Jubilant GOP delegates cheered as they formally nominated Donald Trump during Monday’s Republican National Convention kickoff, less than two days after an assassination attempt on the former president and shortly after he announced Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his vice presidential running mate. Their vote makes it official that Trump, who has long been the presumptive nominee, will lead the GOP in a third consecutive election. The winner in 2016, he lost to current President Joe Biden in 2020. In November, he will again face Biden, who dismissed Vance as “a clone” of Trump on important issues. Trump’s son Eric announced Florida’s votes, which put the former president over the top for the nomination. Video screens in the arena read “OVER THE TOP” while the song “Celebration” played and delegates danced and waved Trump signs. Thoughout the voting, delegates flanked by “Make America Great Again” signs applauded as state after state voted their support for Trump’s second term. Saturday’s shooting at a Pennsylvania rally, where Trump was injured and one man died, was not far from delegates’ minds as they celebrated – a stark contrast to the anger and anxiety that had marked the previous few days. Some delegates chanted “fight, fight, fight” — the same words that Trump was seen shouting to the crowd as the Secret Service ushed him off the stage, his fist raised and face bloodied. “We should all be thankful right now that we are able to cast our votes for President Donald J. Trump after what took place on Saturday,” said New Jersey state Sen. Michael Testa as he announced all of his state’s 12 delegates for Trump. Wyoming delegate Sheryl Foland was among those who adopted the “fight” chant after seeing Trump survive Saturday in what she called “monumental photos and video.” “We knew then we were going to adopt that as our chant,” added Foland, a child trauma mental health counselor. “Not just because we wanted him to fight, and that God was fighting for him. We thought, isn’t it our job to accept that challenge and fight for our country?” “It’s bigger than Trump,” Foland said. “It’s a mantra for our country.” Trump’s campaign chiefs had designed the convention to feature a softer and more optimistic message, focusing on themes that would help a divisive leader expand his appeal among moderate voters and people of color. With the shooting, however, the Democrats’ turmoil after the debate, the GOP’s potential governing agenda and even Trump’s criminal convictions became secondary to concerns about political violence and the country’s stability. Trump and his allies will make their case during their four-day convention in Milwaukee unquestionably united and motivated in the wake of the attack. Vivek Ramaswamy, who ran in the GOP presidential primary, has distinguished himself as one of the more aggressive voices on the right, saying often that the country is already at war with itself. So it was notable that in remarks at an event run by the conservative Heritage Institute at the RNC on Monday he was toning down his rhetoric and urging the country to come together. “The enemy is not the Democrats, it is an ideology,” Ramaswamy told the crowd at Heritage’s “Policy Fest” event. Some well-timed good news was also affecting the mood on the convention floor Monday: The federal judge presiding over Trump’s classified documents case dismissed […]