Milwaukee (Associated Press) Donald TrumpHeavily bandaged, he accepted the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday. Republican National Convention In his speech, he detailed the assassination attempt that may have taken his life just five days earlier. A broad populist agendaEspecially on immigration issues.
The 78-year-old former president is well known for his bombastic and aggressive rhetoric, but he began his acceptance speech with a softer, very personal message that came directly from his own experience with death. As the audience listened in silence, Trump explained that he was standing on stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, when he turned his head to look at the charts on the display and felt something hit him against his ear. He put his hand to his head and quickly realized it was bloody.
“If I hadn't moved my head at the last moment, the assassin's bullet would have been perfectly on target,” Trump said, “and I wouldn't be here tonight. We wouldn't be together.”
Trump's speech, the longest convention speech in modern history at just under 93 minutes, culminated and concluded four days of Republican pep rallies that drew thousands of conservative activists and elected officials to Wisconsin as voters consider an election that now favors Republicans. Two very unpopular candidatesSensing a political opportunity after his near-death experience, the bombastic Republican leader has adopted a new tone that he hopes will help generate further momentum in an election that is tilting in his favor.
“The divisions and discord in our society must be healed. They must be healed quickly. As Americans, we are bound by one destiny and a common fate. We will rise together, or we will fall apart,” Trump said, as he has done all week, wearing a large white bandage over his right ear to hide the scar he sustained during the attack. Saturday's shooting“I'm running for president not for half of America, but for all of America, because winning for half of America is not a victory.”
Trump spoke in a calmer tone than he usually does at rallies, but he also laid out his plans to lead the largest deportation operation in US history. He repeatedly denounced people crossing the US-Mexico border illegally as an “invasion,” and hinted at new trade tariffs and an “America First” foreign policy.
Trump also falsely suggested Democrats stole the 2020 election, which he lost, despite a series of federal and state investigations proving there was no systemic fraud, and suggested “we should not criminalize dissent or demonize political difference” despite his long-standing call for the prosecution of his opponents.
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He did not mention abortion rights, Issues that have plagued the Republican Party Since the Supreme Court struck down the federal guarantee of abortion rights two years ago, Trump has appointed three of the six justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. He often takes credit for overturning Roe And they say states should have the right to make their own abortion laws.
He also Riots at the US Capitol On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters attempted to block the certification of his defeat to Democratic candidate Joe Biden. It has long been used to describe people who have been jailed for rioting. As a “hostage.”
In fact, Trump rarely mentioned Biden, often referring only to “the current administration.”
“It was Donald Trump who destroyed our economy, disenfranchised us, and ruined middle-class families,” Biden campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon said in a statement after the speech. “He now pursues the presidency with an even more radical vision of where he wants to take this country.”
Republican National Convention ends at uncertain moment in election campaign
With less than four months until the end of the election campaign, it may be unlikely that any major changes will occur in the race, but there are.
Trump's appearance was Biden's The 81-year-old Democratic incumbenthas clung to his party's presumptive nomination despite relentless pressure from key allies in Congress, donors and even former President Barack Obama, who worry that a disastrous debate defeat could make reelection impossible.
Biden, who has long been under pressure from allies to campaign more actively, has instead been isolating himself at his Delaware coastal home. Diagnosed with COVID-19.
Hours before balloons were scheduled to rain down on Trump and his family inside the venue, Biden deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks appeared nearby in Milwaukee and repeatedly insisted that Biden had no plans to step down.
“I don't want to be rude, but I don't know how many more times I can answer that,” Fulks told reporters. “I have no plans to take Biden off the list.”
Program Strengths
The Republican National Convention program on Thursday seemed designed to project an image of strength and masculinity amid an implicit attack on Biden.
Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White called Trump “the real American thug.” Kid Rock performed a chorus of “Fight! Fight!” Repeating the words Trump said on stage The former president was arrested in Pennsylvania as Secret Service officers surrounded him. Wrestler Hulk Hogan called him an “American hero.”
Hogan drew a roaring reaction when he took to the main stage and removed his shirt to reveal a red one that read “Make America Great Again.”
“As a celebrity, I try to stay out of politics,” Hogan said, briefly breaking character. “I can't stay silent anymore.”
Like many speakers during the convention, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said he believed recent events were inspired by God and that “there may be something bigger going on.”
“I think it changed him,” Carlson said of the shooting, praising Trump for not erupting in anger afterwards.
“He's done his best to bring the country together,” Carlson added. “This is the most responsible and unifying move I've ever seen from a leader.”
Former First Lady Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump, the president's eldest daughter and former senior adviser, accompanied Trump to the venue before the speech, making their first appearance at the venue. Neither spoke.
The former president's speech lasted nearly 93 minutes, up from 74 minutes eight years ago, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Republicans leave convention united
The convention showcased how Trump has reshaped the Republican Party since he shocked the party establishment and won over grassroots supporters within the party to win the presidential nomination in 2016. Rivals he defeated, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Marco Rubio of Florida, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, set aside past criticism to give Trump their full endorsement.
Even Sen. J.D. Vance, the Ohio senator who was nominated as Trump's running mate to carry Trump's movement forward to the next generation, Once a harsh critic In private messages subsequently made public, he suggested Trump could become “the American Hitler”.
Security has been a major focus in Milwaukee following the assassination attempt on President Trump, but four full days have passed without any serious incidents on the convention grounds or within the extensive security perimeter surrounding it.
The Secret Service had a large and visible presence, backed by hundreds of police officers from around the country, and a wall of guards surrounded Trump wherever he went during his nightly appearances.
Meanwhile, Trump and his team Undisclosed information The former president has not spoken about his injuries or the treatment he received. On Thursday, he described how he survived the attack and vowed never to speak about it again.
“I shouldn't be here tonight,” Trump told the packed auditorium, as thousands listened in silence and chanted back, “Yes, you should be here.”
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Associated Press reporters Michelle L. Price, Farnoush Amiri and Adriana Gomez Licon in Milwaukee and Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report.
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