With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine

DRIVING THE DAY

NEW JMART — “GOP Finds Unity with Trump While Dems Face Disarray with Biden,” by Jonathan Martin

GO TIME AT THE RNC — Greetings from Milwaukee, as Republicans from across the nation descend today on the land of Spotted Cow, Kringle and cheese curds for the four-day Republican National Convention. And the familiar face they’re nominating for president this week is a different man than they’ve come to know.

For one, DONALD TRUMP is now the survivor of an assassination attempt. While he appears in good spirits and his team says he’s doing just fine, that type of near-death experience would rattle and forever change even the strongest among us.

The violence of Saturday is, at the very least, changing their strategy. Trump is notorious for mercilessly skewering his adversaries, taking shots below the belt and straight-up lying about opponents. Many would expect that after Saturday, he’d turn a damning finger on Democrats, blaming their rhetoric — like much of his party — for his brush with death.

Instead, we’re told that this week, Trump will adopt an unfamiliar, almost benevolent posture, and call for unity in the face of tragedy.

Adopting the nice-guy strategy is not an easy task for about a million reasons. Trump’s instincts when attacked are to lash out. He’s spent decades of his life identifying others’ bruises and gleefully pressing on them — an approach which has endeared him to his supporters, who see in him a fighter that takes no prisoners.

Then there is the emotional reality. From our conversations with Trump confidants in Milwaukee yesterday, we can tell you that many are shaken and angry over the fact that not only Trump, but their own colleagues had to duck for cover amid the crossfire, their lives hanging in the balance. Shelving those feelings for the time being and striking a tone of magnanimity is easier said than done.

And yet, there are signs that the party is certainly going to try:

1. Trump rewrote his convention speech to focus on unity, he told Washington Examiner’s Salena Zito, a Pittsburgh native who was at the rally and scheduled to interview the former president afterward but instead found herself shielding her daughter from flying bullets.

Pre-shooting, the address he was planning to give “was going to be a humdinger,” he told Zito, whom he called up yesterday because he felt bad about missing her interview, we hear.

“Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now,” he continued. “It is a chance to bring the country together. I was given that chance.”

2. Trump’s team also spent much of yesterday reaching out to convention speakers and asking them to avoid focusing on the shooting or blaming the left for it — and instead center their attention on the fundamentals of the campaign.

The pivot was the brainchild of an early Sunday morning call with SUSIE WILES, CHRIS LaCIVITA, JASON MILLER and pollster TONY FABRIZIO. After hours of relentless and incendiary Republican attacks blaming Democrats for inciting the violence, the team agreed the party would need a reset: The convention shouldn’t be about the shooting but about drawing a contrast with President JOE BIDEN on the issues Americans care about most.

A little later, just before 8 a.m., we’re told Trump personally drafted his own Truth Social post adopting the “unify” messaging and clicked send.

To understand the difficulty of this pivot is to understand just how badly Trump’s team wants to win. Yes, they’re upset about the shooting — more than upset: shaken, angry, worried. But they also know the moment that they’re in. Right now, Trump has the potential to become a much more sympathetic figure in the eyes of undecided voters. Using the convention to mount an all-out assault on Democrats or entertain conspiracy theories could cause that goodwill to evaporate as quickly as it appeared.

And from a purely strategic standpoint, letting the shooting win the day means overshadowing the party’s message attacking on the border, economy and crime.

“The problems that are facing the American public — inflation, and safety, and America's position in the world — haven’t changed,” LaCivita told Playbook. “Joe Biden is still failing the American people miserably. And we are going to provide the premise for Joe Biden to be fired.”

That’s not to say the shooting won’t come up at the convention. Far from it — it’s going to hang over the whole week, implicit even when not mentioned aloud. Conversations are already ongoing about which speakers will get to bring it up and when, per NBC’s Matt Dixon, so people aren’t focusing on the issue every 10 minutes. Saturday’s tragedy will be seared into people’s minds when Trump takes the stage — which, per DAVID BOSSIE, could be as soon as late tonight.

There is also a question, of course, of how long this strategy can hold. This is, after all, a political convention. And this is, after all, Donald Trump. He may be a changed man after Saturday, but gut instincts honed over 78 years of life don’t simply disappear in an instant.

Related read: “Trump Shooting Spurs GOP Unity, Scrambles Biden Campaign Strategy,” by WSJ’s Vivian Salama, John McCormick, Annie Linskey and Alex Leary

Good Monday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. What should we check out while we’re in Milwaukee? Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

CAN BIDEN HOLD ON? — After dominating the headlines for more than two weeks, the Dump Biden campaign has gone almost entirely quiet since the assassination attempt on Trump.

The question now on the minds of most Democrats is: For how long?

Not a single Democrat has joined the effort calling for Biden to step aside since Saturday’s horrific events. And given the hard sharp turn toward unity and security, few expect those numbers to grow in the coming days — especially with the press focused on the shooting and the Republican convention, rather than Biden.

It’s positive news for the embattled president, who — with five weeks until the Democratic convention — seems intent on running out the clock.

Even Democrats who want Biden to step aside are now resigned to the notion that he’s here to stay.

“I think this is over,” one Democratic aide told us, arguing that the news cycle was what was crushing Biden — and the story has now moved on. In the aftermath of Saturday, Biden critics told Axios’ Andrew Solender that they are more focused “on their personal security and that of their staffs, not on their party's political woes,” he writes.

But there are reasons to think the effort to sideline Biden could come rolling back in the coming weeks. With Trump now looking like a sympathetic figure, the level of alarm about losing both chambers of Congress is only growing, not subsiding.

Senior Democrats remain convinced that Biden will lose the election. While the Biden campaign has cited polling showing that the race remains neck-and-neck, astute political operators argue that such polling focuses on head-to-head match-ups — but in multiway polling including third party candidates, they’re losing — and have been for months.

That sentiment will only be buoyed by this eye-popping correction on the NBC poll that posted last night around 8:46 p.m., which is already zipping across the text messages of Democratic leaders: “Due to an error with the original polling documents, a previous version of this article misstated the vote shares and margins for the multicandidate ballot test. Former President Donald Trump leads President Joe Biden by 3 points in the six-way ballot test, not the other way around.”

Lastly, it’s unclear how forceful Democratic leaders CHUCK SCHUMER and HAKEEM JEFFRIES were in their private conversations with Biden. If they haven’t already personally asked him to step aside, they certainly could do so in the coming weeks. And many continue to watch former Speaker NANCY PELOSI, the one person many think could shift the tide.

“At some point, Pelosi has to fish or cut bait here,” one Democratic aide said.

Of course, some don’t think it matters anymore at all, per this quote a Democrat gave Solender, which went a bit viral yesterday: “We've all resigned ourselves to a second Trump presidency."

EXCITING NEWS — Today, our very own EUGENE DANIELS takes the helm as president of the White House Correspondents’ Association for the 2024-25 term.

We’re thrilled for Eugene, who is a relentless collaborator, dogged reporter and great friend. And we’re proud that he’ll be a history-making leader for the WHCA — he is the first openly gay person of color, the second Black person and the first POLITICO journalist to lead the group.

“Eugene’s POLITICO colleagues are proud that he is taking this important leadership position within the profession,” said JOHN HARRIS, POLITICO’s global editor-in-chief. “The public largely knows the WHCA through its annual dinner and its work supporting rising young journalists through scholarships. Important work, however, takes place behind the scenes — working with White House officials on behalf of transparency and access. Eugene’s idealism and good judgment will make him a valuable voice on behalf of news organizations and the public interest.”

“This is an incredibly exciting and momentous occasion for Eugene, and for all of us at POLITICO,” said GOLI SHEIKHOLESLAMI, POLITICO Media Group’s CEO. “His incredible journey as a journalist, his reporting, and respect of his colleagues are a testament to both his work and the progress we continue to strive for in journalism. We are proud of the impact he has made and that he will make in this leadership role in upholding the democratic ideal of a free press.”

Since joining POLITICO in 2018, Eugene has regularly broken both news and barriers. He’s reported on midterms elections, the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and the general election through print, video journalism and podcasts. Join us in congratulating Eugene and wishing him good luck in what is sure to be a news-filled year ahead.

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY

On the Hill

The Senate and the House are out.

At the White House

Biden and VP KAMALA HARRIS will get the latest homeland security and law enforcement briefing at 11 a.m. in the Situation Room. In the afternoon, Biden will sit down for a big interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, before traveling to Las Vegas later.

On the trail

What we’re watching … Trump’s much anticipated VP pick is expected sometime this afternoon, we hear. And as the Republican National Convention gets underway in Milwaukee, a full roster of POLITICO journalists will be onsite to cover what’s going on behind the scenes and bring you the insider conversations happening off-stage and throughout Cream City. We’ll also be bringing you a series of interviews each day from the CNN-POLITICO Grill — which kicks off today at noon Eastern with our own Rachael Bade interviewing NRSC chief STEVE DAINES (R-Mont.). Other guests joining us today: former White House chief of staff REINCE PRIEBUS, former national security adviser ROBERT O’BRIEN and VIVEK RAMASWAMY. Follow along with the latest throughout the day at politico.com/rnc.

PLAYBOOK READS

2024 WATCH

AFTER THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT — In the wake of the attempt on Trump’s life that stunned the world, Biden gave a major address last night from behind the Resolute desk, calling on Americans to come together, cool down and turn away from political violence. “We cannot, we must not go down this road in America,” Biden declared. “We’ve traveled it before throughout our history. Violence has never been the answer.” Though the president said he considers this election a monumental choice for America’s future, he insisted that political differences be resolved peaceably and at the ballot box.

In addition to emphasizing unity and calm at an extraordinarily volatile moment in American history, “[t]he remarks were an effort to return to what has long been Biden’s core political strength: a reputation for compassion, moderation and maturity,” WaPo’s Toluse Olorunnipa and Tyler Pager write.

Serious questions remain about what went wrong in Butler, Pennsylvania, from a security standpoint. New details came from NBC’s Sarah Fitzpatrick, Julia Ainsley, Mike Hixenbaugh, Andrea Mitchell and Jon Schuppe, who scooped that the Secret Service had specifically identified the rooftop in question as a possible safety vulnerability before the event. Witnesses also told NBC’s Tom Llamas, Rebecca Cohen and Ignacio Torres that away from the official perimeter for the event, security measures seemed too lax.

Those may be among the topics of investigation opened by members of Congress in the coming weeks; WaPo’s Jackie Alemany and Marianna Sotomayor report that House Republicans had a call with the chamber’s sergeant-at-arms yesterday. The questions could be especially pointed because, as Roll Call’s Peter Cohn notes, the Secret Service actually got a major funding boost this fiscal year.

As for the biggest mystery — the shooter’s motive — we’re still waiting on law enforcement to come up with answers about THOMAS MATTHEW CROOKS. Some different portraits have started to emerge of the 20-year-old: Former classmates describe him to the WSJ as a quiet, awkward, sometimes bullied loner, while others tell CBS that he seemed nice and normal.

The political fallout: Canadian PM JUSTIN TRUDEAU spoke with Trump yesterday, per Nick Taylor-Vaisey. With the presidential campaign at least temporarily upended, as Jessica Piper and Lisa Kashinsky capture, Democrats are panicking that the fallout could bolster Trump, NBC’s Jonathan Allen, Natasha Korecki, Alex Tabet and Ali Vitali report. And they won’t pause their campaigning for too long, Semafor’s Kadia Goba, Dave Weigel and Benjy Sarlin report, though it’ll take some time to understand the political impacts.

Related reads from 30,000 feet:

• “Trump Assassination Attempt Exposes the Mortal Core of America’s Politics,” by WSJ’s Molly Ball: “No longer could the dehumanizing rhetoric, the apocalyptic warnings continue; something had to give. And yet it seemed more likely than not that nothing would — that the rudderless acrimony and pervasive alarm that got us to this point couldn’t be soothed or suppressed; that no convulsion could break the fever that continues unabated.”

• “An Assassination Attempt That Seems Likely to Tear America Further Apart,” by NYT’s Peter Baker: “The propulsive crescendo of disruptive events lately has led many to compare 2024 to 1968, a year of racial strife, riots in the cities and the assassinations of the Rev. Dr. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. and ROBERT F. KENNEDY. Protests over the Vietnam War helped prompt President LYNDON B. JOHNSON to drop out of his race for re-election that year. Until now, there had been one important difference.”

• “‘I’m Tired. I’m Done.’ Nation Faces Exhaustion and Division After Trump Assassination Attempt,” by WSJ’s Valerie Bauerlein and Rachel Wolfe: Four dozen interviewees “pointed fingers and expressed anger, fear and heartbreak. But nearly to a person, they also expressed a sense of dread, saying there seems to be no good news on the horizon.”

AMERICA AND THE WORLD 

UKRAINE LATEST — The influx of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, and especially Biden’s decision to let Kyiv strike within Russia using American weapons, is starting to make a real impact on the battlefield, CNN’s Ivana Kottasová reports. Though there were many delays, the assistance is now finally reaching the front lines in a significant way. Ukrainian soldiers say that while they haven’t managed to retake a lot of territory (and most experts don’t expect them to do so this year), the aid has helped them forestall Russia from taking over Kharkiv.

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

EGG ON BRIAN KEMP’S FACE — “Can a Medicaid plan that requires work succeed? First year of Georgia experiment is not promising,” by AP’s Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta: “By now, Georgia officials expected their new Medicaid plan, the only one in the nation with a work requirement, to provide health insurance to 25,000 low-income residents and possibly tens of thousands more. But a year since its launch, Pathways to Coverage has roughly 4,300 members, much lower than what state officials projected and a tiny fraction of the roughly half-million state residents who could be covered if Georgia, like 40 other states, agreed to a full Medicaid expansion.”

ALL POLITICS

THE NEXT GEORGE LATIMER? — A new poll from WESLEY BELL’s allies finds him leading Rep. CORI BUSH (D-Mo.) 56 percent to 33 percent in next month’s primary, the N.Y. Post’s Carl Campanile reports. Since it’s not from a neutral observer, you should take the survey with a grain of salt — but you’d need an awful lot of salt to make up 23 points. Bush is the latest progressive “Squad” member in trouble as moderate and pro-Israel forces try to defeat her.

VALLEY TALK

FOR YOUR RADAR — “Google Near $23 Billion Deal for Cybersecurity Startup Wiz,” by WSJ’s Lauren Thomas and Berber Jin: “Alphabet is eyeing the deal at a time of intense antitrust scrutiny of the search company and other tech giants.”

PLAYBOOKERS

Nikki Haley will speak at the convention tomorrow.

Joe Manchin blames the far left for Joe Biden not dropping out of the race.

Christian Nunes, president of the National Organization for Women, is sticking with Biden.

IN MEMORIAM — “Evan Wright, ‘Generation Kill’ Author and Rolling Stone Contributor, Dead at 59,” Rolling Stone: “The cause of death was suicide. As a writer for Rolling Stone, Wright journeyed to war zones like Afghanistan and Iraq, delivering harrowing first-person reporting from the battlefields. Wright’s series of articles on Iraq — where he was embedded with a U.S. Marine Corps. battalion — was serialized for a series of Rolling Stone articles titled ‘The Killer Elite,’ which earned him a National Magazine Award for Excellence in Reporting in 2004. That same year, Wright expanded on his ‘Killer Elite’ reporting for his book.”

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Jon Seaton, Ryan Price and Matt Kenney are launching a new campaign services and public affairs firm, Echo Canyon Consulting, in Phoenix, D.C. and Dallas. They’re all GOP political veterans; Seaton most recently helped Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelect, Price is leading the Republican National Convention’s caucus operations this year, and Kenney is a former Arizona GOP executive director.

TRANSITIONS — Mike Kuiken will join the Special Competitive Studies Project as an expert adviser. He is also a commissioner on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission and previously was longtime national security adviser for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. … Abby Campbell Singer is now VP for government and institutional relations at Hitachi Energy North America. She previously was managing director and head of climate, infrastructure and transportation policy at Siemens USA.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Chris LaCivita … WaPo’s Paul Kane … Arianna Huffington … Semafor’s Max Tani … Alex Lasry … JPMorgan Chase’s Heather Higginbottom … Cecile Richards … Chris Krepich of House Energy & Commerce … Bloomberg’s Jodi Schneider … Gareth Rhodes … Svetlana Legetic … Tia Bogeljic of Rep. Joe Neguse’s (D-Colo.) office … National Association of Realtors’ Kathryn Crenshaw … David Miliband … POLITICO’s Rebecca Moore, Adrian Wyatt and Peter Behr … Eun Kim … Aspen Institute’s Elliot Gerson … Naomie Pierre-Louis of Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s (D-Fla.) office … Ericka Perryman ... Andrew Usyk … Brunswick Group’s Mark Palmer … Séverine de Lartigue ... Helen Hare ... Erica Fein … Susan McCue … Nate Gaspar … Heath Tarbert … Amanda Fernandez … former Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), Chris Stewart (R-Utah) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) … Hayley Arader … Electric Power Research Institute’s Arshad Mansoor … David Lippman … Rob Ellsworth of the Majority Group … American Conservation Coalition’s Kiley Crawford

Send Playbookers tips to [email protected] or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.

Correction: This newsletter has been updated to reflect the confirmed guests for the CNN-POLITICO Grill.