Trump and Vance formally nominated: key moments of first day of the Republican national convention so far The Republican national convention is now taking a break, after completing the first of two sessions it has planned today. The delegates will return at 5.45pm CT for what are expected to be more speeches by high-profile Republicans and party supporters. Here’s what has happened at the convention so far: The Republican party formally nominated Donald Trump as their candidate for president. Trump announced that Ohio senator JD Vance would be his running mate. Not long after, Vance appeared on the floor of the convention, and the GOP made him their vice-presidential nominee by acclamation. Joe Biden said Vance was “a clone of Trump on the issues”. ABC News reports that Kamala Harris tried to call Vance, but couldn’t reach him, and left a voicemail. Robert F Kennedy Jr met with Donald Trump in Milwaukee, Politico reports, as the former president sought his endorsement. Kennedy, an independent presidential candidate, is polling at around 9% nationally. Donald Trump Jr told the Guardian he advised his father to pick JD Vance because he thought the senator would fight for him. The Biden campaign characterized Vance as an enabler of Trump. Special counsel to appeal dismissal of documents case against Trump Special counsel Jack Smith intends to appeal a judge’s dismissal of the classified documents case against former president Donald Trump. A spokesman for Smith revealed the move in a statement today hours after US district judge Aileen Cannon threw out the case, The Associated Press reports. The judge sided with Trump’s lawyers, who said Smith’s appointment as special counsel violated the Constitution. A successful appeal by prosecutors could result in the indictment being reinstated, though even if that there were to happen, it would be virtually impossible for a trial to take place before the November presidential election. Here’s my colleague Hugo Lowell’s report on the unexpected news this morning that Cannon had, after so many months of proceedings, decided to throw out the case. Read it here. And my colleague Ed Pilkington’s analysis highlighting the direct line of thinking from hard right-leaning supreme court justice Clarence Thomas to the Trump-appointed Cannon. Read it here. Joe Biden sat down for the interview with NBC’s Lester Holt earlier today before heading for the battleground state of Nevada. The interview is set to air on the network this evening. It was scheduled before the weekend attempt on Trump’s life at a rally in Pennsylvania and had been part of Biden’s broader strategy to prove his fitness for office after angst grew among Democrats because of his disastrous June debate performance, the Associated Press reports. The Biden re-election campaign recalibrated some of its political plans in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt on Saturday, pulling advertising off the air and hitting pause on messaging. The White House also scrapped Biden’s planned Monday visit to the Lyndon B Johnson library, where he had been slated to deliver remarks on civil rights, in Texas. It’s still not finalized when Biden’s campaign ads will resume airing. But Biden is pressing on with the Nevada portion of his previously scheduled western swing, which will include remarks to the NAACP and UnidosUS, a Latino civil rights and advocacy group. He’ll also headline what’s been billed as a “campaign community event” on Wednesday in Las Vegas. Biden admits mistake in saying he wanted "bullseye" on Trump Joe Biden told NBC News in an interview airing Monday that it was a “mistake” to say he wanted to put a “bullseye” on Republican nominee Donald Trump, which the US president had said prior to the assassination attempt on the former president on Saturday. But Biden also argued in the sit-down with the TV network that rhetoric coming from his election opponent was more incendiary, the Associated Press reports. It was a mistake to use the word,” Biden told NBC anchor Lester Holt in a clip released by the network. He said he wanted the “focus” to be on “what he’s saying.” Biden continued: How do you talk about the threat to democracy which is real, when a president says things like he says? Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody?” The president said he is not the one who engages in “that rhetoric,” referring to Trump’s past comments about a “bloodbath” if the Republican loses to Biden in November. Trump and Vance formally nominated: key moments of first day of the Republican national convention so far The Republican national convention is now taking a break, after completing the first of two sessions it has planned today. The delegates will return at 5.45pm CT for what are expected to be more speeches by high-profile Republicans and party supporters. Here’s what has happened at the convention so far: The Republican party formally nominated Donald Trump as their candidate for president. Trump announced that Ohio senator JD Vance would be his running mate. Not long after, Vance appeared on the floor of the convention, and the GOP made him their vice-presidential nominee by acclamation. Joe Biden said Vance was “a clone of Trump on the issues”. ABC News reports that Kamala Harris tried to call Vance, but couldn’t reach him, and left a voicemail. Robert F Kennedy Jr met with Donald Trump in Milwaukee, Politico reports, as the former president sought his endorsement. Kennedy, an independent presidential candidate, is polling at around 9% nationally. Donald Trump Jr told the Guardian he advised his father to pick JD Vance because he thought the senator would fight for him. The Biden campaign characterized Vance as an enabler of Trump. In nominating JD Vance as their vice-presidential candidate at the convention, Republicans opted for a vote of acclamation, where those in favor said “aye”, and those opposed said “no”. The cries of “aye” were overwhelming. Maybe one person said “no”. And now Vance is Trump’s running mate. Biden calls Vance "a clone of Trump on the issues" As he heads for campaign events in Las Vegas, Joe Biden was asked for his thoughts on JD Vance, the Ohio senator who is Donald Trump’s running mate. “A clone of Trump on the issues,” Biden replied. “I don’t see any difference.” GOP formally nominates JD Vance as vice-presidential candidate By a vote of acclamation at the Republican national convention, the GOP has formally nominated JD Vance to be Donald Trump’s running mate in the November election. The crowd is breaking out into chants of “JD! JD! JD!” as Ohio lieutenant governor John Husted gives a speech nominating him as vice-president. “The vice presidency is an office of sacred trust. The man who accepts this nomination accepts with it the awesome responsibility to give wise counsel to the president, to represent America abroad, to preside over the Senate and to be ready to lead our nation at a moment’s notice. Such a man must have an America First attitude in his heart,” Husted said. “JD Vance is such a man!” ABC News reports that Kamala Harris called JD Vance following the announcement that has was Donald Trump’s running mate, but was not able to reach him: JD Vance is making his way through the packed convention floor, shaking hands with delegates while being trailed by camera operators. The Ohio senator just took a selfie with someone, and autographed a Trump campaign sign. We don’t yet know if he will speak now, or later during the four-day convention. On the convention floor, a large group of delegates and reporters appears to be gathering around where the Ohio delegation is seated. That could be a sign that JD Vance, Donald Trump’s newly anointed running mate, is set to make an appearance. The Republican national convention appears to be in a holding pattern, and it’s not clear if this was planned. We’ve been listening to a live band play covers of rock-and-roll hits for the past half hour. Just before they started playing, House speaker Mike Johnson was onstage, and appeared to be about to introduce an attorney general, before he suddenly said his teleprompter was broken, and walked off stage. About 45 minutes ago, convention attendees received a text message saying a “special guest” would soon appear at the convention. That person does not seem to have shown up yet. The chair of the Democratic National Committee, Jaime Harrison, said the selection of JD Vance as Donald Trump‘s running mate only raised the already high stakes of the presidential race. “JD Vance embodies MAGA – with an out-of-touch extreme agenda and plans to help Trump force his Project 2025 agenda on the American people,” Harrison said. “A Trump-Vance ticket would undermine our democracy, our freedoms, and our future. There is so much on the line, and it’s more important than ever that we reelect President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris this November.” Trump met with RFK Jr to seek his endorsement – report Donald Trump met today in Milwaukee with Robert F Kennedy Jr, and discussed the independent presidential candidate’s endorsement, Politico reports. If Kennedy were to drop out and endorse Trump, it could further scramble the race. Polls show Kennedy has about 9% support nationally. “Yes, Mr Kennedy met with President Trump today to discuss national unity, and he hopes to meet with leaders of the Democratic Party as well,” Kennedy campaign press secretary Stefanie Spear told Politico. “And no he is not dropping out of the race. He is the only pro-environment, pro-choice, anti-war candidate who beats Donald Trump in head-to-head polls.”