More than 50,000 people, including Donald Trump, will attend the Republican Party’s National Convention in the U.S. city of Milwaukee over the next three days.
Donald Trump will be officially confirmed as the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election. His Vice President will also be announced.
Officials have scaled up security at the convention after Trump was the target of an attempted assassination over the weekend.
Primary race
In the lead-up to a presidential election, U.S. political parties go through a process of selecting their candidate known as the “primaries”.
All 50 states and America’s territories have unique rules for choosing a candidate. Based on the number of votes a candidate wins, they get a proportional number of “delegates”.
For example, there are 169 delegates up for grabs in California, the most populous state, while a smaller state like Vermont has 17 delegates.
Convention
More than 2,400 delegates from across the U.S. will attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.
Trump has won 2,265 delegates in the primary races, guaranteeing he will become the party’s candidate for the 5 November election.
Milwaukee is in Wisconsin, a state that Trump narrowly lost to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. It’s seen as a key state that both the Republicans and Democrats hope to win.
Running mate
Trump is expected to announce his running mate at the convention. The chosen person will go on to become Vice President if he wins the election.
Multiple reports in the U.S. have said Trump has spoken with his shortlisted candidates over recent days.
There are four main contenders to be Trump’s running mate: Ohio Senator JD Vance, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.
Donald Trump
Trump‘s formal confirmation follows an assassination attempt over the weekend.
On Saturday (local time), a 20-year-old man opened fire at a campaign rally in the state of Pennsylvania. Trump was pierced in the right ear. Two people were killed, including the shooter.
After the shooting, Trump posted to his social media platform Truth Social, saying he planned to delay his attendance.
However, he said: “I cannot allow a ‘shooter’, or potential assassin, to force a change to scheduling”.
Security has ramped up following the weekend’s shooting. The convention won’t be open to the general public.
President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. Secret Service to review its safety measures for the Republican National Convention as part of efforts to ensure greater protection for Trump and the convention’s 50,000 attendees.
Milwaukee city officials said there will be multiple security and emergency crews stationed at the convention, including Secret Service agents.
