harris videos if they had swapped her out before the convention.”

Fabrizio’s assessment on Harris: “Voters absolutely say she is responsible for the failure of the Biden administration,” he told moderators David Axelrod (former senior adviser to former President Obama) and Amy Walter (publisher and editor-in-chief of The Cook Political Report). He did acknowledge that Harris does

The best tea of the day: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) tried to confront former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on the convention floor Tuesday. “Hey Kevin, what night are you speaking?” Gaetz interrupted. NewsNation’s Joe Khalil captured the video. It’s worth watching. ???? And from the point of view of the CNN interview

^ Khalil followed up: “Shortly after this moment, we interviewed former Speaker McCarthy who repeated what we’ve heard from him before- Gaetz is upset with him because he wouldn’t end the ethics investigation into allegations Gaetz paid for sex with a minor.” ????

???? Rudy Giuliani fell while on the floor

Ah, motorcades that interfere with plans. Feels like home ????: We had a hard time getting an Uber after the convention because of at least two motorcades that shut down roads. ???? Here’s a time lapse of this massive motorcade  

If you’re wondering why a large bulldog had a seat on stage: West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R), who is running for Senate, brought his “little buddy” Babydog on stage while he addressed the convention. Justice often brings Babydog to official events. Back story on Babydog

???? Watch Babydog’s escort on stage

???? Babydog was then wheeled around the convention floor in a wagon

The swag caught up: Trump’s gameshow-like VP announcement meant that the Trump-Vance swag wasn’t immediately available. Well, some Trump-Vance T-shirts, stickers and buttons appeared at the arena gift shop Tuesday. ???? The gift shop

What’s happening on stage earlier in the day?: Speakers have a chance to walk on stage and get a feel for the podium, the microphone and the teleprompter. I stood on the convention floor to watch. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) stopped by. Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle practiced. I also saw Trump’s new running mate do a walkthrough. Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle came on stage while Vance was at the podium to say hello.

Ah, the magic of live TV: I did a television hit from the convention floor. My colleague, Sarakshi Rai, kindly offered to hold the camera. Well, Nikki Haley walked behind my shot partway through the hit. Sarakshi tried motioning to me, but I didn’t realize what was happening!

???? I’ve seen a few fake ear bandages: To match Trump’s bandage from Saturday’s assassination attempt.

Five takeaways from Day 2 of the RNC

We’ve talked so much about Republicans this week for obvious reasons, but Democrats’ Biden problem hasn’t gone away. I’m sure they appreciate not being front and center this week.

Sources are telling The Hill’s Amie Parnes that the effort to replace President Biden may be “game over,” despite lingering pushes.

Why?: “Still, while the party remains at odds about Biden continuing in the race, many felt like blowing up the ticket at this late stage of the campaign would be a risky bet and wouldn’t necessarily help the Democratic Party prevail in November.”

The four biggest challenges facing Biden’s reelection bid:

1. The obvious age issue
2. The battleground state picture
3. The ramifications of Trump’s assassination attempt
4. His base is still unhappy with his Gaza response.

Explainers for each from The Hill’s Niall Stanage

“Amid swirling questions about how the Secret Service allowed a gunman with an AR-style rifle to get close enough to shoot and injure former President Trump at a rally Saturday, some answers are starting to emerge.”

The Hill’s Ellen Mitchell broke down what we know about the shooting and the Secret Service’s response.

• ‘Trump rally shooting pushes Pennsylvania governor into the spotlight’: The Hill
• ‘Exclusive: Secret Service ramped up security after intel of Iran plot to assassinate Trump; no known connection to shooting’: CNN
• ‘An Assassination Attempt That Seems Likely to Tear America Further Apart’: Analysis from The New York Times’s Peter Baker

???? Celebrate: Today is National Hot Dog Day!

⛈️ ‘The MAGA Plan to End Free Weather Reports’: The Atlantic’s Zoë Schlanger writes that “Project 2025 would all but dissolve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.”

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Nevada, and Vice President Harris is in Washington. (all times Eastern)

• 2:25 p.m.: Harris speaks at a political event in Kalamazoo, Mich.
• 4:30 p.m.: Biden speaks at the UnidosUS Annual Conference in Las Vegas. ???? Livestream
• 5 p.: Harris arrives in Washington.
• 6:15 p.m.: Biden participates in a campaign reception in Las Vegas. ???? C-SPAN livestream
• 7:50 p.m.: Biden leaves for Rehoboth Beach, Del. He arrives around 12:20 a.m. Thursday.

Let’s close this out with something cool. Here’s a dog who has picked up some sign language.

This video has more than 5.4 million likes so far.

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