MILWAUKEE — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appeared at the Republican National Convention on Monday, two days after being hit by a sniper’s bullet and left bloody.
The 78-year-old former president appeared at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee with most of his right ear bandaged.
Trump strode into the convention hall with Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” blaring in the background.
The former president pumped his fist and gave multiple thumbs up applause as he joined vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and family members seated near the stage.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Rep. Byron Donald (R-Fla.) and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson were seated near Trump.
Read the latest Washington Post article about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
As Trump took his seat, the crowd chanted “Fight, fight, fight,” a reference to words uttered by the former president shortly after he was shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
President Trump listened intently to Mark Rose and Benjamin Josephs of “Every Day Americans” speak at the Republican National Convention.
He also watched a speech by Amber Rose, a former stripper who has been a fierce critic of Donald Trump in the past.
“He’s a really tough guy,” Sean O’Brien, president of the International Federation of Trucking Associations, said of the presumptive Republican nominee Trump during a speech.
Notably absent from Trump’s area at the convention were his wife Melania, his eldest daughter Ivanka, and his youngest son Barron.
Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump all stood close to their father, with the former president’s eldest son Trump Jr. appearing to be in tears as his father entered the arena.
Trump did not speak Monday night.
That same day, he was officially nominated as the Republican presidential candidate by more than 1,215 Republican delegates in a roll call vote of state delegations.
Shortly before the vote, Trump announced on Truth Social that he had picked Vance as his running mate.
Trump has been in Milwaukee since Sunday and decided not to postpone a trip to the party convention, which he had been considering in the wake of the shooting.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
