Rising Republican star J.D. Vance to take spotlight ahead of Trump, as Biden contracts COVID By Reuters

By Nathan Layne, James Oliphant and Gram Slattery

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) -Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate, U.S. Senator J.D. Vance, addresses the Republican National Convention on Wednesday in a speech that could illustrate how Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement may dominate the party for years to come.

Trump’s Democratic opponent in the Nov. 5 election, President Joe Biden, tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, the White House said on Wednesday. Biden, 81, who was on a campaign visit to Las Vegas, is returning to Delaware and will perform his presidential duties from home while isolating.

The illness was the latest twist in a campaign that was dramatically altered four days ago when Trump narrowly survived an attempt on his life at a political rally in Pennsylvania.

Biden’s diagnosis is especially ill-timed. The president has sought in campaign appearances to counterbalance a halting June 27 debate performance against Trump.

Even before the COVID announcement, a 20th congressional Democrat, U.S. Representative Adam Schiff, urged Biden on Wednesday to step aside, telling the Los Angeles Times he had concerns about whether Biden could defeat Trump.

Vance was due to take center stage in Milwaukee, where Republicans have sought to display party unity to contrast with the Democratic infighting. His speech will likely be the four-day convention’s most-watched moment before Trump, 78, speaks on Thursday night.

In his brief political career, the 39-year-old Ohio lawmaker has sought to build Trump’s populist instincts into a coherent policy agenda that envisions the U.S. playing a less dominant role in global affairs.

Trump, his right ear still bandaged after it was grazed by a bullet in Saturday’s attack, walked onto the convention stage on Wednesday afternoon and stood in front of the podium for several minutes while aides talked him through the logistics of his Thursday night speech.

Authorities have yet to establish a motive for the shooting. U.S. Secret Service agents killed the gunman at the scene.

Officials from the Secret Service and the FBI briefed lawmakers on Wednesday. The U.S. House of Representatives will establish a bipartisan task force next week to investigate how the 20-year-old shooter was able to get so close.

Concerns about a second Trump administration sent stocks tumbling on Wednesday, with chipmakers especially hard hit after Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview that Taiwan should have to pay for its own defense.

VANCE A POLITICAL NEOPHYTE

Elected to the U.S. Senate less than two years ago, Vance has opposed military aid for Ukraine and defended Trump’s attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden. At half Trump’s age, Vance potentially has decades ahead of him to influence the Republican Party.

He has argued that the government needs to do more to assist the working class by restricting imports, raising the minimum wage and cracking down on corporate largesse. Those positions conflict with the Republican Party’s traditional pro-business stance, but track Trump’s agenda closely.

Vance’s speech follows Tuesday night’s program, when Trump’s former rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, offered full-throated endorsements of his candidacy despite previous criticisms.

“You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him,” said Haley, a former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor, who had described Trump as unfit for office during her presidential run.

Many of Tuesday’s speeches in Milwaukee – centered on the theme of law and order – were infused with Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, with speakers angrily denouncing Biden’s southern border policies.

Some of the heated attacks contradicted the message of national unity Trump had promised to deliver after the attempt on his life at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday.

While border crossings reached record highs during Biden’s tenure, arrests dropped sharply in June after the president implemented a broad asylum ban.

Trump has pledged to launch the largest deportation effort of people in the U.S. illegally in history.