What's next after RNC? Trump returns to campaign trail uncertain who he's running against

MILWAUKEE - Former president and re-nominated Republican candidate Donald Trump begins his post-convention campaign after surviving a near-assassination, forging a unified party - and waiting to see who his Democratic opponent will be.

As President Joe Biden considers whether to withdraw from the presidential race, Trump and GOP running mate JD Vance are proceeding with plans to campaign against the Biden administration on issues like inflation, border security, and alleged chaos overseas.

The Trump campaign is also focused on the closest contested states, particularly the six that handed Biden his victory in 2020: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

"Under the current administration, we are a nation in decline," Trump said in formally accepting the Republican presidential nomination.

'Must be healed'

In his acceptance speech, Trump - survivor of a shooting less than a week ago - said he would seek to strike a more unifying tone moving forward, telling supporters that "the discord and division in our society must be healed."

That remains to be seen. Democrats and Trump opponents pointed out that he and other Republican speakers spent a good part of the weeks denouncing them as threats to the American way of life.

"So, unity is the message while Kid Rock (who looks like he's been fermenting in a mason jar since 2002) screams 'FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT' into the mic while a screen of flames plays onstage behind him - Got it," said a statement from the anti-Trump organization, The Lincoln Project.

There's really not much of a new Trump, if Thursday's speech is any indication.

After his call for unity and a moving account of the shooting - "I had God on my side" - Trump reverted to rally-style riffs of half-truths and meandering asides. The tired-looking Trump, with a big bandage on his injured ear, often spoke in a subdued monotone. At times, the crowd grew restless and bored, and some left early.

The acceptance speech ran more than 90 minutes, a modern record.

At one point, the Biden campaign sent out a statement that "Trump goes off teleprompter to rant about his enemies with insults and nicknames."

After the speech, the Biden team said that "Trump is playing the greatest hits from 2016 - he has not changed, he has not moderated, he has gotten worse.”

Frontrunner?

Polls indicate that Trump leaves Milwaukee as a solid frontrunner. Democrats said they believe that will even up as more Americans realize that Trump is a convicted felon with a dangerous agenda for all Americans.

"Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans don’t have a record of accomplishment to run on, so they uses hate, extremism, division at his rallies to fire up his base," said Quentin Fulks, Biden's principal deputy campaign manager. "Or he just lies about a record that doesn’t exist."

Trump has enjoyed a steady rise in the polls since the June 27 debate in which Biden struggled. In the weeks since, a rising number of Democrats have called on Biden to step aside in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris or another Democrat.

Trump's handling of the assassination attempt appears to have boosted his image with public. It certainly galvanized this week's Republican convention in Milwaukee.

Stunned by the shooting, Republican delegates promoted unity this week and quelled potential arguments over abortion and gun rights policies. Some muted any criticism of Vance's selection as running mate.

In addition to the six key states - Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada - Trump and his aides believe his momentum can "expand the map" by picking up other states they lost four years ago. They are particularly hopeful about Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire, and Minnesota.

In announcing Vance's selection, Trump said the author of a book on rural America called "Hillbilly Elegy" will be "strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond."

Rally in Michigan

Trump's post-convention phase has a low-key start, at least so far.

The Republican nominee has no public schedule for Friday, at least so far, planning to spend it as his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. On Saturday, Trump and Vance plan to hold an arena rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., a key state - one week after the shooting at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pa.

The campaign is also lining up a series of fundraisers for Trump and/or Monday. The running mates are also planning a joint interview Monday on Fox News. Since the shooting, Trump has taken a softer rhetorical tone. "I got lucky - God was with me," he told supporters in a private meeting on the sidelines of the convention, according to a video obtained by PBS.

Something like that "changes your attitude, your viewpoint toward life," Trump said.

Still some legal issues

As he campaigns for another presidency, Trump still has some legal issues to face.

In September, Trump faces sentencing for his May conviction in a hush money case out of New York. A judge could sentence Trump to prison, although he plans to appeal the verdict and that would take place before any jail time.

Trump still faces potential trials in Washington, D.C., and Georgia over efforts to steal the 2020 election from Biden, although both cases are in some disarray because of a recent Supreme Court decision.

A divided court ruled that presidents have immunity from prosecution for official actions. Judges in Washington, D.C., and Georgia are expected hold hearings in the coming months to assess the fallout.

Trump received more good legal news this convention week. A federal judge in Florida dismissed a case alleging that Trump improperly handled classified documents; the government is appealing.

Who is Trump's 2024 opponent?

Throughout convention week, Trump and allies have suggested they would rather run against Biden, rather than venture into the unknown against Harris or another Democrat.

At a forum sponsored by CNN and Politico, senior adviser Chris LaCivita decried what he called efforts to "depose" Biden as the nominee and maybe as president.

If it happens, LaCivita said, "that's going to create a whole host of different issues."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump returns to campaign trail uncertain who he's running against