Trump picks JD Vance as running mate as RNC begins; federal case against former president is dismissed

Donald Trump was formally nominated as his party’s presidential candidate as Republicans kicked off their national convention Monday under heightened security concerns and an ongoing investigation into the attempt on his life during a weekend campaign rally in Western Pennsylvania.

The former president pledged resilience in his first media interviews following the attempted assassination Saturday at a fairgrounds in Butler, Pa. He said his brush with death had prompted him to “throw out” the speech that he’d planned to deliver to party delegates at the Milwaukee convention later this week.

President Joe Biden told NBC News in an interview airing Monday that it was a “mistake” to say he wanted to put a “bull's-eye” on Republican nominee Donald Trump, but argued that the rhetoric coming from his opponent was more incendiary while warning that Trump remained a threat to democratic institutions.

Those remarks from Biden came during a private call with donors last week as the Democrat had been scrambling to shore up his imperiled candidacy with key party constituencies. During that conversation, Biden declared that he was “done” talking about his poor debate performance and that it was “time to put Trump in the bull's-eye,” saying Trump has gotten far too little scrutiny on his stances, rhetoric and lack of campaigning.

The Pennsylvania delegation is up on its feet, some dancing, some standing on chairs as the crowd here at the convention waits for Sen. JD Vance to enter the arena after being named Trump’s vice presidential pick.

A crush of delegates and press are surrounding the Ohio delegation.

BUTLER, Pa. ― The call to the City of Butler’s clerk typist came Monday around lunch time, a flustered man’s voice was on the other end.

“You failed, you failed,” he told the city worker. “Put a gun to your head.”

Donald Trump has become the official Republican presidential nominee after receiving the votes of enough delegates at the Republican National Convention.

Trump has been the presumptive nominee for months. But it was the vote of RNC delegates in Milwaukee that made it official Monday afternoon.

Two officials at Delaware County organizations have resigned over social media posts following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

In Prospect Park, the Prospect Park Fire Company announced the resignation of Chief James Simmonds on Monday.

Former President Donald Trump selected Sen. JD Vance (R., Ohio) as his vice presidential pick Monday, making the announcement on Truth Social.

Trump wrote Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy, was "best suited" to be his running mate, noting the Ohio senator championed "hardworking men and women” across the country.

Details behind a mystery comment from former President Donald Trump about his shoes have been revealed.

As Trump was flocked by Secret Service agents, viewers could hear his and security details' voices dialogue being picked up by the hot mic he gave remarks into earlier.

The Butler County District Attorney's Office won't pursue criminal charges related to former President Donald Trump's assassination attempt.

District Attorney Richard A. Goldinger told USA Today on Monday that since the shooter — Thomas Matthew Crooks — died at the scene and appeared to work alone, there are currently no charges to file.

Dave McCormick, a Republican running for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat, is calling on incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey to suspend negative advertising and said he would do the same.

McCormick posted the request on social media Monday, joining calls for unity and a rhetoric shift days after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

Philly District Attorney Larry Krasner said his office has “undertaken to do better and to do more in terms of election protection than we have ever done.”

“We have been working now for months to do election protection, to push back on the possibility of domestic terrorism, to push back on whatever efforts there are to intimidate people before and after Election Day,” Krasner said.

Former President Donald Trump will announced his running mate in the 2024 election Monday during the first day of the Republican National Convention, according to Fox News.

"He did confirm that he's going to make a VP choice today," Fox News anchor Bret Baier reported Monday morning.

Pennsylvania’s delegates gathered Monday morning in Milwaukee with renewed spotlight on them and the swing state they call home.

“Because of what happened Saturday evening the eyes of the world are on us,” the delegate chair Jim Worthington said at Monday’s state delegation breakfast in Washeuka, a suburb of Milwaukee.

Former President Donald Trump is speaking for the first time since being wounded by a would-be assassin during a rally in Western Pennsylvania Saturday.

In an interview with the Washington Examiner’s Salena Zico Sunday as he boarded his plane for Milwaukee, Trump said he’s tossed out what would’ve been a fiery speech at the Republican National Convention Thursday to one that calls for unity.

A federal judge in Florida has dismissed charges Donald Trump was facing for his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith did not comply with the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution and that, as a result, the case had been improperly funded by the Justice Department.

First lady Jill Biden has spoken to Melania Trump following an attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The first lady’s office confirmed they spoke Sunday afternoon but have not released any details on the conversation. President Joe Biden spoke with Donald Trump following the attack at a rally in Pennsylvania.

The director of the U.S. Secret Service says she’s confident in the plan to secure the Republican National Convention that begins Monday in the wake of an attempt on the life of presidential candidate Donald Trump.

In a statement, Kim Cheatle said Monday the security plans for the event are “designed to be flexible.”

MILWAUKEE — The Republican National Convention was always going to be a celebration of former President Donald Trump and his pugilistic brand of politics

But the assassination attempt at his rally Saturday in Western Pennsylvania and images of him being escorted off stage, blood streaming down his face as he raised his fist, elevated his idolization among supporters who are prepared to give him a hero’s welcome this week when the party officially nominates him for president.

BETHEL PARK, Pa. — In the sea of caps and gowns, Thomas Matthew Crooks hardly stood out.

Few people clapped when his name was called. A YouTube video of his graduation two years ago from Bethel Park High School shows a slender and bespectacled student receiving his diploma with a soft smile.

The man killed when shots broke out at former President Donald Trump’s rally Saturday was shielding his wife and two daughters, a family member posted on Facebook.

A sister identified the victim as 50-year-old Corey Comperatore.

A defiant Donald Trump called for unity and resilience a day after surviving an attempted assassination at a campaign rally in Western Pennsylvania, while federal authorities worked feverishly Sunday to uncover more information about the background and motivations of the 20-year-old Allegheny County man named as the shooter.

The gunman, whom the FBI identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pa., opened fire Saturday evening from the rooftop of a building near the rally site at a fairgrounds in Butler, about an hour outside Pittsburgh, authorities said.

President Biden on Sunday evening called on Americans to recommit themselves to using peaceful political rhetoric and striving for national unity following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

During a six-minute primetime address from the Oval Office, Biden said the shooting of his political rival during a rally in Butler, Pa. offers a chance for the nation to “dial the rhetoric down.”