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

Sen. Katie Britt told the convention center that "Donald Trump is the change we need" and that President Joe Biden was "in decline."

"We see how Biden and Harris keep making things worse," the Alabama Senator said.

"Our opportunity, our prosperity, our security, our safety -- each diminished, all in decline," Britt said. "Just like the man in the Oval Office."

The 42-year-old Britt, who delivered the Republican rebuttal to Biden's 2024 State of the Union address, painted starkly different images of the United States under the last two presidents.

"With President Trump, the tough choice was which job offer to accept. Now it's which second job to take -- just to pay the bills," she said, without providing evidence.

"Four more years of Biden-Harris will impose a lifetime of financial damage on our children," she said.

Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt targeted the Biden administration in his remarks, saying President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris "have failed."

"I understand that when you're given a mission, you show up, you identify the problem, and you execute," he said. "Biden-Harris haven't showed up. They don't seem to understand that they are the problem, and they've shown no empathy or remorse."

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said the RNC comes at a "somber moment," two days after the assassination attempt against Trump.

"Two days ago, evil came for the man we admire and love so much," she said. "I thank God that His hand was on President Trump."

She said she prays for the family of Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the rally.

"Corey embodied the spirit of America. First, he displayed the ultimate show of love when he shielded his wife and daughter, sacrificing his own life," she said. "He reminded America of what we must be -- a people who will do whatever it takes to defend the people and the nation that we love."

In turning her remarks toward the Biden administration, Greene said the Democrats have "ripped open our borders" and driven up housing costs and health care "while slashing American wages and eliminating jobs."

"They claim that our economy is thriving, yet hundreds of thousands of American-born workers lost their jobs these past few years," she said.

The convention's hometown senator, Ron Johnson -- a Trump ally, is the first speaker to rail against Democrats and President Biden, whom he said has made the country "less safe and far more expensive."

It marks the first sign of Republicans taking the offensive at the RNC.

He said Biden's 2008 promise to "fundamentally transform America" has come true -- and he said the U.S. is the worse for it.

Johnson said the Biden administration has brought "open borders, reckless spending and weakness on the world stage."