Wisconsin.

important battleground state in the presidential election, with both campaigns saying the other can't win if they don't win Wisconsin.

That put even more emphasis on the city of Milwaukee hosting the Republican National Convention "Here& Now" Senior political reporter Zach Schultz was on the ground all week and kicks off our coverage tonight.

>> The culmination of every convention is Thursday night, when the nominee takes the stage and basks in the adoration of the party faithful.

>> Thank you very much.

>> In some ways, the defining moment of the 2024 Republican National Convention didn't come in the host city of Milwaukee.

It occurred in Butler, Pennsylvania, last Saturday when a 20 year old with a gun nearly took Donald Trump's life.

By the time Trump took the stage Thursday night, his supporters had already declared the near miss as a sign of divine intervention.

the life of our presidents, Donald J.

>> Trump and Trump agreed.

>> I felt very safe because I had God on my side.

I felt that the first question of the week was whether it was even safe to come to the convention.

>> These ladies from Eagle River had to decide if the violence would continue in Milwaukee for a split second.

>> I mean, you have to you have to you need to be prudent to reflect, but it's really more about now, I know the police and security and homeland security and everything will probably even step up even more.

>> I think it's the right move.

>> UW lacrosse Professor Kristina LaPlant saw the shooting on TV and canceled a trip with her students, who planned to survey delegates for a class on political parties.

>> Immediately, my mind starts thinking about what on earth is going to happen at the convention now, and I'm immediately thinking about my safety, my students safety.

Is the political violence going to escalate at the RNC?

>> Monday morning, the message from Republicans was one of unity.

above their behavior and realize that it is our task to save and preserve this nation.

>> But later that evening, on the main stage, Johnson was back to calling Democrats a threat to the nation.

danger to America, and the unity referred to the Republican Party unifying around Trump.

>> We have the greatest opportunity I have ever seen for a Republican victory.

>> Democrats hope to tie Donald Trump to a policy plan called project 2025, a 900 page document created by the Heritage Foundation that creates a plan to give Trump unprecedented executive powers to remake the federal government.

But there was no mention of the plan at Heritage's Policy Fest event, and Trump surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy refused to talk about project 2025, instead hinting that if Trump had been killed, it would have led to a second civil war.

But I think the nation came within a hair's breadth of.

>> God forbid, a second kind of civil war in this country.

And we missed it.

>> He wasn't the only one talking that way.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told the Wisconsin delegation the same thing.

falling apart as a country and potentially drifting towards a civil war.

turn down the rhetoric.

>> I don't see our country on a pathway to a civil war, and we need to just continue to have that dialog to listen and exercise our voice at the ballot box.

>> Trump's speech was supposed to focus on unity.

>> We unite this evening, more determined than ever.

>> But there were times when the teleprompter didn't move as Trump went off script and returned to his favorite topics crazy Nancy Pelosi, the whole thing just boom, boom, boom.

He did find time to pander to the home state.

>> And by the way, Wisconsin.

We are spending over $250 million here creating jobs and other economic development all over the place.

So I hope you will remember this in November and give us your vote.

I am trying to buy your vote.

>> As the speech stretched out to the longest in convention history, those who started off shouting fight were now sitting quietly looking at their phones.

But eventually the speech wrapped up and quite simply put, we will very quickly make America great again.

The balloons dropped and the 2024 Republican National Convention Republican National Convention