In his first speech since surviving an assassination attempt, former President Trump turned the 2024 Republican National Convention into a campaign rally, insisting God was on his side during the shootings and calling for the party to come together to “save this country.”
Trump detailed his near-death experience while speaking to a crowd of thousands in Milwaukee where he formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination.
Here are the five biggest takeaways from the final night of competition:
Trump spoke at length about the assassination.
After four tense days, Trump used his closing convention speech to recount the assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, in which a gunman grazed Trump’s ear with a bullet, killing one rally-goer and wounding two others.
“As you all know, an assassin’s bullet came very close to taking my life. Many people have asked me, ‘What happened? Tell me what happened,'” Trump said.
He promised to tell the crowd “exactly what happened,” but vowed “never” to talk about it again because “it’s too painful to talk about.”
Trump waxed poetic about a “warm, beautiful day in the evening” and the “cheering” crowds in Pennsylvania, but the cheering was interrupted by a “loud, whooshing sound” and the sensation of a bullet hitting his ear “really, really hard.”
Mr Trump wore a white bandage over the ear he injured in the attack – some attendees at the Republican National Convention were wearing similar earmuffs, with one woman saying it was out of “solidarity” with the former president.
He described it as a “terrible night”, with “a lot of shots” being fired and a sense of near death, but said he felt “peaceful”. He thanked God that he survived, saying it was “probably” a moment of “divine providence”.
The crowd was glued to Trump’s speech, and chanted “fight!” as a photo of the former president with his fist raised and surrounded by Secret Service agents was projected onto a screen behind him.
Trump is back to his old self
Previous speakers seemed to be laying the groundwork for a softer version of Trump to take to the stage.
During an appearance on Wednesday night, President Trump’s granddaughter, Kai Madison Trump, described the former president as a “regular grandpa” who would “give us candy and soda when our parents weren’t looking” and “always want to know how we were doing at school.”
On Thursday, Linda McMahon, Trump’s former small business administrator, shared an anecdote about how Trump and his 4-year-old granddaughter “ruffled her hair” at his Mar-a-Lago estate and Trump “smiled with the affection that only a grandfather can have.”
McMahon acknowledged that the anecdote was “probably not a typical Donald Trump story,” but said the former president was a “good guy” with “the heart of a lion and the soul of a warrior.”
But the Trump who spoke Thursday night was the same person he has been at every rally since launching his campaign in 2015.
A pre-release transcript of the speech focused primarily on Trump’s plans for a possible second term and a discussion of issues facing the country, but Trump frequently deviated from his planned remarks, pivoting instead to praise allies and attack foes.
Although President Biden was not mentioned in the transcript, Trump seemed compelled to attack his opponent directly, saying, “The 10 worst presidents in American history combined probably haven’t done as much damage as Biden has done.”
Trump also criticized former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), calling her “Crazy Nancy,” drawing boos from the audience. A spokesman for Pelosi later countered that Trump was not taking a “new tone” as some had predicted, but was the same candidate he was before.
Trump also criticized the leader of the United Auto Workers union for losing jobs to countries like China, saying he should be “ashamed” and “fired.”
At the same time, Trump leaned into the week’s theme of “unity,” especially in a scripted line toward the end of his speech, saying the country’s “destiny” would be out of reach if people spent their energy fighting each other.
“We must harness that energy to realize our country’s true potential and write our own inspiring chapter in the American story,” he said.
The event was like a rock concert.
Thursday night’s event featured big names including music star Kid Rock, fight promoter Dana White and wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, and the crowd was in a frenzy of excitement.
Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, prompted chants of “USA” while praising Trump and his new running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, as “the best tag team of my life.”
He also pointed out the raucous, celebrating crowds.
“I came in here tonight and there was so much energy in this room that I thought maybe I was getting ready to win another title at Madison Square Garden,” Hogan said, “but I was in a room full of real Americans, brother.”
Meanwhile, Kid Rock sang “American Bad Ass” and had the crowd chanting “fight” and “Trump.”
To end the night, Trump made a grand entrance to a live rendition of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” strolling around the stage and waving to the audience and applauding when the song finished before taking to the podium.
The evening ended with a cinematic drop of reportedly more than 100,000 red, white, blue and gold balloons as Trump’s family joined him on stage and the Fiserv Forum crowd went wild.
Hulk Hogan almost stole the spotlight
It’s a tough feat to surpass Trump, but Hogan came close to doing so.
The wrestler delivered a speech praising the former president, thrilling the Milwaukee crowd.
As soon as Hogan hit the stage, the crowd erupted in chants of “USA.”
But perhaps the most exciting moment of his appearance came when the wrestling legend ripped open his shirt while addressing the crowd, eliciting a deafening roar from the crowd.
“When they tried to kill the next president of the United States, I had enough, so I said let’s let Trumpmania run wild,” he said to thunderous applause, playing on his catchphrase “Hulkamania.”
Hogan later sat in Trump’s box with Trump’s family, and Trump himself appeared to acknowledge how Hogan had energized the crowd.
“What about the Hulkster?” Trump asked late in the night, to which attendees responded with cheers.
Biden’s troubles were an undercurrent
While Republicans are celebrating President Trump’s first speech since the shooting and formally accepting the party’s nomination, Democrats are continuing to infight over Biden and his 2024 presidential nominee.
In the middle of the Republican National Convention, Montana Senator Jon Tester became the second Democratic senator to call on Biden to drop out of the presidential race.
Tester, a Democrat seeking re-election in a heavily Republican state, praised Biden’s “commitment to public service and country,” but said Biden “should not seek re-election to another term.”
The Montana senator’s actions added fuel to the Democratic Party drama that had died down somewhat following the shooting at the rally, but was reignited earlier this week as more prominent members of the party joined in.
On Wednesday, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) expressed “serious concerns” about whether Biden can beat Trump in November, and was joined by Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) who said it’s time for Biden to “pass the baton.”
It is notable that Trump mentioned Biden by name only once during his speech at the Republican National Convention, but the reference was not included in his pre-released remarks.
“Biden, I’m only going to use that word once. I’m not going to use your name again. Just once,” Trump said, in a speech that criticized the administration but made no mention of the bipartisan drama.
There have been growing rumors about Vice President Kamala Harris potentially replacing Biden as the party’s top presidential candidate, and some Democratic Party insiders have whispered that a decision on Biden’s political future could come within days as the party’s August convention approaches.
