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From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Free Expression with Jerry Baker.

Hello and welcome to the Free Expression podcast for on the Wall Street Journal. I'm Jerry Baker, editor at large of the journal.

If you're not already subscribing to free expression, please sign up wherever you do your podcast listening.

This week, Republicans buoyant. This week, I've been at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee,

where I think the moon can best be described as something close to euphoric. Now, I've been

attending GOP conventions for more than 20 years, and I can't recall a more positive atmosphere

among Republican delegates. It's no exaggeration, in fact, to say that for many, it's almost as

though there's a sense of destiny here, perhaps even divine providence they're talking about, propelling them towards November's election. The failed attempt on Donald Trump's life last weekend, when the former president seems to survive a would-be assassin's bullet by a matter of millimetres, is viewed by many as providential and a sign of coming victory. Because that we must add, of course, in recent

weeks, the melting way of most of the legal actions against Trump, the slow motion collapse of Joe

Biden's reelection effort, as more and more Democrats call on him to drop out, and apparently

steady and robust lead for Trump in the opinion polls. The selection of Senator J.D. Vance,

as Trump's vice presidential pick, has also gone down well with the delegates here, seen by most as a signal of the party's long-term conversion to a populist agenda that's in tune with the GOP's new political base. So is it all as rosy as it looks for the Republicans? As Trump and Vance leave Milwaukee for the campaign trail? Well, this week I'm pleased to say I'm joined by Steve Scalise, Republican House Majority Leader

and Congressman from Louisiana.

Scalise not only, of course, has been a significant leader at the top of the Republican Party

for some time, but he survived an assassination attempt himself in 2017 when a gunman shot up the congressional baseball game.

Scalise, of course, returned to frontline politics a few months later. I'm glad to say that

Steve Scalise joins me now. Leader Scalise, thanks very much for joining free expression.

It's great to be with you. I appreciate you having me. Congressman, I've been coming to

Republican conventions for at least 20 years. I can't recall a convention where the mood was more buoyant, stronger sense of possibility

and opportunity.

Seems like things have gone extremely well.

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