Republicans get hot in Cleveland

by Lisa Hagen - 07/18/16 6:12 PM ET

Welcome to The Trail 2016, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.

A few hours into day one of the Republican National Convention, the GOP was already off to a rocky start in trying to display that the party is a united front going into November.

Angry delegates attempting to prevent Donald Trump from officially clinching the Republican presidential nomination tried to get a roll call vote on the floor to amend the convention’s rules package. But their efforts were stymied when the Republican National Committee ignored their request and adopted the rules by a voice vote.

{mosads}This led to an unprecedented uproar on the floor and a dramatic scene with dueling chants of anti-Trump delegates screaming “roll call vote” and “point of order,” while pro-Trump supporters chanted the real estate mogul’s name and “USA!” to cancel out the protesters.

But Trump will have a chance tonight to address the fractured party, bucking a traditional convention style and speaking ahead of Thursday night when he officially accepts the nomination. He will introduce his wife, Melania Trump, who will be addressing the convention hall.

Meanwhile, Democrats have also descended upon Cleveland and have been rolling out their anti-Trump strategies. The Democratic National Committee handed out a mock newspaper that displayed some of Trump’s controversial rhetoric, and a Democratic opposition research group created a “Trump museum” that highlights his “failed business ventures, corporate outsourcing and poor treatment of workers over the years.”

Stay with us tonight for The Hill’s continued on-the-ground coverage of Cleveland and the prime-time speeches of Donald and Melania Trump. And come back tomorrow and throughout the week for live updates from our reporters.

RACE TO 1600 PENN

THE MAGIC NUMBER: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Donald Trump’s campaign manager said there are several ways for the presumptive GOP nominee to win the presidency in November, saying the number of battleground states is “probably closer to 20 now.”

WILL HE, WON’T HE: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports: Even Ted Cruz’s good friends say they have no idea whether the Texas senator will endorse Donald Trump during his prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night.

BUCKEYE STATE SHOWDOWN: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton made a point of visiting the same state in which the GOP convention is being held, speaking first to the NAACP convention in Cincinnati, where she slammed Donald Trump for declining an invitation to speak. Later in the day, she made another stop in Cincinnati, where she made a pitch to supporters to commit to voting in November to prevent Trump and Republicans from “taking our country backward.”

ODDS AND ENDS:

A LONG WAY FROM PARTY UNITY: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports: Ohio’s Republican Party chairman is firing back at Donald Trump’s campaign chairman for slamming Ohio Gov. John Kasich, straining party unity as the Republican National Convention opens in Cleveland.

REINSTATING GLASS-STEAGALL: The Hill’s Peter Schroeder reports: Both major political parties are now calling for an overhaul of the financial industry through the return of Glass-Steagall, a Depression-era banking law.

A CHANGE OF TONE: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Donald Trump’s wife believes her husband, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, can change his tone. “He can really change. I know him, and he could really change the words and the tone,” Melania Trump said.

POLL POSITION

VEEP RATING: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: About 37 percent of registered voters view Donald Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, as an “excellent” or “pretty good” choice, according to a new Gallup Poll.

TIGHT RACE: The Hill’s Tim Devaney reports: Donald Trump is closing in on Hillary Clinton, according to a new Monmouth University poll. He has cut Clinton’s lead in half over the last month. A new Morning Consult survey found Trump trails Clinton by just 2 points.

THE DAILY TRUMP

QUESTIONABLE SUPPORT: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Donald Trump questioned President Obama’s sincerity when he speaks in support of police officers. “There’s something going on,” he said on Fox News. “Sometimes the words are OK, but you look at the body language. There’s just a bad feeling about him.”

FEWER DETAILS: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said Donald Trump doesn’t need to get much more specific about his policies to win the White House.

POSITIVES OF PROTESTS: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s campaign manager, said protests at the Republican National Convention will likely help the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“He’s not my kind of conservative, but I come from a different part and wing of the party.”

— Paul Ryan said about Trump at a Wall Street Journal lunch in Cleveland on the first day of the Republican National Convention.

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS

TWO OF A KIND: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is taking aim at vulnerable GOP senators and tying them to Donald Trump during the Republican National Convention this week.

UNUSUAL PRAISE: The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports: Democratic Senate nominee Ted Strickland praised John Kasich, the Republican who ousted him from the Ohio governor’s mansion in 2010, for not endorsing Donald Trump.

HOLD ON TO THE HOUSE: The Hill’s Scott Wong reports: Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said extensive data and polling do not back up the doom-and-gloom headlines that Donald Trump’s controversial rhetoric and positions could cost Republicans their House majority.

MONEY WATCH

LACK OF INTEREST: The Hill’s Megan R. Wilson reports: Lobbyists will be out in full force for the Republican National Convention, despite the trepidation that many feel about Donald Trump. But excitement is sorely lacking among the K Street set for the quadrennial spectacle, which traditionally has been one of the lobbying industry’s biggest networking and social events.

WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW:

Donald Trump will appear on the Republican National Convention stage tonight to introduce his wife, Melania Trump. A taped interview with David Feherty will be broadcast on the Golf Channel at 9 p.m. Monday.

Hillary Clinton campaigns at a voter registration event in Las Vegas at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

Republican National Convention speakers: Tonight, in addition to Melania and Donald Trump, speakers include actor Scott Baio, Willie Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). On Tuesday, the main speakers are two of Trump’s children, Tiffany Trump and Donald Trump Jr., and Ben Carson.

Pre-Democratic National Convention: In advance of a planned strike during the Democratic convention next week, airport workers will hold what they describe as a “massive” demonstration at Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday.

TWEET OF THE DAY

I can’t. I just can’t.

Omarosa Named Trump’s Director of African-American Outreach https://t.co/KRXeoHLWKD via @thedailybeast

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) July 18, 2016