Bandaged Donald Trump takes the stage at Republican convention to prepare for nomination speech

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Former President Donald Trump participated in a walk-through of the convention stage Wednesday afternoon flanked by top aides and Secret Service agents.

The GOP nominee, still sporting his large ear bandage, brought along aides Stephen Miller, Margo Martin and Jason Miller as he tried out the podium.

Trump will give a primetime speech Thursday addressing the Republican National Convention.

He’s made appearances at the RNC every night thus far after surviving an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania Saturday.

Results from a brand new Forbes survey between July 13, the day of the Trump assassination attempt, and July 15 don’t show a huge bump in the ex-president’s favor.

The results have Trump up 51% to Biden’s 49% in a matchup.

That two percent difference is well within the margin of error and not the widely anticipated ‘Trump bump’ after he narrowly escaped death.

His iconic fist pump yelling ‘fight, fight, fight’ moment may not be as impactful as predicted in a dire sign for his campaign.

Donald Trump spent over 10 minutes on stage familiarizing himself with the arena before his speech tomorrow night.

At one point he pointed to his bandaged ear which was hit by a bullet during the assassination attept last Saturday.

It was not clear what he was indicating as he spoke with technical staff about preparations for the speech.

At one point he also pointed up toward the ceiling and appeared interested in the hundreds of balloons there that will be dropped into the arena tomorrow night.

He listened intently as an official appeared to speak to him about the balloon.

Trump also Trump was accompanied on stage by his armed Secret Service detail.

DailyMail.com exclusively reported Wednesday that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was spotted working out at a Gold’s Gym in Milwaukee – but has scrapped his campaign schedule.

Kennedy was originally supposed to appear at the sidelines of the Republican National Convention – virtually at a CNN/Politico Grill event and then in-person at a farmers event in nearby Madison.

Neither of those political events went ahead as scheduled – as Trumpworld mulls a Kennedy endorsement.

J.D. Vance slammed the ‘dishonest’ media  on Wednesday when he held his first campaign fundraising event since joining the Trump ticket.

He demonstrated the attack dog credentials that impressed Donald Trump in front of about 200 supporters gathered at a science center on the shores of Lake Michigan.

‘The media keeps on saying they want somebody to tone down the temperature,’ he said.

‘Well, Donald Trump got shot and he toned down the temperature. That’s what a real leader does.’

Wednesday is veep day. Later in the evening he hits prime time, delivering the Republican convention’s big speech of the day as he is launched on the American public.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The would-be assassinator of President Ronald Reagan urged a message of ‘peace’ in a post on X just four days after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

John Hinckley, 69, wrote:

Violence is not the way to go. Give peace a chance.

Hinckley’s motive for shooting the president in 1981 was to earn fame and impress actress Jodie Foster.

He was found not guilty of the assassination attempt on the ground of insanity but remained under institutional psychiatric care for more than 41 years.

Hinckley as granted unconditional release on June 15, 2022 and since then has released music on Spotify and created cat artwork that he sells on Ebay.

Secret Service head Kimberly Cheatle’s bizarre statement that her agency didn’t properly secure a building used by a would-be assassin to shoot at Donald Trump because of a sloped roof is falling flat with a former top FBI official.

‘I think this sort of micro-excuse for this and that just rings hollow,’ former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker told DailyMail.com, hours after Cheatle floated the excuse.

‘I’m looking at that rooftop. Nobody’s saying you have to have somebody on the rooftop. You need to have eyes on the rooftop 100 percent of the time,’ he said.

‘If they’re too scared to climb up on top of the roof, just keep your eyes on it,’ added Swecker, who was brought in to conduct an independent review following the murder of Army Private First Class Vanessa Guillén at Fort Hood in 2020 and served at the FBI under Robert Mueller.

Joe Biden held a train wreck Zoom call with Democrat lawmakers just minutes before the assassination attempt on Donald Trump – and the turmoil possibly saved the president from a flood of calls to end his re-election bid.

Those on the call branded it ‘tense’ and ‘awful’ and Biden reportedly had a particularly combative exchange with Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Things went so badly that ‘had the assassination attempt not occurred an hour later, I imagine 50 people on that Zoom were ready to come out publicly against him,’ a participant told the Puck news outlet.

By Charlie Spiering, Senior Political Reporter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Republicans here at their national convention speak about why they are excited for J.D. Vance to take on Vice President Kamala Harris in a debate, even though the campaigns have not agreed on a specific date.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Donald Trump Jr. will speak with Peter Navarro in a live streamed conversation at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday.

The former White House trade advisor to former President Donald Trump is heading straight from Miami federal prison to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to appear at the Convention, where he is listed as a speaker.

Don Jr. will interview Navarro at 5p.m. Centeral Time on Rumble, the president’s eldest son posted to X.

Navarro served a four month sentence for contempt of Congress after he refused to hand over documents or appear to testify to the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot.

The Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., wants the Director of the Secret Service to resign after Trump was shot at a campaign rally on Saturday under her watch.

The rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, resulted in the shooting of the former president and the murder of former firefighter Corey Comperatore despite a massive Secret Service presence.

‘I’m going to call for a resignation,’ for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, Johnson said on Fox News Wednesday morning. ‘Look, I think it’s inexcusable.’

Johnson also revealed he is setting up a bipartisan task force to investigate the shooting.

He said the special task force would be a ‘precision strike’ to get to the bottom of how a former president and current presidential candidate could have been so easily targeted.

Delegates on the floor at the Republican National Convention Tuesday night were dancing, taking videos and photos, chanting and celebrating their presidential nominee Donald Trump.

But for one honorary delegate, the bright lights, blasting music and cheers of MAGA loyalists were not enough excitement to keep him awake: Harry was fast asleep.

Harry is a 8-year-old Labrador Retriever who has been stealing hearts on the floor at the Fiserv Forum where GOP delegates have been gathering this week.

This is perhaps the largest political event Harry has attended to date. But this is not his first political rodeo, and in a world of deep political divisions, it turns out that having Harry around helps bridge the political divide.

Congressman Adam Schiff is calling on President Biden to exit the presidential race, making him the latest top ranking Democrat to do so amid concerns over whether the president can win against Donald Trump.

While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch,’ Schiff said in a statement on Wednesday.

‘And in doing so, secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election,’ he continued.

Families of the 13 service members who were killed during the botched Afghanistan withdrawal are supporting Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention.

The families spoke exclusively with DailyMail.com at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, minutes before Trump’s arrival to the arena on night two of the convention.

Their kids were among the 13 Americans and some 170 Afghans who died days later when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive in August 2021. To date, not a single Biden administration official has taken responsibility for the loss of life.

Darin Hoover, who lost his son Taylor Hoover, a 31-year-old Marine Corps staff sergeant in the attack, said he wants to ensure ‘what happened to our kids never happens again’ by getting Trump reelected.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Donald Trump’s granddaughter Kai Trump, 17, announced Wednesday that she will make remarks on Day Three of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Kai, Donald Trump Jr.’s eldest daughter of five siblings, confirmed her speaking slot with an Instagram story post on Wednesday morning where she wrote:

I am honored to be speaking at the RNC at 9 pm (CDT)

While Trump’s grandchildren have made some rare appearances at his political events over the years, Kai’s remarks on Wednesday evening will be a first.

Pictured above: Don Jr. brings three of his kids, including Kai, on stage with him at Trump’s rally in Doral, Florida on July 9.

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., wants the Director of the Secret Service to resign after Trump was shot at a campaign rally on Saturday.

The rally resulted in the shooting of the former president and the murder of former firefighter Corey Comperatore.

‘I’m going to call for a resignation,’ for USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle, Johnson said on Fox News Wednesday morning.

‘Look, I think it’s inexcusable,’ he added.

Cheatle is expected to appear before a congressional committee next week to answer questions on the massive security failure.

By Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in Milwaukee:

President Biden’s campaign responded to Nikki Haley’s convention speech last night as it has been actively courting Haley voters since her exit from the GOP primary.

‘Her supporters, while they were voting for her in the primary, I think it’s more important to point out what they were voting against. They were voting against Donald Trump and an extreme MAGA agenda, one that would put democracy at risk,’ said deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks.

He said it was no surprise what Haley did last night but argued her voters are going to see through it.

‘Unfortunately, last night Nikki Haley lost her way in speaking to those people,’ he said.

From Rob Crilly, Chief U.S. Political Correspondent in Milwaukee

If Monday was the resurrection, with talk of miracles and divine intervention when a bandaged Trump made his first public appearance after being shot, then Tuesday was the healing.

At the second day of the Republican convention in Milwaukee, the former president was lauded by former opponents who months ago called him unhinged or rubbished his election prospects.

‘America has an amazing ability to self-correct,’ said Nikki Haley, Trump’s last primary opponent.

‘In this moment, we have a chance to put aside our differences and focus on what unites us and strengthens our country.’

It was healing. Up to a point.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Gov. Ron DeSantis tore into President Joe Biden during his remarks at a breakfast wtih Florida GOP members, delegates and members of the state’s legislature.

I was pretty hard on Joe Biden last night. Everything I said was true. But, you know, in the spirit of unity, I just want to say that I sure hope he ends up with the Democratic nomination… I think that’s the best possible scenario for Republicans. And so I hope he sticks it out.”

The Florida governor said Biden’s debate performance put on blast how unfit he is to serve another term.

There’s people that will look at this and realize that, you know, it’s one thing to have a bad debate because we all make mistakes, you can put your foot in your mouth, you can do different things. But it wasn’t just any kind of bad debate. It was that he exposed the problem that is not fixable.

DeSantis, a former 2024 primary candidate, did not mention Trump during his speech 25-minute speech on Wednesday morning.

Nearly two thirds of Democrats say Joe Biden, 81, should withdraw from the presidential race and let his party nominate a different candidate, according to a new poll.

The result undercuts Biden’s claim that ‘average Democrats’ are still with him even if some ‘big names’ are turning on him.

The new survey by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research was conducted as Biden works to salvage his candidacy two weeks after a disastrous debate performance.

Only about 3 in 10 Democrats are extremely or very confident that Biden has the mental capability to serve effectively as president, the poll found.

The poll was conducted mostly before Saturday’s assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

Milwaukee business owners say they are leaning toward backing former President Donald Trump over Joe Biden this election as the MAGA frenzy descends upon their city.

A number of business owners and managers with locations closely situated to the Republican National Convention exclusively talked to DailyMail.com.

From fine art appraisers to fine beer distributors, the entrepreneurs say that the crowds flocking to the four-day event at Fiserv Forum have been good for business, but others closer to the security perimeter have not been so lucky.

Some of these business owners have yet to make a decision about who they will support in November, but very few plan to back President Joe Biden.

‘I’ll be voting, voting Republican,’ Erik, a beer and spirits distributor, told DailyMail.com outside the back of his truck while making a shipment Tuesday morning.

The Democrat governor of California took a swipe Elon Musk said he was moving the HQs of X and SpaceX from California to Texas.

By Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in Milwaukee:

Democrats held a press conference in Milwaukee on Wednesday where they attacked the Republican National Convention and Donald Trump picking JD Vance as his running mate, zeroing in on the Ohio senator’s anti-abortion stance.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Biden Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks, and Texas Congresswoman Veronica Escobar were joined by  Amanda Zurawski, a woman who nearly died when she was unable to get an abortion and was told she would have to wait after she learned her wanted pregnancy was not viable and she suffered severe health complications.

‘I am one of many women in our country whose life has been put at risk because of Donald Trump and JD Vance’s anti-reproductive freedom agenda,’ said  Zurawski. ‘We have been robbed of our freedom. I’m just one of those women.’

The Biden campaign has been hampered by concerns over President Biden’s fitness to serve since the debate with some Democratic lawmakers even calling for the president to step aside. 

But the Biden campaign pushed back, saying it will continue to make the case and zero in the issues including abortion which has been galvanizing for Democrats since Roe v Wade fell.

‘Many women are living through it,’ said Fulks. ‘Our campaign is going to continue to talk about the issues.’

The House and Senate are expected to receive unclassified hearings on the assassination plot against Donald Trump on Wednesday.

The Secret Service is expected to brief members on the shootings and the security at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally where Trump was shot and former firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed.

The briefing for the Senate is expected at 3 p.m. and the Senate session is at 3:30 p.m., PunchBowl News reports.

Officials from the FBI are expected to attend the briefing as well.

Iran’s reported plot to assassinate Donald Trump is alarming but not surprising, Republicans say, adding that Biden needs to make clear an attempt would be an act of war.

The Secret Service ramped up security around Donald Trump after receiving intelligence of an Iranian assassination plot in the weeks before he was shot at the Pennsylvania rally, a bombshell report revealed Tuesday.

Despite the heightened security, 20-year-old gunman Thomas Mathew Crooks was still able to climb on a roof just 130 yards away from the former president and open fire with a clear line of sight.

Former Trump economic advisor Peter Navarro was released from federal prison in Miami Wednesday after serving a four-month sentence, with plans to head to the Republican convention in Milwaukee.

Navarro was jailed after being convicted of failing to comply with a congressional subpoena for testimony and documents as the House probed Trump’s election overturn effort.

He wrote about a political plan he termed the ‘Green Bay Sweep,’ off a Green Bay Packers play, involving repeated efforts to block state vote tallies when Congress counted the electoral votes for president.

Leaders of Donald Trump’s Republican convention have listed Navarro among speakers in Milwaukee.

The head of the U.S. Secret Service has admitted the agency was ‘solely responsible’ implementing security when Donald Trump was shot by a would-be assassin.

Director Kimberly Cheatle had previously said local law enforcement had responsibility for the building from which gunman Thomas Crooks, 20, hit the president with a bullet on Saturday at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Cheatle has now told CNN:

At that particular site, we divided up areas of responsibility but the Secret Service is totally responsible for the design and implementation and the execution of the site.

What I was trying to stress was that we just divided up areas of responsibility and they provided support to those areas