RNC 2024 Day 1 updates: Bandaged and emotional, Trump makes RNC appearance

Chants of "we love Trump" could be heard as he entered the RNC.

ByMeredith Deliso, Tal Axelrod, Chris Boccia, and Alexandra Hutzler
Last Updated: July 15, 2024, 11:01 PM EDT

The first day of the Republican National Convention has wrapped up in Milwaukee -- marked with an appearance by former President Donald Trump just two days he was wounded in an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday evening.

Despite the shooting, the gathering of more than 50,000 attendees, including an expected 2,400 Republican delegates, is slated to maintain its original programming as a time to bring the party together -- but now newly energized by Trump's amazing survival and raised-fist show of defiance.

One of the most anticipated moments of Trump's campaign happened Monday when Trump named 39-year-old Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing:
Jul 15, 2024, 7:27 PM EDT

RNC chair: 'We must unite as a nation'

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley opened his remarks with a call for unity in the wake of the "horrifying assassination attempt" against Trump.

Chair of the Republican National Committee Michael Whatley gavels in the evening session of the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention, in Milwaukee, July 15, 2024.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

"We are praying for President Trump. We are praying for the injured. We are praying for the family of Corey Comperatore," Whatley said. "We must unite as a party and we must unite as a nation. We must show the same strength and resilience as President Trump and lead this nation to a greater future world."

Jul 15, 2024, 7:17 PM EDT

Tonight's theme

The theme of the evening is Make America Wealthy Again, where speakers are expected to discuss inflation, increased interest rates, gas prices and housing costs.

Delegates turn to pose for the official convention photographer at the end of the first session of Day 1 of the Republican National Convention, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 15, 2024.
Mike Segar/Reuters

-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh

Jul 15, 2024, 7:11 PM EDT

RNC called to order

RNC Chair Michael Whatley has called the convention to order for the second official session.

Jul 15, 2024, 5:46 PM EDT

Trump on Vance: 'Once he got to know me, he was all in'

Trump spoke to ABC News about his running mate in a call shortly before J.D. Vance was formally solidified as the vice presidential nominee.

"I get along with him great," Trump said.

The former president acknowledged that Vance has said some negative things about him, but said of Vance, "Once he got to know me, he was all in."

Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance arrives for Day 1 of the Republican National Convention, in Milwaukee, July 15, 2024.
Mike Segar/Reuters

Trump cited Vance's academic background, saying: "He's a very smart guy. Yale Law School -- real good intellect. His wife went to Yale, too."

Asked how he plans to use Vance in the campaign, Trump said he's "going to leave him in Pennsylvania," then added he will send him to Wisconsin and "a lot of other places where people are hurting."

-ABC News' Jonathan Karl