At the Republican Convention, Trump Achieves Mythical Status

Donald J. Trump’s acceptance of his party’s nomination put an exclamation point on a triumphant week for a Republican Party that emerged from its convention confident and unified. At the same time, the Democratic Party is moving closer and closer to replacing President Biden on the ticket.


Jonathan Swan, who covers Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign, gives a behind-the-scenes look at the Republican National Convention, and Reid J. Epstein, who covers Mr. Biden’s re-election campaign, discusses where it stands as expectations are rising among Democrats that the president will reconsider his decision to stay in the race.


Guest: 

• Reid J. Epstein (https://www.nytimes.com/by/reid-j-eps...) , a reporter covering politics for The New York Times.
• Jonathan Swan (https://www.nytimes.com/by/jonathan-swan) , a reporter covering politics and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Here are six takeaways (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/19/us...) from the Republican National Convention.
• Mr. Trump ended the convention with a lengthy speech that started solemn and turned rambling. Read the transcript (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/19/us...) .
• As Republicans rally around the former president, Democrats are circling Mr. Biden like sharks (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/18/us...) .

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily (http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-t...) . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.