MILWAUKEE (AP) — Two days after surviving an assassination attempt, former President Donald Trump appeared triumphantly with a bandage over his right ear at the opening night of the Republican National Convention, the latest riveting scene in a presidential campaign already marked by dramatic twists and turns.
GOP delegates cheered wildly as Trump appeared on screen backstage and then walked into the arena, visibly moved, while musician Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA.” This came just hours after the convention officially nominated the former president as the Republican nominee for the November election against President Joe Biden.
Trump did not address the crowd – his acceptance speech was scheduled for Thursday – but smiled silently and waved occasionally as Greenwood sang, eventually joining his newly announced running mate. Senator from Ohio, J.D. Vanceto listen to the rest of the evening’s speeches, often with subdued expressions and muted reactions that are uncharacteristic of the brazen showman
The tumultuous reception underscored the crowd’s deep affection for the man who won the nomination in 2016 as an outsider and at odds with the party establishment, but who has now defeated all Republican rivals, silenced most GOP critics and commands loyalty within the party ranks.
“We must unite as a party, and we must unite as a nation,” said Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley, Trump’s personally selected party leader, as he opened the convention’s prime-time session on Monday. “We must show the same strength and resilience as President Trump and lead this nation to a better future.”
But Whatley and other Republican politicians made clear that their calls for harmony did not extend to Biden and Democrats, who are still torn by concerns that the 81-year-old issue is not enough to defeat Trump.
“Their policies are a clear and present danger to America, to our institutions, our values and our people,” said Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, welcoming the party to his swing state, which Trump won in 2016 but lost to Biden four years ago.
Saturdays Shooting at a rally in Pennsylvaniathat left Trump injured and one man dead were clear in mind, but the event was marked by celebration – a stark contrast to the anger and fear that had characterized the past few days. Some delegates chanted “fight, fight, fight” – the same words Trump shouted to the crowd as the Secret Service escorted him off the stage with his fist raised and his face bloodied.
“After the events of Saturday, we should all be thankful that we can still cast our vote for President Donald J. Trump,” said New Jersey State Senator Michael Testa as he announced all 12 of his state’s delegates for Trump.
When Trump reached the required number of delegates, video screens in the arena showed “OVER THE TOP” while the song “Celebration” played and delegates danced and waved Trump signs. Throughout the vote, delegates applauded, flanked by “Make America Great Again” signs, as state after state voted for a second term for Trump.
Several speakers used religious imagery to talk about Trump and the assassination.
“The devil came to Pennsylvania with a gun in his hand,” said Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. “But an American lion has recovered!”
Wyoming delegate Sheryl Foland was among those who adopted the “fight” rhetoric after seeing Trump survive in “monumental photos and videos” on Saturday.
“We knew then that we would adopt this as our song,” added Foland, a child trauma counselor. “Not only because we wanted him to fight and because God was fighting for him. We thought, isn’t it our job to take up this challenge and fight for our country?”
“It’s bigger than Trump,” Foland said. “It’s a mantra for our country.”
Another development at the right time lifted the mood on Monday in the congressional hall: The federal judge who is hearing the case of Trump’s secret documents, the charges dismissed He handed the former president a major court victory over concerns about the appointment of the prosecutor who brought the case to court.
The party convention aims to reach people outside the GOP base
Trump’s campaign officials have designed the convention to convey a softer and more positive message, focusing on issues that would aid a divisive politician broaden his appeal among moderate voters And People of color.
On an evening focused on the economy, delegates and a national television audience heard speakers the Trump campaign addressed as “ordinary Americans” — a single mother who spoke about inflation, a union member who described himself as a lifelong Democrat and now supports Trump, and a tiny business owner, to name a few.
Keynote speakers also included black Republicans who have played a pioneering role in the Trump campaign in the fight for the votes of a core Democratic electorate.
Texas U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt said rising food and energy prices are putting a strain on Americans’ wallets, quoting Ronald Reagan as saying inflation is “the cruelest tax on the poor.” Hunt argued that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris do not seem to understand the problem.
“We can fix this disaster,” Hunt said, by electing Trump and sending him “right back where he belongs, in the White House.”
Scott, perhaps the party’s best-known black congressman, declared: “America is not a racist country.”
Republicans welcomed Vance’s election as an essential step toward a winning coalition in November.
Trump announced his choice of running mate when delegates voted on the former president’s nomination on Monday. The youthful senator from Ohio first attracted national attention with his Bestselling memoirs“Hillbilly Elegy,” which tells of his upbringing in Appalachia and is celebrated as a window into the parts of the American working class that made Trump’s rise possible.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who has been touted as a possible candidate for vice president, said in a post on X that Vance’s “small-town roots and commitment to the country make him a strong voice for the America First agenda.”
But despite all the calls for harmony, two of the opening speakers at Monday’s evening session – Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson – are considered some of the party’s most inflammatory figures.
Robinson recently spoke during a church service in North Carolina about “evil” people he said threatened American Christianity. “Some people need to be killed,” he said at the time, but he avoided such rhetoric on the convention stage.
The campaign continues
Trump’s nomination came on the same day that Biden gave another national television interview in which the president sought to demonstrate his ability to remain in office for another four years despite ongoing concerns within his own party.
Biden told ABC News he made a mistake recently when he told Democratic donors the party needed to stop questioning his fitness for office and instead target Trump. Republicans have aggressively touted that comment since Saturday’s assassination, with some openly accusing Biden of inciting the attempt on Trump’s life.
The president’s admission was consistent with his call from the Oval Office on Sunday for all Americans to tone down their political rhetoric. But Biden insisted on Monday that drawing contrasts with Trump, who uses harsh and accusatory language, is a legitimate part of a presidential campaign.
At the Milwaukee arena, Republicans did not hold back their attacks on Biden and even played a video that mocked the president’s physical stamina and mental sharpness.
They frequently alluded to the “Biden-Harris administration” and regularly mocked Vice President Kamala Harris – a not-so-subtle allusion to the idea that Biden might step down in favor of his deputy.
