Former President Trump formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday night, capping a monumental six days that saw him survive an assassination attempt, select his running mate and appear before adoring crowds and speakers every night at his party's national convention.
Trump began his speech in a more subdued tone than usual, flashing occasional glimpses of his usual bombastic energy, but quickly turned menacing and painted a bleak vision of an America in need of restoration.
Trump spent much of his speech recounting and reflecting on Saturday's assassination attempt, saying it was the only time he would speak about it “because it's just too painful to talk about.”
Trump appeared at Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum with his ear wrapped in a white bandage after being shot by a 20-year-old gunman at a campaign rally on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, a narrow escape that rallied the party behind the three-time presidential candidate.
“If I had not moved my head at the last moment, the assassin's bullet would have been perfectly on target and I would not be here tonight. We would not be together,” Trump said.
“I shouldn't have been here tonight,” he said.
“Yes!” the crowd shouted back.
Trump also held a moment of silence for Corey Comperatore, a retired firefighter who was killed in Saturday's shooting. A jersey bearing Comperatore's name was displayed on stage, and at one point Trump walked over and kissed his helmet.
Trump attended each night of the convention and watched as Republican allies and former foes, including his primary opponents such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, praised him.
He began his rambling 90-minute speech with a call for unity, saying “it's not a victory if half of America wins.” But it didn't take long for Trump to return to his usual attacks on President Biden, calling him one of the worst presidents in history and adding that “I'm not going to use that name anymore.”
He defended his usual rhetoric on immigration, blaming Biden for an “invasion” at the border.
“We moved them, which was a joyous thing,” he said. “They were put in police cars, taken back and taken out of our country.”
“I'm not going to let these murderers and criminals into my country,” he added. Numerous studies have shown no correlation between immigration and higher crime rates.
He slammed Biden's decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, calling it “the greatest humiliation in the history of our country,” and claimed without evidence that “the war is just a phone call away.”
Trump bet that the Ukraine war would not have happened if he were president and boasted about his good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — he was the first president to meet with the dictator.
The convention formally approved the party platform and presidential and vice presidential candidates. The new platform approved Monday outlines a markedly different set of party priorities than last year. It does not call for a nationwide abortion ban and removes language that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. At just 16 pages, the document is dozens of pages shorter than a typical party platform.
The week kicked off with President Trump announcing that he would nominate Ohio Sen. and “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance as his running mate. In a speech on Wednesday, Vance touted his Midwestern roots and frequently singled out battleground states like Pennsylvania and Michigan.
President Trump has dominated the headlines this week following the assassination attempt and the announcement of his running mate. But President Biden, who suspended his campaign after Sunday's shooting, has come under renewed scrutiny in recent days after Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) became the most vocal Democrat in the House of Representatives to call for the president's resignation and for him to be replaced by the Democratic presidential nominee.
Biden announced Wednesday he was withdrawing from the campaign trail after testing positive for COVID-19, sparking speculation Thursday that the president was considering stepping aside and potentially putting someone like Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket.
Former first lady Melania Trump made a rare public appearance, wearing a red suit and smiling and waving to the crowds. She has refrained from campaigning this year and only issued a rare statement hours after Mr Trump was shot on Saturday, urging Americans to “rise above the hate and malice”.
The final night of the tournament was a boxing-themed event, featuring appearances from World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder Linda McMahon, former President Trump's Small Business Administration administrator, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White and professional wrestler Hulk Hogan.
“What if Donald Trump and the Trump fanatics come at you?” Hogan roared, a play on a catchphrase from his heyday in professional wrestling. Hogan, who goes by the name Terry Gene Bollea, then ripped his shirt off, revealing a red Trump Vance muscle shirt.
The former president's son, Eric Trump, praised his father's work as president and highlighted how Trump has been persecuted, saying he has been “relentlessly silenced, smeared and attacked by a corrupt administration.”
