MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Republican National Convention kicks off this week, with delegates and officials descending on Wisconsin amid the tumult that follows a Saturday attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump as he prepares to become the GOP’s official nominee.
The quadrennial event in one of this cycle’s key battleground states takes place not only as Trump leads a party in lockstep behind him, but as Democrats roil over President Joe Biden’s viability and if they should replace him as their nominee.
It’s also happening as federal officials probe how a gunman was able to open fire from a rooftop near a Trump campaign rally in Pennsylvania, killing a bystander and critically wounding two others.
There will be speeches from Trump, his running mate — Ohio Sen. JD Vance — some of those who ran against him and a number of others both rallying support for their nominee and arguing against the Democrats’ case for the presidency.
Here’s how to watch the action at the RNC:
When is the RNC?
The convention begins Monday and runs through Thursday, with televised speeches and floor activity happening each night in prime time. There is also an afternoon session Monday, where officials open the convention and lay out rules for how it will proceed.
What channel is carrying the convention?
The RNC will livestream proceedings across a number of online platforms, including YouTube and X.
A number of networks have announced special programming for the prime-time portions of the convention, where Trump and others will give speeches from the hall where delegates are convening.
Other media outlets, both local and national, will stream whatever is happening on the floor. The actual space itself is closed to the public, behind several layers of security accessible only to delegates, officials, volunteers and credential media.
Where is the RNC taking place?
Republicans are convening at the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee, home to the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. Other facilities such as University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Baird Center are hosting event spaces, including a filing center for the hundreds of reporters from around the world who are in town to cover the convention.
Wisconsin is among the handful of states expected to be battlegrounds in this year’s general election, with an anticipated close finish between Biden and Trump.
Biden won the state by the slimmest of margins over Trump in 2020; last week, it was among the three “ blue wall states” that Biden’s campaign said in a memo present his “clearest pathway” to victory in November.
Who will be on stage?
Trump is expected to give his nomination acceptance speech Thursday, although there’s another speaker who might be just as highly anticipated.
Trump waited until Monday to announce Vance as his running mate in a post on his Truth Social platform, building anticipation as convention plans came together and delegates arrived in town without knowing who would be atop the ticket with their nominee.
As is tradition for vice presidential picks, Vance is expected to take the stage on Wednesday night.
There are themes for each night’s speeches, from economics to immigration to crime to national security. The campaign hasn’t released a full slate of speakers, and it’s possible we won’t know who is taking the stage each night until hours before.
What’s up next?
Democrats are set to gather next month in Chicago for their own convention.
And in September, there’s another debate scheduled between Biden and Trump.
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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP