The Note: Republican National Convention 2016 Kicks off In Cleveland
-- NOTABLES
--FIVE THEMES TO WATCH ALL WEEK AT THE RNC: There will be more Trumps than nights, but not a Bush in sight at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Cleveland is locked down, though the GOP doesn’t have things buttoned up. Minor celebrities and slick video productions will lend some glitz, yet the no-shows will have some glamour of their own. And while Donald Trump has a running mate, there will be only one real theme of the Republican National Convention: Donald J. Trump. As convention-goers, reporters, protesters and law-enforcement officers descend on Cleveland for today’s launch of the Republican National Convention, ABC’s RICK KLEIN highlights the five storylines to watch in what promises to be a wild week. http://abcn.ws/29H2pKb
--YOUR GUIDE TO DAY 1: Here are the key story lines to keep an eye on as the convention starts, courtesy of ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY, including Melania Trump’s keynote speech. Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort confirmed that Trump’s wife will be addressing the convention tonight. Sources tell ABC that she spent the weekend preparing for the address in New Jersey. The campaign has released no information about what her speech will focus on or how long it will run, but they did not rule out the prospect of her husband making an earlier-than-normal appearance at the convention in order to introduce his wife. http://abcn.ws/29OZLnN
--TRUMP SAYS HE'LL ATTEND TONIGHT: Donald Trump says he is planning on attending tonight to support his wife, ABC’s VERONICA STRACQUALURSI notes. "I'd love to be there when my wife speaks," Trump said this morning in an interview with "Fox and Friends." "So the answer is yes, I will be there." "I want to watch. It's going to be very exciting," Trump said. Trump did not say whether he would deliver remarks tonight or introduce his wife at the convention. http://abcn.ws/2a1xLhw
--ALL THINGS DIGITAL: ABC News will be providing full coverage of the Republican National Convention, including livestreams and a liveblog throughout the day. Follow along all week: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Election CONVENTIONS LIVE: http://abcnews.go.com/Live
--EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW: Cleveland is having a big summer. A month after welcoming home the NBA championship-winning Cavaliers, tens of thousands of visitors are expected to descend on the city that prides itself as the world's capital of rock-and-roll for the Republican National Convention that starts today and runs through Thursday. ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY has more. http://abcn.ws/2a2rLCS
YOUR VOICE, YOUR VOTE: FULL CONVENTION COVERAGE ON ABC NEWS: Chief Anchor GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS will lead ABC’s coverage on each of the four nights of the conventions for one hour in primetime with special reports throughout every day. Stephanopoulos and ROBIN ROBERTS will anchor “Good Morning America” from the convention Monday through Thursday, DAVID MUIR will anchor “World News Tonight” from Cleveland and Dan Harris and Byron Pitts will lead ‘Nightline’ coverage from the convention as well. http://abcn.ws/29oveM4
ELECTION CYCLE: A JOURNEY ACROSS AMERICA FROM THE RNC TO THE DNC. ABC's MICHAEL KOENIGS is cycling 500 miles from the Republican Convention in Cleveland to the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia. Along the way, he’ll be interviewing politicians, pundits, and voters about the major issues of the 2016 election. Michael previews his trip: “Along the way, I'll pedal with politicians and the people who can put them into office. I'll hit the brakes frequently to hear what struggling students, farmers, teachers, small business owners and others have to say about the issues confronting them. As I pedal through America's streets and fields, I hope to gain a better understanding of the problems facing our country and what path ahead might have the least number of potholes.” Follow along all week: http://abcn.ws/29HH3wb
CLEVELAND SECURITY:
--POLICE CALLING FOR OPEN CARRY BAN AT RNC AFTER BATON ROUGE SHOOTINGS. The Cleveland police union is calling for a ban on open carry during the Republican National Convention in the wake of police being killed in Baton Rouge today and in Dallas earlier this month. Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association President Stephen Loomis tells ABC News the association's lawyers are drafting a letter to Gov. John Kasich asking for emergency executive action to ban open carry in Cleveland, if not all of Cuyahoga County, during the convention. ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY and BARBARA LOWE have more. http://abcn.ws/2a0Sv7I
--CLEVELAND MAYOR: ‘WE ARE PREPARED FOR EVERYTHING'. Yesterday, Cleveland, Mayor Frank G. Jackson said the city is “prepared for everything,” ABC’s BLAIR GUILD reports. “We are prepared, and we’re prepared not only on a local level, but [the] state and the national level,” Jackson told ABC’s "This Week." http://abcn.ws/2a07puY
LAST WEEKEND ON THE TRAIL with ABC’s VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and ADAM KELSEY
MIKE PENCE AIMS TO BE TRUMP-INTERPRETER. In their first joint interview on the eve of the Republican National Convention, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and his vice-presidential pick, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, tested the waters of their new-formed alliance in an interview on CBS News' "60 Minutes." Pence had the more daunting task -- to defend his partner and articulate his own thoughts, in spite of his initial misgivings about Trump, ABC’s CANDACE SMITH notes. "This campaign and Donald Trump's candidacy has been about the issues the American people care about," Pence said. http://abcn.ws/2a4qjQZ
MELANIA TRUMP ABSENT FOR RUNNING MATE ANNOUNCEMENT. Following Donald Trump’s introduction of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his pick for vice president, the Trump and Pence families gathered on stage to shake hands, give a kiss on the cheek, and congratulate each other on a milestone in the Trump campaign. Noticeably missing among the Trumps and Pences gathered, however, was Trump’s wife, Melania, and their son Barron, ABC’s MERIDITH MCGRAW notes. According to a source in the Trump campaign, she was at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey Saturday, practicing her speech for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this week. It will be her first public speech since April. http://abcn.ws/29RzQfj
NOTED: MIKE PENCE AT HOMECOMING RALLY: 'I'M GOING TO TAKE HOOSIER IDEALS TO WASHINGTON.' At Mike Pence's first solo rally since becoming Donald Trump’s running mate, the Indiana governor said he was "humbled" to join the presumptive GOP presidential candidate's ticket, ABC’s INES DE LA CUETARA notes. "My fellow Hoosiers, I'm here to announce that today in New York City, I accepted Donald Trump's invitation to run and serve as Vice President of the United States of America," Pence said during a homecoming rally late Saturday afternoon at the Indianapolis Executive Airport in Zionsville, Indiana. "My family and I couldn’t be more humbled -- couldn't be more humbled and honored by the confidence that our nominee and his family have placed in us." With his wife Karen and their daughter Charlotte joining him, Pence said, "The last few days have been pretty overwhelming, but this is the best part.” http://abcn.ws/29MV6me
TRUMP SAYS MIKE PENCE WON'T CALL HILLARY CLINTON NAMES. Donald Trump acknowledged that he and his running mate Indiana Gov. Mike Pence have different styles, and that he doesn't necessarily expect Pence to use the name-calling tactics that Trump has used throughout the campaign. "We're different people, I understand that," Trump said in a "60 Minutes" interview that the pair did together, ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY reports. Trump used the example of how he calls Hillary Clinton "Crooked Hillary" as something that he doesn't expect or want Pence to do. http://abcn.ws/29TGqlM
GOP CHAIR WARNS THAT 'NEVER TRUMP' CONVENTION DISRUPTIONS WOULD HELP CLINTON.’ Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday that if the "Never Trump" movement disrupts proceedings at the GOP convention, it will just help the presumptive Democratic nominee. "If [they] want to delay the proceedings, all they’re doing is delaying the evening and helping Hillary Clinton," Priebus said on ABC's "This Week." "I’m not going to just shut people down," Priebus said of delegates who may try blocking Donald Trump's nomination at the convention. "But I’m also going to make sure that our rules are followed. And I don’t think they’re going to be successful." ABC’s NICKI ROSSOLL has more. http://abcn.ws/29Hpn2G
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
CLINTON MEETS WITH COLORADO GOV. HICKENLOOPER IN VICE PRESIDENT SEARCH. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper met with presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, along with a host of other vice presidential hopefuls on Friday, ABC News has learned. A close source with knowledge of the meeting at Clinton's Washington, D.C., home says the governor said it went "really well." According to sources, Hickenlooper met with Clinton for more than two hours. Hickenlooper arrived at approximately 4 p.m. and separated after 6:30 p.m, ABC’s MATTHEW CLAIBORNE reports. http://abcn.ws/29FDMAZ