RNC 2024 Day 4 updates: It’s Donald Trump’s turn in the spotlight

(MILWAUKEE, W.I.) — The fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention is a buildup to tonight’s highly anticipated prime-time address from Donald Trump.

It will be the former president’s first public speech since he narrowly escaped an attempt on his life Saturday at his rally in Pennsylvania.

He has said the attack changed his thinking about what he would say and now plans to stress “unity” in his speech.

‘We’re voting for the felon’: RNC attendees unfazed by Trump’s historic conviction

This week, thousands of Trump’s biggest supporters are gathered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to see him accept the party’s nomination for president. In their eyes, Trump’ hasn’t done — and likely can’t do — any wrong.

Two dozen convention-goers who spoke with ABC News Digital, including delegates and guests, said Trump’s historic conviction on 34 felony counts gave them no reservations about backing him this election cycle.

“We have 54 in our delegation, and we have T-shirts that we’re all going to be wearing that’s like, ‘The year of the felon.’ We’re good. We’re voting for the felon,” said Barbara Jernigan, an alternate delegate from Missouri.

-ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler

From Marine to politician: An inside look at JD Vance’s journey to the RNC stage

Vice presidential nominee JD Vance addressed the nation from the RNC on Wednesday night — a sight that made his longtime friend Cullen Tiernan proud.

“I always knew that he was smart enough to do whatever he wanted. We’ve always been attracted to public service, so I really wasn’t surprised,” Tiernan, a friend of Vance’s for more than two decades, told ABC News of his bid to join forces with Trump.

He says he isn’t surprised that his friend is making history as the first post-9/11 veteran on a major party’s presidential ticket — something Tiernan said he believes will serve Vance well as VP if the Trump/Vance ticket is elected.

“Having a veteran voice like that, somebody who understands what it’s like to be an enlisted Marine kind of goes back to his whole ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ in his story,” Tiernan said, referring to Vance’s best-selling memoir. “I think that’s going to be really powerful.”

-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson

Republicans at RNC blame Biden for inflation. Economists say it’s misleading

Speakers at the Republican National Convention this week have faulted the Biden administration for putting the nation at risk from threats that include criminals, illicit drugs — and high prices.

Some economists who spoke to ABC News took issue with the blame placed on President Joe Biden as an overstatement of his role in the price spike.

“There’s a long list of reasons for the high inflation. At the top of the list is the pandemic and the Russian war,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told ABC News.

-ABC News’ Max Zahn

Vance shares faith journey at Faith and Freedom breakfast

Speaking at the Faith and Freedom breakfast Thursday morning, vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance shared his faith journey with the attendees, saying his faith was “shallow” when he was a child and evolved into more over time.

“I was raised, as I mentioned last night, by my mamaw who, despite the fact that she loved the F word, was a woman a very deep Christian faith. And you know, she was in some ways what you might call ‘unchurched,'” Vance said.

“We went to church maybe once or twice a month, sometimes less, sometimes more. But she read the Bible every single day. She prayed every single day. She loved to watch Billy Graham whenever he was on the TV and that was really my introduction to the Christian faith,” Vance continued.

When Vance went on to higher education, he began calling himself an atheist. However, Vance said he decided to learn more about his Christian faith when he met his wife at Yale Law School, who does not share his faith.

“But to me, what really brought me back to Christ was finding a wife and falling in love and thinking about my thinking about what was required of me as a husband and as a father,” Vance said.

“And the more that I thought about those deeper questions, the more that I thought that there was wisdom in the Christian faith that I had completely discarded and completely ignored but was most relevant to the questions that were presented in my life as a husband and father.”

-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie

‘Hillbilly Elegy’ continues to climb Netflix’s charts

Netflix’s movie “Hillbilly Elegy,” based on Sen. JD Vance’s memoir, continues to climb the charts following Vance being named Donald Trump’s running mate.

It’s now ranked No. 2 on Netflix. On Wednesday, it was ranked No. 4; on Tuesday, it was ranked No. 6.

-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie

In RNC keynote, Trump says he’ll stress ‘unity’ after assassination attempt

Trump will formally accept the GOP presidential nomination Thursday night and deliver his first speech since Saturday’s assassination attempt, capping off an ebullient Republican convention at a time of heightened political uncertainty — and now he says he will push for a more unifying message.

Such a tone would mark a departure both for Trump individually and for American politics writ large, though operatives and conventiongoers alike predicted a more subdued speech focused on uniting the country, with the nation captivated by news of the attempt on the former president’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“I think he’s a changed man. Anytime you come within millimeters of your life, that has an effect,” said Bryan Lanza, a former Trump campaign official who remains in touch with his current team. “I think, from his standpoint, he doesn’t want to be a divisive figure. He wants to be a unifying figure at a time that the country is desperately seeking unity and needs unity.”

-ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler and Tal Axelrod

Trump, joined by family at RNC, to deliver speech tonight

On Day 4 of the Republican National Convention, former first lady Melania Trump is scheduled to arrive at the arena around the 8 p.m. CT/9 p.m. ET hour, publicly joining Trump on a major campaign event for the first time this election cycle. Other members of the Trump family are also expected to attend RNC events this evening.

Trump is scheduled to take the stage at 9:02 p.m. CT/10:02 p.m. ET, the first time we’ll be seeing him speak publicly after his assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

Thursday’s theme is “Make America Great Once Again” and will feature speakers including Trump’s son, Eric Trump; Montana Sen. Steve Daines; former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and UFC President Dana White.

-ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh.

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