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--:-- Steve Inskeep: Former President Trump showed up at the Republican convention with a bandage on his ear and crowds cheered.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: What's in store for the rest of the event? I'm Steve Inskeep with Sasha Pfeiffer and this is Up First from NPR News.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: The Secret Service is in crisis after failing to prevent the attempted assassination of the Republican presidential nominee. There was not sufficient coverage or resources to stop that from happening. So what can the agency learn?
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: And President Joe Biden is back on the campaign trail. How is he balancing the need to unify with the need to boost his effort to keep Trump out of the White House? Stay with us.
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--:-- Steve Inskeep: The Republican National Convention kicked off yesterday, and Republican National Committee Chair Michael Watley welcomed an enthusiastic crowd.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: We are kicking off the biggest and best convention in the history of the Republican Party, and we are united.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: All eyes were on Donald Trump's newly announced running mate, U.S. Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: That is, until Trump himself appeared for the first time since Saturday's assassination attempt. He wore a bandage over his ear.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: The two nominees give their speeches later in the week.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: And Paris' Danielle Kurtzleben is at the convention in Milwaukee. Good morning, Danielle.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: Hey, good morning. So, J.D. Vance, this was not exactly a safe and non-controversial choice. What are you hearing about how people feel about this choice?
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: Well, first of all, in that arena, the crowd was overjoyed. There were very loud cheers for Vance. They were very enthusiastic.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: 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.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: But on the other, many told me whoever Trump picked, they would love. And you definitely heard that in the arena.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: 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.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: And 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.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: 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.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: It's possible that J.D. Vance could reach a new voter or two.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: 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?
--:-- Danielle 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.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: But also what struck me was a lot of religious and specifically Christian language surrounding the assassination attempt.
--:-- Tim Scott: He called the near miss a miracle. And he then added this. 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.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: Now, he was one of several speakers who said God in some way saved Trump.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: 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.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: And it also just plays into this grand or you could maybe say grandiose narrative that there are just larger forces at work.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: And Danielle, tell us what you're going to be looking for today and tonight at the convention.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: Sure. So tonight's theme is safety. Last night's was the economy.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: And 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.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: Now, in addition, given that Trump just survived an assassination attempt, it wouldn't be surprising for that to fold into talk about safety.
--:-- Danielle Kurtzleben: 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 intra-party unity.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: That's NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben. Thank you.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: We want to give you the latest now in the investigation of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: The FBI says it has gained access to the gunman's phone. That's as agents analyze his electronic devices.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: Saturday's event also led to a crisis at the Secret Service.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas oversees that agency.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: At President Biden's direction, an independent review of the incident will be conducted.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: One that will examine the Secret Service's and other law enforcement actions before, during, and after the shooting.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: NPR's congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales has been covering this and joins us now. Good morning, Claudia.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Good morning.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: 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?
--:-- Claudia 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.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: And this includes members of Congress who are already launching multiple investigations of their own.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: 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.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: And that same panel expects to hear from Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheadle testify when Congress returns on Monday.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: And what are you hearing from experts about a fail of that level?
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Some say it pretty clear this was human error and it comes down to the placement of security around the rally.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Here 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.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: And by that he's saying there's ongoing debate on how the Secret Service handled this.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Pickles 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 this shooter to take advantage of the security hole.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: And it turned out to be a pretty massive security hole.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Any more detail on how it could have happened?
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Well, I spoke with former Secret Service Director William Basham.
--:-- William Basham: He says it could have happened from the very start of planning.
--:-- William Basham: That is, an advance agent for the Secret Service's charged with standing at that podium where Trump was standing and get a full 360 degree view of what needs to be covered.
--:-- William Basham: And a decision was made that that roof should not be directly covered by the Secret Service.
--:-- William Basham: And he says this is part of a larger series of breakdowns that continued.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: There was a breakdown in communications.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: There was a breakdown in terms of security planning, should have had somebody on that roof.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: And I just don't think there's a whole lot of mystery about what happened here.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: And of course, federal and local law enforcement has to answer for this.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Well, many are at a loss at how this happened.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: However, I talked to Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger, who told me there's a hierarchy here, and with the Secret Service at the top and state and local police below.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: And meanwhile, a spokesman for the Secret Service told me they traditionally secure these outdoor rallies by assigning an inner and outer zone.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: And this building was in an outer area left to local law enforcement.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: But this morning, they issued a new statement saying any reports suggesting they're trying to shift blame to local police is not true.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: That's NPR's Claudia Grisales. Thank you.
--:-- Sasha 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.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Today, after that brief pause, Biden heads back out.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: He's campaigning in Nevada.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: 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.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shiveram has more. Good morning, Deepa.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: Good morning.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: Yesterday, Biden did a sit-down interview with NBC News' Lester Holt, his first interview since Saturday's shooting.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: What did Biden say?
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: 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.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: Biden at times was defensive and was critical of some of the questions and the media in general.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: And Biden said he had a cordial conversation with Trump after the shooting and that he was concerned about Trump's health.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: But, you know, Biden here is still trying to make his case to voters that Trump is the wrong choice.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: And he doesn't seem to be backing down from pointing at what he says is Trump's inflammatory rhetoric.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: It gotten a little more complicated though because now Biden language is getting scrutinized.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: 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 time to put Trump in the bullseye.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: And Biden said what he meant was that people need to focus on what Trump himself has said.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: When a president says things like he says, do you just not say anything because I may incite somebody?
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: Look, I have not engaged in that rhetoric.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: And now my opponent is engaged in that rhetoric.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: He talks about to be a bloodbath if he loses.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: So Deepa, this is a tricky challenge for Biden.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: He's got to cool down the rhetoric, as he says, but speak forcefully enough to try to beat his rival.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: How is he planning to do that, if you have any sense?
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: Yeah, I mean, it's kind of an open question on how Biden's language changes here.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: He's been giving really fired up speeches recently, talking a lot about Trump lately, especially the Project 2025 agenda.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: But as he travels to Las Vegas this week, it's possible Biden tries to take maybe a different approach.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: He's going to be talking about high rent prices and will be addressing black and Hispanic civil rights groups.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: 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?
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: 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.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: That's been a line Biden's been using a lot.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: But now it might get a little trickier for Biden to weave some of that narrative.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: And he's saying that it's time to unite the country together.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: But he also has to draw those contrasts with Trump because this election continues to be extremely close.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: 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?
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: That's receded a bit.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: But where do those conversations stand now and potentially replacing him on the ticket?
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: You know, they've petered out a little bit since this weekend's very shocking events.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: 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.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: This Democrat said that the talk of swapping Biden in the race has ended at least for now or for good.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: They said there's too much instability and uncertainty after the Trump assassination attempt.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: And there are worries about more political violence like January 6th.
--:-- Deepa Shiveram: So there's not really an appetite to bring this conversation up again unless Biden has another major communications misstep.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: Biden, for his part, said in the interview last night that he's not dropping out.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: And he has been out in the country showing voters that he's capable of a second term.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: That is NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shiveram. Thank you for covering this.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: Thanks so much.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: And that's Up First for Tuesday, July 16th.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: I'm Sasha Pfeiffer.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And I'm Steve Inskeep.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: Consider this, which is your next listen from NPR News.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: Up First gives you three big stories of the day, and that our colleagues at Consider This dig into one in just 15 minutes.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: Today's episode of Up First was edited by Megan Pratz, Roberta Rampton, Kelsey Snell, Olivia Hampton, and Alice Woelfle.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams, and Mansee Khurana.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
--:-- Sasha Pfeiffer: Join us again tomorrow.
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