Donald Trump’s supporters have much to celebrate. This past weekend, he survived an attempt on his life, and early this week, his classified documents case was thrown out.

On Monday, the Republican National Convention (RNC) got underway in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The tenor was more sober and earnest in light of Saturday’s attempted assassination. This was demonstrated most poignantly by the emotional entrance of the former president.

Trump entered the venue with a bandaged ear and was clearly feeling the weight of the moment. He wasn’t cocky but instead was humble and grateful to be alive. It was yet another moving and iconic moment for the former president.

The next big moment of Day 1 was Trump announcing his running mate — Ohio Senator J.D. Vance. Both men were officially nominated to thunderous applause. Vance is a prodigy, an intelligent and young VP nominee who, according to political pundit Ben Shapiro, is an audacious pick as opposed to a politically strategic one.

There were some important firsts for the RNC. After Day 1’s slew of familiar faces — Senators Katie Brit, Tim Scott, and Marsha Blackburn; Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene; and Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk — there were some new faces speaking at the convention. The most remarkable was Sean O'Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. A Teamsters president has never before spoken at the RNC, so his very presence was a bit of an anti-Democrat coup. O'Brien was also allotted the most time to deliver his message, wherein he praised Trump and criticized corporate America.

The most “dangerous” speech of the first night was delivered by Amber Rose, an OnlyFans model, rapper, and entrepreneur. She began her address with a bomb: “We all want a better country for our children. But I’m here tonight to tell you, no matter your political background, that the best chance we have to give our babies a better life is to elect Donald Trump president.” Rose went on to tell how she changed her mind about Trump and wanted to encourage others who are feeling silenced by their leftist friends and neighbors to let go of the fear.

To say the least, she’s not a role model, but CNN’s Van Jones is right about the threat to Democrats. “That was probably the most dangerous speech for the Democratic coalition,” Jones observed. “That is a young woman of color. She is describing the experience a lot of people have, feeling that maybe if you’re around too many liberals, you might get criticized too much, and you might not be able to speak your mind. And she spoke to it really well. And she’s way more famous than any of us up here. I’m going to tell you that — way more famous. And so to the extent that these guys are trying to bust up our coalition, that was a bunker buster right there.”

On the second day, the theme was unity. Trump’s chief rivals for the Republican nomination, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, each gave ringing endorsements of Trump. “Donald Trump has my strong endorsement. Period,” said Haley. “If we have four more years of Biden … or a single day of Harris … our country will be badly worse off.”

DeSantis uttered a line that made Trump laugh. “Our enemies do not confine their designs to between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.,” DeSantis said, referring to the White House admission that Biden is at his best between those hours. “We need a commander-in-chief who can lead 24 hours a day and seven days a week. America cannot afford four more years of a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ presidency.”

DeSantis crushes Dems, Biden to RNC crowd’s delight: ‘Weekend at Bernie’s presidency’ https://t.co/SrNZ6BYecw pic.twitter.com/gK5YGm156v

— New York Post (@nypost) July 17, 2024

All in all, the first couple of days at the RNC were successful and effective. There was much to celebrate and much to look forward to as the presidential race enters the final stretch.